Botanical Name: Bougainvillea spp.
Common Names: Bougainvillea, Paper Flower, Bougainvillea Vine

📌 Product Description

Bougainvillea is a vibrant, fast-growing flowering climber renowned for its spectacular display of brightly coloured bracts in shades of pink, purple, red, orange, white, and yellow. The colourful “flowers” are actually papery bracts that surround small white true flowers, creating long-lasting seasonal impact.

This hardy, sun-loving plant thrives in warm South African climates and delivers exceptional colour throughout spring and summer, often flowering intermittently into autumn in frost-free regions. It can be trained as a climber, pruned into a hedge, shaped as a shrub, or grown in large containers.

Drought tolerant once established and highly adaptable, Bougainvillea is ideal for adding bold colour to gardens, walls, patios, and boundary fences.

📏 Size When Fully Grown

Height: 3 – 8 m (as a climber; can be maintained smaller with pruning)
Spread: 2 – 4 m
Growth Habit: Vigorous climbing shrub with thorny stems
Growth Rate: Fast

🌱 Best Growing Conditions

Light: Full sun (essential for abundant flowering)
Soil: Well-draining sandy or loamy soil
Water:

• Water regularly during establishment
• Allow soil to dry between watering
• Drought tolerant once established
• Avoid overwatering, which reduces flowering

Feeding: Use a fertiliser higher in potassium during spring and summer to promote flowering.

Maintenance:

• Prune after flowering to maintain shape
• Can be trained onto trellises, walls, or pergolas
• Wear gloves when handling due to thorns
• Protect from heavy frost

🌦️ Planting & Growing Season (South Africa)

Best Planting Time: Spring to early summer
Active Growth: Spring and summer
Flowering Season: Spring through summer (extended in warm regions)
Climate Suitability: Ideal for warm, frost-free and coastal regions; suitable inland with frost protection
Frost Tolerance: Sensitive to heavy frost; may die back but often regrows in spring

🌼 Additional Benefits

• Spectacular long-lasting colour
• Drought tolerant once established
• Fast-growing screening option
• Excellent heat tolerance
• Suitable for containers and espalier training

🌿 Ideal Uses

✔ Wall or fence climber
✔ Pergola coverage
✔ Boundary screening
✔ Feature container plant
✔ Mediterranean and tropical-style gardens