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Has anyone successfully grown a bougainvillea outside?

Barney76Barney76 Posts: 16
in Plants

Call me crazy but I planted a bougainvillea outside towards the end of last summer. It was growing beautifully until it started to get colder.

We live on the south coast and I planted it on a very sunny and sheltered south facing wall.

In frosts I've been using some old carpet at the base and have been fleecing it up. It's lost a lot of leaves but it still alive as the stems and remaining leaves look quite healthy.

I'm wondering if anyone else has successfully managed to get this plant to survive winters and if they have any tips? We've had some pretty harsh frosts so I'm hopeful!

Thanks
Barney

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  • Barney76Barney76 Posts: 16
    pansyface says:

    NOT IN DERBYSHIRE.

    HERE IS THE RHS OFFICIAL ADVICE

    https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=816

    See original post

     Did you try to grow where you are? Thanks for the RHS link. It says a heated glasshouse over winter but it looks like it might survive outside down here in Brighton, so long as I don't miss a frost...

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090

    I suspect it was Derbyshire it didn't like PF.   Far too cold in winter and for far too long.  They don't like having their feet frozen or drowned.

    Lots of these things round here in the Vendée but mostly at the coast or in town where it's a bit warmer.  Not out here in the countryside so much and not too far inland either.

    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    Obelixx says:

    Lots of these things round here in the Vendée but mostly at the coast or in town where it's a bit warmer.  Not out here in the countryside so much and not too far inland either.

    See original post

    I think they like humidity - I'm sure I read somewhere the best place to grow them in the UK is around your indoor swimming pool. Should I ever get a swimming pool I shall be sure to get a bougainvillea - lovely plants image. You stand a (slim) chance in Brighton if global warming helps you out. There are plenty of Mediterranean plants that do grow in the UK with the right care and micro-climate. So I wish you luck image

    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • Barney76Barney76 Posts: 16
    Obelixx says:

    I suspect it was Derbyshire it didn't like PF.   Far too cold in winter and for far too long.  They don't like having their feet frozen or drowned.

    Lots of these things round here in the Vendée but mostly at the coast or in town where it's a bit warmer.  Not out here in the countryside so much and not too far inland either.

    See original post

     Thanks obelixx - interesting... do you get many frosts down there?

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090

    Some winters yes but they quickly disappear after the sun gets up asw e're only 20km from the coast.  Been here 15 months now and -6C is the deepest frost we've had.  Unlike the UK or inland it doesn't settle for the duration.   My fancy fuchsias which needed to go in the greenhouse in Belgium now stay outside and are fine.

    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • Barney76Barney76 Posts: 16

    I would imagine fuchsias and bougainvilleas are a similar hardiness. Generally it's quite mild in Brighton but it has been quite hash this winter so far. I don't think we've been below -6 though

  • Guernsey Donkey2Guernsey Donkey2 Posts: 6,713

    Ours grows in an unheated greenhouse, it never freezes but does get down to around 2 - 3 degrees in the coldest of weathers. I don't know of anyone who grows a bougainvillea outside in Guernsey, but keeping it in a warm, dry temperature would be the goal.  Our bougainvillea often drops it's leaves in Feb/March time but at the moment it is in flower.image

  • Barney76Barney76 Posts: 16
    Guernsey Donkey2 says:

    Ours grows in an unheated greenhouse, it never freezes but does get down to around 2 - 3 degrees in the coldest of weathers. I don't know of anyone who grows a bougainvillea outside in Guernsey, but keeping it in a warm, dry temperature would be the goal.  Our bougainvillea often drops it's leaves in Feb/March time but at the moment it is in flower.

    imageSee original post

     Beautiful... Yes I'd be really interested to know if anyone has been able to grow one elsewhere in the UK... Good to know it can recover if the leaves drop. Ours has dropped the majority of its leaves now but I've protected it from the frost as best as I can and it still looks reasonably healthy

  • Barney76Barney76 Posts: 16
    Guernsey Donkey2 says:

    Ours grows in an unheated greenhouse, it never freezes but does get down to around 2 - 3 degrees in the coldest of weathers. I don't know of anyone who grows a bougainvillea outside in Guernsey, but keeping it in a warm, dry temperature would be the goal.  Our bougainvillea often drops it's leaves in Feb/March time but at the moment it is in flower.

    imageSee original post

     Also, do you add a potassium feed to encourage it once it starts to flower? 

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090

    I'd rather have a good clematis than a bougainvillea - much more attractive and better suited to the climate.  

    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
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