Beautiful! Yes, use twine or hair clips. As they don’t have tendrils, they aren’t natural climbers.

"Climbing" bougies are gorgeous! When I lived in the Philippines there was an enormous bougainvillea trailing across a large expanse of the carport -- I suppose someone had trained it that way at some point, as it appeared to be a plant that had been there for a very long time -- continually blooming fuschia loveliness, and it was a sight to behold. It will look so pretty in your window.

You can also purchase a roll of coated green wire, sort of like bread tie wire. It’s easy to cut to a desired length and easy to find in the Christmas section this time of year at HL or Michael’s.

It looks beautiful!

So pretty!!!! That would cheer me up all winter!

Yes, i have floral wire? Question tho, do i need to attach it to the wall? I don't really want to because it is mahogany IIRC and stained white. This may be a better photo, showing the white metal strut I want it to climb on.

I would buy some of those tiny command hooks, affix them to the wood and tie the bougainvillea to the hooks. There are very small clear plastic ones that you can easily hide behind the plant. I would put them on upside down. When I have used them right-side up the twine sometimes pops off, IYKWIM.

Interesting to read of someone being happy about a bougainvillea's vigorous growth.

Since the plants are garden thugs in our climate, I would question how would trimming and thinning of the overhead branches be done as well as clean up of the dropping bracts. Another question is how long would the plants be allowed to grow overhead, and if their weight would eventually put a strain on the supports.

I noticed this morning that the neighbor's bougainvillea is once again launching an invasion into my patio.

Yay, I've been wondering about your foray into growing them and how they liked their new home. That is gorgeous and very happy!

You could also use clear or white push pins on the top of the horizontal board/trim - the same piece the strut is attached to. Hook your twine around a couple of them and then attach it to the pot. They are strong and leave such a tiny prick that when no longer needed, you can fill the tiny hole with a drop of paint or caulk.

You can use tiny clothes pins to pin the branches to the twine until they are established.

Thanks, Oly, I think I will do that.

Nancy, Funny how you guys in a sunny clime think it's a nuisance. To me, it's a plant that shouts "I'm on vacation!" LOL

I had to look up bracts. It has not shed any yet. But the conservatory has a stone floor, i can just sweep them up or vacuum them I guess. As far as weight, I think the struts support the conservatory? I will double check with the co. that built it. As far as pruning, our gardeners would do that for me.

I don't think the potted bougainvillea will be as vigorous as those growing outside in the ground, so I wouldn't be too worried. That is going to be so gorgeous when you get snow on the ground, too.

Send an email to questions@longwoodgardens.org. (Don't mention me, lol). Tell them you love their climbing bougainvillea in the Conservatory and want to re-create it in your own small conservatory. Ask for recommendations to get them climbing. (the email is for any questions that you may have while at Longwood, ie, what's this plant? What is the black cat's name? Will this plant grow in my area...)

or... Who was that lovely brilliant guide I had?

LOL Thx jojo

When we lived in Florida we had an arbor with a heavy vine of climbing bougainvillea over it. It framed the opening in a hedge and had a seat under the arch. BIG daddy long legs spiders lived in it and would drop down on you if you sat or walked under it. All five of us avoided it like the plague. Yours will be inside and YMMV, but .... keep an eye out!

I’ve always used pieces of pantyhose to support climbing plants. One pair will yield many 4-6 inch pieces. They provide soft flexible durable support.

Previous owners of our house had them planted under windows (outside) for security. The thorns were about 3 inches long and razor sharp. Do all of them have thorns? If so, watch that the thorns don’t damage your structure.

I have several plants which are vine-y or which have heavy stems which keel over. For the large ones, I bought a bunch of those sharpened very long dowel rods meant for making s'mores and use those for such situations. For the smaller plants, I bought some heavier-duty bamboo skewers, longer and thicker than the typical kind. I thrust the skewers deep into the pot's soil for anchorage. Floral wire, short sections of yarn, or those fat rubber coated reusable ties are all good to secure the plant to the skewers. Both kinds of skewers are natural wood colored and not very noticeable among the leaves. I suppose one could paint them with a non-toxic waterproof green paint if you didn't like the color of natural wood.

Sigh.......what a beautiful photo! So nice to see pretty amid my construction zone!

No advice

Love the serpentine poinsettias! Was it just a year ago or so we were there? boo hoo

Beautiful : ) .

Don't use floral wire -- it will eventually cut into the stem and cause damage. You want a roll of twist ties, or soft ties like this,

https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/garden/planting/ties-and-clips/111020-soft-stretch-plant-tie?item=EA119

I usually tie loosely with a figure 8 -- half/one loop of the 8 gets attached to the stake and the other half/loop goes around the plant stem. It gives support but also provides flexibility and extra room around the stem for growth (and wind for plants that are outside).

Bracts are the "flowers" -- the colorful part. But they just *look* like flowers, they aren't the actual flowers, which are VERY small and white, and located inside the bracts.

Actually, my gardener was here and I asked him if he had recommendations for plant food, one thing led to another and he volunteered to do it. He does our clematis spirals so I trust him to do a good job. Yes, i did learn about bracts! And I now have white flowers too. : )

I would love to see your clematis spirals, mtnrd!

Becky, I may have been using the wrong term.They use wire to train the clematis on my pergola and trellis columns, like so:

Those are beautiful spirals -- thank you so much for posting the picture and indulging me, mtnrd : ) .

I've never known bougainvillea to do anything other than climb, and they are vigorous growers here and require a lot of pruning.

Here's some bougainvillea growing on the chain-link fence of my back yard in Venice:

I also had bougainvillea growing up the side of the house, and I had to be careful not to let it grow over the roof.

Bougainvillea is also very popular in the Coachella Valley (Palm Springs/Cathedral City), and I love the different colors of flowers it makes. I think my favorite is magenta or purple. What I like about it is that it blooms all year.