I'm in the Tampa area and we have bougainvillea, and sandy soil, all around us. It has no problem surviving and thriving. If you see bougainvillea in your area, you should have no trouble growing it, too.

Hi, thanks for the feedback! We are on the east coast near St Augustine. Soil here is not sandy but I could add a little sand when planting, I guess. We just built a house so around me there's lots of new construction with basic builder plants so haven't seen bougainvillea in my immediate neighborhood.

Check the area around the town, not just the immediate neighborhood. I can't say whether St. Augustine supports bougainvillea but it's considerably north of where I am. Check zone map, too.

For what it's worth bougainvillea does not like transplanting AT ALL. It's one of the few plants that can't be dug and moved even if you cut it WTH back. I've lost one, too, simply by cutting it WTH down at the end of winter. It's better to "move" by starting a cutting. They root easily and grow WTH fast.

I have deleted my prev. Posts b/c I misread and thought we’re talking about azaleas. Know nothing about bougies other than to buy a hanging basket each year. Sorry.

I'm always afraid to grow bougainvillea because for every few gorgeous vines, bushes, and standards that I see, there are also so many woody, flowerless plants around. Why is that? They seem hard to grow to me.

And I never buy the hanging basket because I think they'd be a mess around the pool area.

Am I wrong about this? They are stunning...

ETA I also didn't think they had blooms. Just colorful leaves, like poinsettia.

If grown in shade, the bright bracts are less likely to form. Bougainvillea like full sun and heat. Cut back in winter; if you wait too long you cut off new growth where the plant flowers. No flowers = no colorful bracts.

I agree, they can drop a lot of litter and maybe are not the best choice around a pool.

OK, I have bougainvilleas and I live in Illinois! Yes they are outside in the summer and inside in the winter in my conservatory but here is what I have learned. The plants love to be abused. Meaning they can take wild swings from water to drought but hate wet feet so well drained is best. They love full sun and like to be fed superbloom. I have not had any issue transplanting from one pot to the next, but they do go sad for a bit. I cut mine back at the end of summer, let them sit in the conservatory all winter, take them outside and do a heavy superbloom feeding when it gets warm. If you have poorly drained soil, be sure to put rock and sand in the soil so the roots don’t rot.

Thanks for the advice!

I’d dig a really deep hole and put rock and sand in the bottom to keep the roots dry. That’s what I meant. They really do love superbloom and mine are covered after being fed. I have had mine for three years.

If you want a great bloomer around a pool, see if creeping crepe myrtle grows in Florida. No thorns.

Regarding my comment about transplanting, I was referring to plants dug up from the yard and relocated. They will not tolerate it. Whereas a potted plant moved to a larger pot would not even know it was moved.

Yardvaark, mine have drooped when transplanted, they dont like it, but being in Illinois not much ability to plant in the ground. Only plant I know that you can readily abuse by forgetting to water and it thrives. But it will die if its roots sit in water.

Maggie, if droops when transplanting, you must be disturbing the roots in some way. I would avoid that with Bougainvillea.

I put them in a plastic container which did not drain well despite having drilled holes and the roots were rotting. I had no choice but to put the plant in different pot that was better draining. After that they dropped leaves and looked like they were about to “die” for a month then came back like gang busters. So I was simply agreeing with you that they dont like getting their roots disturbed but in my case the plant was stressed from root rot to begin with.

Yes a stunning landscape plant. I've had one, had no trouble whatsoever growing it in zone 10a about 5 miles inland. However, I got so over the thorns and the massive growth. I hacked away at it year after year until I believe it finally gave up - not sure since I moved and I will never plant another one. IMO this plant belongs far away from the house and traffic areas in the yard.

"... but in my case the plant was stressed from root rot to begin with." That is a separate issue from staightforward transplanting. The only reason I mentioned is because some people intentionally disturb (scoring or loosening) roots during the usual repotting operation. Bougainvillea would not be a plant to do that with.

The plant I love but have had no success growing up north are Camillia plants. They seem to get some sort of insect or scale, the leaves turn brown, fall off and the blooms never last longer than a day before turning brown and falling off. And because I am so far north, when I ask for help here, I get a strange look with a “I dunno” response. Around a pool the scent would be intoxicating. And yes I tried looking it up on the internet. I just gave up and threw the plants away. But for the month that they were happy it was glorious to sit out on the patio and smell them bloom.

Bougainvillea wants hot, dry and full sun for best results. Just don't plant them anywhere near walkways, drives, hose bibs or any area you use a lot unless you enjoy getting stabbed in the garden and/or enjoy pruning things into boxes and balls that will never bloom again.

In St. Augustine the thing it will most likely resent is cool. Many tropicals are stunted by temps 60 and below. It's not likely to freeze completely. Your micro climate may favor it and your proximity to the water; ocean, inter coastal or St. Johns river could help.

It is getting hotter by the year in Florida. The tropicals are moving north. Bougainvillea may work in St. Augustine now.

Thanks Christopher C, I am going to try them. The gorgeous blaze of color bougainvillea can add to the front of our home will be worth the risk of experimenting. Will watch for the thorns and will not plant in any walk ways.

"Just don't plant them anywhere near walkways, drives ..." I'm breaking your rule, Christopher, with a pair that flank the drive. My solution is to train them into trees, of the many-trunked variety. Since they are so fast growing it has taken them 4 years to get from cutting to a small, decent looking tree. I trim the thorns off of the trunks and they don't regrow. The canopy bottom is in the 9'-10' height range, but the long canes can arch down quite low .... in a couple of cases to the ground. But I trim these off every so often and it's easier to maintain since the tree has acquired some size. Starting about now, I won't trim the top anymore. It will just be a big weeping tree.

For the uninitiated, if this plant is on the ground it is a monster and requires a huge space .... a 15 or 20- circle.

There are always exceptions to every generalization yardvaark. Extreme acts of horticulture may be worth the risks. I wouldn't stand near them in a high wind though. I'm not sure the wood of those stems qualify as a proper tree trunk for the weight above.

Yardvaark,

Would love to see a pic of yours!

I am in Tampa too!

I hated bougs growing up, but like them now.

After living in our house a couple of years I discovered a boug fat root/ trunk that was all of a sudden sprouting. (It had been cut to the ground some time before we bought the house and other plants and weeds had covered up the stump)

I have let it grow, but it is not in full all day sun, plus some buggy likes the nibble the fresh growth so a get limited blooms.

I have been trying to let it grow more tree like as I remembered them that way when I was younger and the spot it is in does not have a neighboring tree to let it grow wild and tall.

Thanks for the tip of just cutting the bottom thorns off!

Yes! Mind looks like a complete goner, but I am sure if I cut it back it will come back to life!