Beautiful Bougainvillea

Beautiful Bougainvillea – In our home town of Hanapepe Kauai we are surrounded by cascading Bougainvillea. As you come into the artist enclave of Hanapepe you see the colorful plants in of shades of red, orange, purple, pink and white hanging from above, in planters by the shops and in paintings and photographs of the local artists.

An 18th century French botanist Philibert Commerson discovered the colorful plant along the coast of Brazil when sailing with his friend Louis A. de Bougainville a French Canada explorer. In the time of exploration it was common for a trade vessel to have scientist on board to document findings and bring back to the homeland new species of flora and fauna.

Bougainvillea is popular for its colorful flower and its hearty temperament. Bougainvillea will thrive in almost any soil as long as it is well-drained and fertile as evident by the lush plants that hang in route to the entrance of Hanapepe from rock cliffs.

Resorts landscape designers’ plants hedges of Bougainvillea to establish color and function along buildings, walkways and parking lots. Luxury home developers incorporate Bougainvillea into landscape design to bring color and texture to gardens and create a tropical sense of place. Backyard gardeners create trellis to bring bursts of color to patios and decks.

Bougainvillea can be planted in the ground, in decorative pots or in baskets. Soils that work for other plants you grow will be fine for your bougainvillea as long as the medium drains well. Soil should be moist but no standing water. In Hawaii the conditions are perfect for growing beautiful bougainvillea as they love full sun. You can plant them anywhere that gets at least 5 hours a day of full sunlight, with bougainvillea more hours of direct sun is better. Less than 5 hours and the plant may not bloom very well. Your plants will thrive in shade or partial shade, but only have nice green growth with little or no blooms.

ABBY’s TIPS: Bougainvillea can be heavy feeders.
Here are some tips to keep your plants looking like the Sheraton Poipu Beach Bougainvillea.
 Use fertilizer with high phosphorus, micronutrients, as well as additional iron and magnesium
 Slow or timed release fertilizers are acceptable. Make sure you follow the fertilizer label
 Plants grow best with small amounts of nutrients constantly available.
 Do not apply fertilizers to dry soil.
 Do not over fertilize – less is better than more