How to Plant Bougainvillea Outdoors
The thorny, yet showy Brazilian native vine known as bougainvillea is one of the most beautiful plants to grace any garden. Whether highlighting a sunny terrace or scaling a privacy fence, the iridescent purple or magenta bracts of a bougainvillea in bloom make it a showstopper. When sold in planters, bougainvillea is an attractive specimen, but when planted in the ground, it truly reaches its full potential, often reaching gargantuan proportions within a couple of years. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Place one hand around the base of the plant and carefully turn your potted bougainvillea upside down. Tap the bottom of the container with your other hand so the root ball slides out of the container. If the plant is root-bound and won't come out of the container, use pruning shears to carefully cut away the plastic container from the root ball.
-
2
Dig a hole with your shovel that is as deep as the root ball and about twice as wide. Place your bougainvillea in the planting hole and fill the hole with a mixture of garden soil and composted material. Make sure that the base of the plant is sitting level with the surrounding soil. If it's a little low, remove the plant from the hole and add a little more soil to raise up the plant.
-
-
3
Add water to the planting hole and fill it halfway to remove any air pockets. Allow the water to seep into the soil, then fill in the rest of the planting hole with a mixture of soil and compost.
-
4
Water the plant well. Continue to water daily for the next two weeks. After the first week, water every other day for another week, then water once a week for another month, or so. At this point, the plant should be fairly well established and shouldn't need any additional hand watering.
-
5
Sprinkle some time-release fertilizer around the base of your plant, following the instructions on the container for the correct quantity.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Prune and shape your bougainvillea after each bloom. The colorful bracts will form eight weeks later on new growth; when established, this growth will be quite rapid. For best results, plant your bougainvillea in a very sunny location and make sure that the top of the root-ball area sits at least as high as it was in the pot. Make sure that there's no possibility of standing water around the plant's base, or your bougainvillea will not grow or bloom well.
Don't plant your bougainvillea vine too close to pedestrian walkways or house entrances. These vines can grow very large, and their thorns are razor sharp. Use extreme care when pruning prickly bougainvillea.
