The Sunday Mail
MANY thanks to all readers who constantly write to me with their questions and comments – keep the letters rolling in.
This week let us remember the wonder of bougainvillea, this tropical plant from South America which at one time was immensely popular in our gardens.
Now more than ever is the time to revive this once popular garden subject due to the water crisis bedevilling our cities.
Bougainvillea once established is a drought-tolerant plant. It prefers warm climates; best suited in a full sun position, but will need protection from frost.
The plant is a versatile garden subject even being useful in rural areas where it can be used to fence off important areas, because some cultivars have thorns.
The plant is equally attractive producing impressive colourful papery bracts mostly in summer but some can be seen throughout the year if it is warm enough.
The flowers come in different colours from magenta, crimson, red, pink, orange, salmon and my favourite – the creams. There are also bi and multi-coloured varieties.
This plant is very easy to propagate from semi-hardwood cuttings to hardwood cuttings planted in river sand.
The roots come out easily but the young plants are delicate and need to be given enough time to mature. They do not transplant well and should also not be over watered.
Take cuttings which are about 10-15cm long from mature hardwood avoiding the young top branches which quickly shrivel and die.
Plant the cuttings in river sand and make sure the propagating area is not too humid.
This is one plant that you can be confident will thrive even in your absence. The only challenge is the need to prune the branches to the desired shape or size.
Bougainvillea will do well with some support, particularly good for pots, arcs, pergolas, hedges, standards, massing and for climbing into trees.
There are many cultivars of bougainvillea of which it is impossible to mention here. Of note will be your glabras, mostly purple and very vigorous, used for tree climbing or for hedges. We also have Lady Mary Baring who is yellow in colour, useful for pots or standards.
One of the common subjects these days is fantasy red producing red flowers but with variegated foliage producing yellowish, reddish and greenish leaves and also not very vigorous.
We cannot close this chapter without mentioning the cultivar Mrs Butt. One of the most common bougainvilleas worldwide is Madam Butt – the deep crimson bracts maturing to slightly purple crimson and she is very vigorous, widely used for all purposes.
So seriously consider growing a few shrubs in your garden but also purchase a good pair of secateurs for pruning purposes.
If you are dealing with the more vigorous cultivars you will need a longer pair of hedge pruning shears.
The best time to prune the plants is from December to March otherwise at other times you will reduce the flowering branches. Avoid too much feeding and watering as well as this will cause excessive vegetative growth and delay flowering.
Finally, choose the correct cultivar for your purposes but however, not an easy task, as this knowledge is quite limited now.
Do not worry though, but use what you have and the best knowledge is gained through trial and error. We gardeners never get tired of trying new things. Happy gardening!
◆ Andrew Mangwarara is a horticulturist who has worked in the landscaping industry for more than 10 years. You can reach him at [email protected]
