Fair point... My wife is Maltese so bougainvillea reminds us of Malta and happy times in the sun. We love them. Also, we like a challenge and want to know if it's possible for them to grow here.
You'll just have to "suck it and see" but grow a good clematis like Etoile Violette clematis and you'll get the "covered in purple" effect. Lots of lovely rich pink ones too that flower for months.
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)."
Wow, they look lovely. I have planted a clematis but I don't know the type to be honest. If the bougainvillea doesn't take, I'll plant one of those. Thank you!
Yes, true, it is best to grow something that you know will survive a cold winter and clematis are very attractive in the right place. I am lucky to be able to grow both although for me the bougainvillea is easier to grow. I don't feed the bougainvillea, just snip off any shoots that grow too tall, so it looks bushier. The plant flowers for about 9 months of the year and because it is in the cold GH it needs no protection from wind, rain or frost. Incidentally we bought the plant at the local GC at a cost of around £10.00, it was in a 7 inch pot and this was about 3 years ago, so you can see how vigorously they grow in the right conditions.
If you want to grow the type of plants that you and your wife have seen in Malta, have you thought about buying a small greenhouse Barney?
I was really surprised how vigorously it grew. We bought a cheap GC one too and I recon it doubled its size in the last few weeks of summer. It dropped its flowers when it started to get wet but was still happy and lush. It only started to drop it's leaves when the frosts arrived. So if it bounces back and if I don't miss a frost I'm hopeful the conditions are good.
We do have a lean to green house but it's round the other side of the house and we wouldn't be able to see the plant from the house unfortunately. We're hoping for a flowering climber to be the centre piece of the garden visible from the house. I'm sure a clematis would be better suited but let's see what the spring brings!
Living in Bournemouth with perhaps a similar climate to yours, I'd be interested to know if your bougainvillea has survived the last couple of winters? If not, I wonder if they can just be grown outdoors as annuals? I agree, clematis may be an alternative but there is something special about the bougainvillea, isn't there?
Living in Bournemouth with perhaps a similar climate to yours, I'd be interested to know if your bougainvillea has survived the last couple of winters? If not, I wonder if they can just be grown outdoors as annuals? I agree, clematis may be an alternative but there is something special about the bougainvillea, isn't there?
Hi Paul, we tried planting last summer and it was going OK during the winter until I missed a frost which killed it! Also I don't think the drainage was good enough. We're going to try again but will create free draining soils with gravel, sharp sand and perlite. Were going to plant 'Barbara karst' which is apparently hardy down to -2/3c and fleece during frosts... Well see...
Yes it's done very well. This is a picture from today. Last year it flowered til october but this year the wind blew off all the bracts a couple of weeks ago. It was a mild winter down here, only a few frosts which we pre-empted with fleece. It's beautiful in flower
Whoa! Mate that's amazing! I've just read through the thread and had to sign up and comment. I've been after these for years and missed out last summer having heard Tesco's sold them, but this year I got lucky and spotted them in Tesco's before they sold out. I'm in Essex (Basildon), so possibly just a bit colder than Brighton? I've been researching wondering what to do over the winter. Ideally I'd like to do what you've done there and have them trained up a wall, but a little nervous about losing them. I'd be happy to have sheet of polythene over them all winter if necessary and straw all around the roots/pot. What do you reckon - do you think that might work? Cheers in advance. Dave.
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Fair point... My wife is Maltese so bougainvillea reminds us of Malta and happy times in the sun. We love them. Also, we like a challenge and want to know if it's possible for them to grow here.
You'll just have to "suck it and see" but grow a good clematis like Etoile Violette clematis and you'll get the "covered in purple" effect. Lots of lovely rich pink ones too that flower for months.
Wow, they look lovely. I have planted a clematis but I don't know the type to be honest. If the bougainvillea doesn't take, I'll plant one of those. Thank you!
Yes, true, it is best to grow something that you know will survive a cold winter and clematis are very attractive in the right place. I am lucky to be able to grow both although for me the bougainvillea is easier to grow. I don't feed the bougainvillea, just snip off any shoots that grow too tall, so it looks bushier. The plant flowers for about 9 months of the year and because it is in the cold GH it needs no protection from wind, rain or frost. Incidentally we bought the plant at the local GC at a cost of around £10.00, it was in a 7 inch pot and this was about 3 years ago, so you can see how vigorously they grow in the right conditions.
If you want to grow the type of plants that you and your wife have seen in Malta, have you thought about buying a small greenhouse Barney?
I was really surprised how vigorously it grew. We bought a cheap GC one too and I recon it doubled its size in the last few weeks of summer. It dropped its flowers when it started to get wet but was still happy and lush. It only started to drop it's leaves when the frosts arrived. So if it bounces back and if I don't miss a frost I'm hopeful the conditions are good.
We do have a lean to green house but it's round the other side of the house and we wouldn't be able to see the plant from the house unfortunately. We're hoping for a flowering climber to be the centre piece of the garden visible from the house. I'm sure a clematis would be better suited but let's see what the spring brings!
Living in Bournemouth with perhaps a similar climate to yours, I'd be interested to know if your bougainvillea has survived the last couple of winters? If not, I wonder if they can just be grown outdoors as annuals? I agree, clematis may be an alternative but there is something special about the bougainvillea, isn't there?
Cheers
Calum