Bougainvillea

The bougainvillea plant is a representative of the Niktaginov family. Brazil is considered the homeland of an ornamental bush, but representatives of the genus are common in other South American countries. There, thermophilic bougainvilleas can bloom throughout the year. Due to their high unpretentiousness, these beautiful shrubs (less often - small trees or lianas) grow along the roads, most often on the slopes, settle on stones and rocks. Species with climbing shoots can decorate the walls of houses. The average height of most species in their natural environment reaches 5 m.

Description of bougainvillea

The foliage of climbing bougainvillea shrubs has pointed tips and is painted in a bright shade of green. There are also variegated hybrids. The shoots of the plant resemble flexible whips. They are covered with sparse, but rather sharp, spiny holds growing in the leaf axils. It is they who allow the shoots to stay on the supports. The bushes are fast growing, and their shoots are constantly striving upward.

It is difficult not to keep your eyes on a flowering bougainvillea plant. Although the true flowers of bougainvillea are subtle, they are framed by bright, most often purple, larger bracts. This gives the shrub an unusually decorative look during the flowering period.

In addition to visual appeal, plants of this genus are useful. They purify the air of harmful impurities, and are also widely used by traditional healers from South America to treat stomach disorders, coughs and even in the fight against diabetes.

The shrub got its name in honor of the famous French traveler L.A. de Bougainville, who introduced the Europeans to this plant. Sometimes the bush is also called "paper tree" - this is due to the texture of its thin and graceful dry bracts. This beautiful shrub is widely used for landscaping gardens and streets in warm countries. But, like many other tropical plants, bougainvillea gradually began to be grown as a home flower. For indoor keeping, special hybrid varieties of this culture are best suited.

Brief rules for growing bougainvillea

The table provides a summary of the rules for caring for bougainvillea at home.

Home bougainvillea care

In the native tropics, the shrub does not have a dormant period: bougainvillea is constantly developing and blooming incessantly. The plant is very thermophilic. The bush is able to survive a drop in temperature only up to 5 degrees. Greater cold can kill him. At the same time, bougainvillea is often grown in the subtropics, for example, in the Caucasus. There, for the period of cooling, the bushes are covered, as well as curly roses that do not tolerate severe cold.

In middle latitudes, it will not be possible to preserve the plant in this way, so bougainvillea can only be successfully grown indoors - in a greenhouse, greenhouse or at home. Tub cultivation is also suitable - in this case, the flower can be moved to the garden for the summer.

Bougainvillea requires a lot of light and a lot of space to develop normally. Because of this, in the limited living conditions, the rhythm of life of a tropical beauty changes significantly. Without sufficient lighting and in cramped conditions, indoor bougainvillea specimens do not bloom all year round and have an obvious dormant period during the winter months. But, if you create conditions for the bush that are close to natural, it will be able to bloom more often.

Lighting

They try to place the container with bougainvillea in the most illuminated place. Usually windows with a south or west direction are suitable for this. Direct rays should shine on the plant for at least 5 hours a day: unlike many plants, the bush will not need shading.

Lack of lighting affects the appearance of bougainvillea. In partial shade, the perianths may have a paler color, and when placed in too deep shade, flowering will not occur at all. At the same time, the stems will begin to stretch, and the color of the leaves will fade.

Temperature

The room where bougainvillea grows should be regularly ventilated. But the container with the plant should not be located in the path of the air flow. In summer, the pot can be taken out to the street, balcony or veranda. The place for the flower should be safely sheltered from strong winds and rains. In winter, the bush can be kept in a closed and light loggia, where it keeps at least 10 degrees.

At the same time, it is not recommended to transfer the container with bougainvillea unnecessarily, especially if the plant is blooming. Bougainvillea badly perceives not only the movement of the container to another place, but even the rotation of the pot. The rearrangement becomes stressful for the bush, especially if the conditions of detention after it do not change for the better. Dropping leaves and buds can be a response to this action.In such a situation, the plant should be placed in a more familiar and suitable corner for it. After some time, the bush will get used to the new conditions, and fresh leaves will replace the fallen leaves.

In the warm season, bougainvillea is kept at a temperature of about 20-25 degrees. The dormant period of bougainvillea should be kept cool - from 12 to 16 degrees. It is these conditions that allow the bush to lay many flower buds. After the end of wintering, the bush will begin to bloom luxuriantly. The main thing is not to put the plant pot on a blown cold window sill. Drafts can lead to root problems.

If you cannot create the conditions necessary for rest, and the bush hibernates in the warmth, it is necessary to compensate the plant for the lack of light. Daylight hours for bougainvillea should be about 12 hours, so the bush is illuminated with a lamp. The dormant period in such conditions will not come, and the bush can bloom again. But this wave of flowering will be rather weak, and will also weaken the main, spring-summer wave.

Watering

During the period of intensive development - in spring and summer - bougainvillea should be watered more often. The soil in the pot should remain slightly damp at all times, but not damp. You can water the bush when the soil in the pot begins to dry out. In the case of abundant soil moisture, 1-2 waterings per week will be enough. In this case, water must completely saturate the soil ball and come out of the drainage holes.

It should be remembered that in nature, bougainvillea prefer rather dry and stony soils, so they negatively perceive excess moisture and stagnant water in the pot. To prevent the development of diseases, the excess liquid from the sump should be poured out.

Starting in autumn, they try to gradually reduce watering. This will help the bush prepare for the resting period. At this time, the plant is watered much less often, but they try to prevent the soil coma from drying out. To maintain the life of the bush, it will be enough to water it once every 2-3 weeks. Moreover, the warmer it will be in the room, the more often the soil should be moistened.

If bougainvillea has dropped its foliage during wintering, watering is stopped until the bush resumes growth.

Humidity level

Bougainvillea prefers a relatively high air humidity and needs systematic spraying. But during flowering, you should not direct a stream of water to the plant itself, you can only irrigate the air next to it. Water droplets should not fall on the bracts. While the bush is not blooming, you can spray it more vigorously, trying to wet both the outer and inner sides of the leaves.

If spraying with a spray bottle does not work, you can increase the humidity in other ways. An open vessel with water is placed next to the bush or the pot is placed on a tray filled with wet pebbles. The bottom of the container must not touch the water.

For moistening, as well as for watering bougainvillea, you should use extremely soft water that has been settled for several days. Filtered or boiled water, as well as rainwater, is also suitable.

Capacity selection

A moderately cramped but not small pot is suitable for growing bougainvillea. When transplanting, it should only be a couple of cm larger than the diameter of the previous container or the root system of the flower itself, together with the soil lump. Excessively spacious pots will lead to the fact that the bush begins to form roots and leaves, and will bloom only after it has completely filled the volume. In addition, such a planting can be bad for the health of the bush. Bougainvillea roots are thin enough and develop free space in the ground at a slow pace, so stagnant water in the soil can destroy the flower.

Before filling the container with soil, drainage should be laid on its bottom with a layer of up to 4 cm.In this capacity, pebbles, foam plastic, expanded clay, brick debris, etc.can be used.

The soil

For bougainvillea, universal substrates with a slightly acidic reaction are well suited, but you can also grow a bush in soil prepared by yourself.It should be lightweight and highly conductive. Coarse sand, humus, as well as double pieces of turf and leafy soil can be used to obtain a suitable mixture. For loosening, vermiculite is added to the soil, as well as a little wood ash. The addition of charcoal will help protect plants from fungal infections. Chalk is added to too acidic soil. The resulting soil or its components should be disinfected separately: spilled with boiling water, steamed or treated with potassium permanganate. After that, the earth should dry out.

Top dressing

Regular feeding will help the bougainvillea bloom more luxuriantly and vividly. They begin to feed the plant in spring and finish in the middle of autumn. For a shrub, a standard composition for flowering species, including potassium, phosphorus and iron, is suitable. These elements contribute to the formation of buds and the profusion of flowering. Top dressing is carried out only by root method once every 2 weeks in a dosage reduced by half.

Excess nitrogen in the soil should be avoided, otherwise the bush will have more leaves than flowers. Sometimes an excess of this element leads to a complete lack of flowering. When transplanting, bone meal can be added to the substrate as a slow-release phosphorus fertilizer. During the dormant period, fertilizers are not applied.

Transfer

In the spring, after the end of the dormant period, bougainvillea enters a phase of active growth. The bush begins to form new shoots and leaves, as well as develop a root system. If necessary, its transplant is carried out at this time. It is important to complete all procedures before flowering - during this period, the bush is not disturbed.

The growth rate of young bougainvillea is very high. In a spacious greenhouse, such a plant can grow by about 3 m per year. Moreover, the larger the pot for the bush, the longer its shoots will be. In a tighter container, the size of the branches will be more compact, the growth rate of the aerial part will slow down, but the flowering will become much more magnificent.

Young bushes need more frequent, annual transplants. During this period, they manage to deplete the soil in the pot and need to replace it. Older specimens are moved 3-5 times less often when their roots begin to look through the drainage holes. Bougainvillea does not tolerate a transplant, is ill for a long time and often flies around. Flowering may be delayed. The less disturbing the roots of a flower during transplantation, the easier it will take root in a new pot.

The bush is transferred to a new place along with the soil clod, and the voids are filled with fresh soil without compacting it. The degree of deepening of the root collar after movement should remain the same. After the end of the procedure, the plant should be placed in partial shade. In a few days, when the flower has settled a little in the new pot, it can be returned to its original place. Top dressing is then suspended for about 2-3 weeks.

The abundance of flowering significantly makes bougainvillea shoots heavier, therefore it is recommended to maintain them. The bush support can be made of bamboo or a wire frame or brace. Younger and lighter specimens will need a little wire support. For this, a piece of wire is bent in half, folded at an angle and placed in the ground next to the trunk of the plant.

Bloom

The brightness and showiness of flowering, as well as its duration, is one of the main features of bougainvillea, which attracts gardeners from different countries. Indoors, the buds begin to bloom in May, giving the bush an incredibly colorful look. Often, foliage is completely hidden behind the bright bracts and small flowers of the plant. The shape and color of the bracts directly depends on the bougainvillea variety. They can be pink, purple, lilac and violet, golden orange, and white. There are also two-tone options. In some varieties, the leaves of the bracts are arranged in rows, creating a terry effect.Their shape can be triangular or heart-shaped, and sometimes resembles an arrow. The flowers themselves are small in size and light cream in color. They do not last long, withering and falling off soon after emergence. Bracts retain their attractive appearance for much longer, sometimes they stay on the bush for more than six months.

Properly cared for, home bougainvillea can bloom for up to 7 months in a row - from May to mid-autumn. To create the most decorative composition in one pot, you can plant two plants that differ in the color of the bracts. As they grow, their shoots are woven together. As a result, a variegated bicolor plant will bloom in the pot during the flowering period. To obtain an elegant multicolored bush, grafts are also used or a variety with variegated bracts or foliage is initially chosen.

Pruning

Due to its rapid growth, bougainvillea should be pruned regularly. This procedure contributes to the formation of a beautiful crown, and also has a positive effect on bud formation. During the year, the bush should be cut several times - in spring, summer and autumn.

In spring, sanitary pruning is carried out. All old and dry, as well as weak or damaged shoots are removed from the plant. In summer, faded and wilted inflorescences are pruned. Autumn pruning is carried out at the end of flowering. When the bracts wilt, fresh shoots are shortened by about a third, leaving about 6-8 buds on each branch. Shoots growing in the wrong direction or thickening the bush should be removed from the base. The main branches of bougainvillea, which are over 3 years old, are not touched - pruning them will not bring practical benefits, but will significantly weaken the plant.

Crown formation is also carried out in the fall, before the bush sinks into a dormant state. Bougainvillea often give the shape of a branched bush with several trunks. Liana-like shoots of the plant are used for strengthening on figured supports, giving them various shapes.

The main task of the grower is not to overdo it with pruning the bougainvillea bush. The buds of the current season play an important role in the development of the plant. It is important to keep the required number of kidneys on them, because buds on old shoots rarely wake up. By cutting off excess young branches, you can get a bush without new growth.

If they want to make the bougainvillea bush ampelous, the tops of the branches are not cut off. Only lateral shoots are subject to pruning.

Bonsai formation

Bougainvillea can also make a miniature bonsai tree. It will have one trunk diverging into branches. To get a similar copy, you should trim according to certain rules. In the first years of such procedures, the plant most likely will not bloom. The main task during this period is to try to form a thickened trunk of the climbing bush, as well as the base of the future crown.

For formation, use a bougainvillea bush at least 2 years old. At the first stage in the spring, it is cut so that only one trunk with 2-4 main branches remains. The dimensions of the trunk should be about 17 cm, and the thickness should be up to 3 cm. In this form, the bougainvillea is tried to be preserved until the trunk is completely stiff. Only a sufficiently strong trunk will be able to withstand the shoots located on top. When this happens, the upper branches are cut to a hemp and wait for the fresh growth to appear. The growth of new shoots must be controlled. Excessively long ones are pinched or trimmed, thickeners are removed, and incorrectly directed ones are corrected.

The bush with the left branches should be transplanted into a wide, but shallow pot, in which the finished bonsai will be located. In this case, the roots of the plant should be cut by about a third (but not more). The plant must be fixed in the container with wire so that it does not fall. With the help of wire, you can also give a bush or individual shoots a certain direction. When the branches begin to grow stiff, the supports are removed. It is important to do this before the wire begins to grow into the bark.Before the beginning of the dormant period, only too long branches can be removed: at this time, the bush forms flower buds on young shoots, so they should not be touched. Thanks to this, in the spring such a tree will bloom beautifully.

When forming a future mini-tree, it is worth remembering that bougainvillea shoots naturally tend upward, so you should not direct them in the opposite direction. For healthy growth, the branches should be pointing upward or slightly to the side.

If the shoot of such a bonsai is bare, a fresh cutting can be grafted onto it. To do this, a young twig is selected from the crown and cut off. Leaves are carefully removed from the cutting, trying not to hurt the buds. On a bare branch, a grafting site is selected and a hole is made in it along the diameter of the cutting with a drill with a suitable size drill. A prepared piece is placed in it so that the kidneys are not damaged, and then fixed with special means for inoculation: threads and glue. After such an operation, it is necessary to look after the bush especially carefully, monitor the watering regime and try not to move the bush or even rotate the pot. Any manipulation can disrupt the position of the branches.

Vaccination of other varieties

In addition to your own cuttings, shoots of other varieties can also be grafted onto bougainvillea. Most often, twigs of bushes with a different color of the bracts are used for this. Such actions will allow you to get a multi-colored bush from one plant.

In spring or summer, a shallow incision is made on the side of the trunk on the rootstock bush. It is important to use a sharp and sterile instrument. With his help, a stalk is cut from a scion bush and its tip is sharpened so that it fits better to the trunk. It is installed in the place of the incision and fixed with the help of special equipment. For example, you can use an adhesive plaster (or a thick thread folded several times) and medical glue (or garden var). The graft is glued to the incision and secured with a plaster or thread. From above, you can dust the vaccination site with a disinfectant (Fitosporin) for prophylaxis. In this form, the bush should spend about several months, after which the plaster can be removed.

Bougainvillea breeding methods

For propagation of home bougainvillea, three main methods are used: cuttings and air layers, as well as plant seeds.

Cuttings

Cutting is considered the easiest and most reliable way to propagate bougainvillea. Cuttings are harvested in summer, in June, using partially woody shoots for this. Usually, branches that violate the look of the bush are used in this capacity. The foliage is removed from the lower part of the cuttings, and the places of the cuts are treated with coal powder and a root formation stimulator.

Prepared cuttings are planted in a peat-sandy substrate, placing them in individual cups. Cover the seedlings with a bag or jar on top. The soil must be kept moist. In this case, the room should keep at least +25. It is recommended to additionally use the bottom heating. This greatly stimulates rooting. The cuttings should be kept in a bright place, but not in direct light. Supplementary lighting can be used. The seedlings are regularly ventilated and, if necessary, watered. After 1.5-2 months, when the stalk begins to grow, the shelter can be removed, gradually accustoming young plants to new conditions. Some varieties may take longer to root.

Rooted seedlings are moved into pots up to 8 cm in diameter.The same soil is laid in them as for adult bougainvilleas. Future bushes should be moved very carefully: the root system during this period is particularly fragile. You should not pull the seedling by the trunk - it is easier to cut the glass. A drainage layer is laid at the bottom of the new pot.

After transplanting, the cuttings should be in a cooler (up to 20 degrees) and very bright place. When fresh shoots have reached 5 cm in length, they should be pinched. When the pot becomes small for the seedling, it is moved into a container with a diameter of up to 12 cm.In small containers, it is especially important to monitor the soil moisture: young plants need a lot of moisture, but overflow should not be allowed. Flowering should occur a few months after rooting.

Sometimes cuttings of bougainvillea are carried out in early spring. For this, shoots with 2-3 buds are used. The lower leaves are removed from them, and the upper ones are shortened by half. This will help the seedling retain moisture. After this, the segment is kept for a day in a glass with a solution of a root formation stimulator. In the future, it is rooted according to the same principle as in the summer.

To obtain a copy of bougainvillea, you can also use cuttings brought from rest. But it is not allowed to take out planting material in every country, in addition, the resulting cutting will belong to a large open field shrub. At home, its size will be smaller, but such a plant will still have to be cut more often. It is better to give preference to purchased undersized hybrids, more suitable for apartments.

Propagation by air layers

Unlike cuttings, bougainvillea can be propagated by air layers throughout the year. A medium-sized container with moist soil is placed next to the bush. A fresh, non-lignified shoot is selected on the plant and several cuts are made on it in the place where the roots should appear. After that, it is bent to a new container so that the place of the incision is close to the ground, lightly sprinkled and fixed, pinning it to the ground. When the cuttings start up roots, it can be separated from the main bush and transplanted to a permanent place.

Growing from seeds

The main difficulty in growing bougainvillea from seed is obtaining seed. In nature, the bushes are pollinated by tiny hummingbirds, occasionally (but less successfully) by hawk moths, so it will not work to carry out such pollination at home. Vine flowers are too small for conventional artificial pollination. Bush seeds can be sold in stores, but you should know that their germination will take a lot of time, and varietal characteristics may not be preserved.

Sowing is carried out from late February to mid-spring. The seeds are kept in a growth stimulant solution for a couple of hours, and then placed in the ground. It can include sand, peat, and leafy soil, but any growing medium will work for flower seedlings. The sowing depth is 0.5 cm, while a distance of 2-3 cm is maintained between the seeds. After sowing, the container should be covered with a lid, glass or bag. If the room keeps at least 26 degrees, germination will accelerate, but for reliability, bottom heating can be used. In this case, the soil temperature should be about 30 degrees. Crops are regularly ventilated, if necessary - watered. In order not to erode the soil, a spray bottle is used for watering. The water should be well settled and slightly warm. Another important condition is light. If the room is not light enough, the crops are illuminated with a phytolamp. You can also use a fluorescent lamp.

After sowing, be patient. Sprouts appear only after 2-3 months. When they hatch, the cover can be removed. Too thickened seedlings dive in separate containers when they have 2-3 full-fledged leaves. A drainage layer is laid on the bottom of the new pot. The soil for growing seedlings after this can have the same composition as for adult bushes. Caring for them is also no different.

Why bougainvillea doesn't bloom

If a home copy of bougainvillea does not bloom in due time, the reasons should be sought in the conditions of keeping the bush:

• The absence of a dormant period can significantly affect the abundance of flowering.
• The whole year the bush was in an insufficiently lit place.
• The summer was too cool and overcast, and the flower lacked light and warmth.
• The bush was overfed with nitrogen.
• Too large a pot was chosen for the plant, and the roots did not have time to fill it.

If the above mistakes have not been made, and the bush is not sick with anything, you can try to stimulate its flowering.Top dressing is temporarily stopped, foliage is moistened less often, and the number of irrigations is also reduced. In such conditions, bougainvillea should remain until the formation of flower buds. After that, they gradually return to the usual regime of watering and feeding (within the recommended dosage).

Bougainvillea diseases and pests

Bougainvillea has good immunity from nature and is weakly susceptible to diseases and pests. Only systematic improper care can weaken the health of a plant.

Falling leaves

Leaves may fall off even in completely healthy plants before the resting period begins. The same applies to aging plates. You should be concerned if the leaves fall off en masse at other times. Most often, this phenomenon is caused by a cold draft or a change in the position of the pot. Leaves can also fall off due to overflow combined with excessive coolness and low light, as well as dry soil in extreme heat. The plant care regime should be adjusted. Falling leaf plates can also be a sign of the development of an infectious disease.

The reason for dropping foliage is often "moving" from the house to the garden and vice versa, as well as simply moving between windows, especially in a darker place. A freshly acquired plant can also experience similar stress. Such bougainvillea should create conditions suitable for growth as soon as possible. A couple of weeks after transferring to the house, the purchased plant should be transplanted into fresh soil. After acclimatization, the bush will begin to release fresh leaves and bloom.

Fading foliage

If the young leaves of the bush began to fade and lose their bright green color, the cause may be chlorosis. It affects specimens grown in a substrate lacking iron, magnesium and other trace elements necessary for a flower. The assimilation of these substances is usually affected by a change in the acidity of the soil: it becomes too low or too high. Soils with a pH of about 5.5-6 are best suited for growing bougainvillea. If it is normal, spraying with an iron chelate solution or appropriate feeding will help to cure the bush.

In addition to the loss of color, the lack of nutrients also provokes a decrease in the size of young leaves.

Spots on the leaves

If light soft spots appear on the leaves - mold, this indicates frequent stagnation of water in the soil, as well as insufficient air movement in the room and an excessive level of its humidity. The number of airings should be increased, and watering should be reduced. The affected leaves are carefully removed to prevent further development of the disease.

If the spots on the leaves are brown and dryish, the flower received burns due to spraying on a sunny day.

Leaves turn yellow and fly around

Yellowing can be caused by overflow: in this case, the substrate sours, and the flow of oxygen to the roots is reduced. Most often this happens in the winter. The number of irrigations should be reduced, the amount of water should be reduced, and spraying and feeding should be stopped. For some time after this, the flower can spend in rest mode.

Lethargy of the plant

The stuck bougainvillea should be carefully examined. If the shoots of the bush have withered, but there are no signs of diseases or pests, the plant must be treated with a growth stimulant. Then the bush is placed under the bag and moved to the shade for about 3 days. The bag is periodically removed for airing.

Suspension of development

The slowdown in growth rates or its complete cessation is due to the fact that the bush is in a cramped pot that does not contain its root system. The bougainvillea should be transplanted into a larger pot. The reason for the growth retardation is sometimes excessively heavy soil and lack of drainage. The bush should be transplanted into a more suitable soil for it.

Old specimens of a plant that are 10 or more years old can also stop growing. Such bushes completely woody and do not form young shoots and inflorescences. In this case, the plant should be propagated to obtain a new flower from it. At the same time, the bushes grown in greenhouses age and woody more slowly.

Decay of roots

By recognizing the signs of root rot in a timely manner, bougainvillea can be cured. The plant is pulled out of the pot and the soil is cleaned from its roots. In order not to damage them, you can first soak the soil ball in water. All affected or broken areas are removed. After that, the roots are kept in a Fitosporin solution. It is also used to spray foliage. All cuts are treated with crushed coal or wood ash, and then the bush is transplanted into fresh soil. The watering mode should then be adjusted.

Pests

Sometimes pests that feed on the sap of the plant can settle on bougainvillea. A spider web on yellowing foliage is considered a sign of the appearance of a spider mite. If the foliage has faded and began to curl, and sticky specks of plaque appear on the surface, this is aphid. A characteristic light bloom indicates the presence of a mealybug. If scaly insects appear on the underside of the leaf blades, and the leaves themselves are covered with yellow spots, the bush is affected by the scabbard.

You can get rid of a small number of pests by using folk remedies. The bush is washed under a warm stream of water, after covering the ground in a pot, the foliage is treated with infusions of garlic, wood ash or soapy water. A day after treatment, it is necessary to rinse the leaves with clean water. The procedure is repeated up to 4 times with weekly breaks. You can also use a cotton swab soaked in methyl alcohol to remove the scale and scale insects.

In the case of large lesions, an insecticide designed to control a specific insect will help. It is used strictly according to the instructions, most often in several stages with a break.

Types and varieties of bougainvillea with photos and names

Of the 15 types of bougainvillea, only three are suitable for home cultivation. All these plants live in Brazil:

• Naked (smooth) - liana with a branching bare stem up to 5 m high. The curly stems of Bougainvillea glabra are complemented by oval foliage and small sparse thorns. The foliage has a glossy sheen and an oval shape. Bracts can have a variety of colors. Bushes of this species develop more slowly than others.
• Peruvian - the most hardy species, capable of blooming twice a season (usually in between periods of drought). Stems are weakly branching, there is no pubescence on long leaves. The bracts of Bougainvillea peruviana are purple or pink and may be slightly wrinkled.
• Wonderful (Wonderful) - fast-growing liana or shrub up to 12 m tall. Bougainvillea spectabilis has rare curved spines on the stems. The oval foliage is slightly pubescent. Bracts can have different colors, but most often they are reddish-pink or lilac.

On their basis, special low-growing bougainvillea hybrids were developed, suitable for decorative cultivation. The number of such varieties reaches several hundred and sometimes it is quite difficult to determine the origin of each of them. Such plants can have stipules of one or several colors at once, variegated or ordinary foliage, as well as varying degrees of "terry". Thorns on their shoots are practically absent, or are very small and harmless.

Bougainvillea Double Pink

Such a hybrid retains the brightness of the color throughout the entire flowering. Bougainvillea Double Pink has pink stipules arranged in several rows. As they approach the base, their color becomes greenish.

Bougainvillea Thai Gold

The color of the stipules of this variety changes as it develops. In Bougainvillea Thai Gold, at the beginning of flowering, they have a golden color, cast orange. As they wither, they turn pink.

Bougainvillea Alexandra

This bougainvillea variety is most commonly used to make bonsai. It easily tolerates cropping and serves to form unusual compositions. Bougainvillea Alexandra is distinguished by its warmth. Its flowers are painted white. Small inflorescences-brushes are formed from them. Each inflorescence includes 2-3 flowers. Bracts have a bright lilac color.