Overview

Introduce a spectacular splash of color to your landscape with our exquisite red bougainvillea live plant. This vigorous and beautiful shrub is a favorite for its prolific, papery bracts that create a dazzling display, often mistaken for flowers. Perfect for warm climates, bougainvillea can be trained to climb, cascade, or grow as a bushy specimen, making it incredibly versatile for various garden designs. Our plants are approximately 2 to 3 feet tall and arrive in a healthy 3-gallon pot, ready for planting. The ‘Red’ variety is particularly striking, offering a bold and passionate hue that stands out against its deep green foliage. Whether you’re looking to add a focal point, cover a fence, or brighten a patio, this red bougainvillea live plant is an excellent choice for creating a vibrant, low-maintenance, and eye-catching outdoor environment.

Key Benefits

The red bougainvillea live plant offers numerous advantages for both seasoned gardeners and beginners, bringing tropical beauty and ease of care to your home. Its vibrant appearance and robust nature make it a standout choice for various landscaping needs.

• Stunning Visual Appeal: The primary benefit of the red bougainvillea live plant is its breathtaking display of vivid red bracts. These colorful, papery structures surround small, inconspicuous flowers, creating a dramatic and long-lasting show that can transform any garden or patio into a tropical paradise.
• Drought Tolerant: Once established, bougainvillea is remarkably drought-tolerant, making it an ideal choice for xeriscaping or gardens in arid regions. It requires less frequent watering compared to many other flowering plants, conserving water and reducing maintenance.
• Versatile Growth Habits: This plant is incredibly adaptable. It can be grown as a climbing vine, trained over arbors and pergolas, used as a vibrant groundcover, or maintained as a bushy shrub for hedges and container planting. This versatility allows for creative landscaping solutions.
• Low Maintenance: Despite its exotic appearance, bougainvillea is relatively easy to care for. It thrives on neglect, often performing best when not over-watered or over-fertilized. Regular pruning helps maintain its shape and encourages more abundant blooms.
• Attracts Pollinators: While the true flowers are small, the vibrant bracts indirectly attract hummingbirds and other pollinators to your garden, contributing to local biodiversity and creating a lively outdoor space.
• Excellent for Containers: The bougainvillea 3 gallon size is perfect for growing in large pots on patios, balconies, or entryways, allowing you to enjoy its beauty even in limited spaces or to move it indoors during colder months.
• Long Blooming Season: In suitable climates, bougainvillea can bloom almost continuously throughout the year, providing consistent color and beauty over an extended period.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Proper bougainvillea care is essential for ensuring your plant thrives and produces its signature vibrant blooms. These plants are generally resilient but respond well to specific conditions. For optimal growth, bougainvillea requires plenty of sunshine. It thrives in full sun, meaning at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day. Insufficient light will result in fewer blooms and leggy growth. When planting, choose a location with well-draining soil. Bougainvillea prefers slightly acidic to neutral soil (pH 5.5-6.5) and does not tolerate wet feet, which can lead to root rot. If planting in a container, use a good quality potting mix designed for flowering shrubs.

Watering should be done thoroughly but infrequently. Allow the soil to dry out completely between waterings, especially once the plant is established. Overwatering is a common mistake and can inhibit flowering. Fertilize sparingly; bougainvillea prefers leaner soil. A balanced fertilizer with a slightly higher phosphorus content can encourage blooming, but avoid high-nitrogen fertilizers which promote foliage growth over flowers. Pruning is crucial for maintaining shape, size, and promoting continuous blooming. Prune after a flush of blooms to encourage new growth and more flowers. Remove any dead or damaged branches and trim back leggy stems. This helps with overall plant health and appearance. Understanding these bougainvillea growing tips will help you cultivate a magnificent specimen.

Bougainvillea is generally hardy in USDA Zones 9-11. In colder climates, it can be grown as an annual or brought indoors during winter. Protect from frost, as it can damage the plant. Pests are usually not a major issue, but keep an eye out for aphids, mealybugs, or spider mites, especially if the plant is stressed. Treat with insecticidal soap if necessary. By following these guidelines for bougainvillea care, your plant will provide years of stunning color and beauty.

Size & Details

This magnificent red bougainvillea live plant arrives approximately 2 to 3 feet tall, measured from the base of the pot to the top of the plant. It is securely rooted and shipped in a sturdy 3-gallon nursery pot, providing ample space for its root system to develop before transplanting. The plant is well-established and ready for immediate placement in your garden or a larger decorative container. Bougainvillea is known for its moderate to fast growth rate, and with proper care, it can quickly establish itself and begin producing its vibrant red bracts. While some plants may not have flowers upon arrival due to shipping stress or seasonal timing, they are mature enough to bloom beautifully once settled in their new environment. The bougainvillea 3 gallon size is an ideal starting point for a substantial garden feature.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big does this plant get? A: This red bougainvillea live plant arrives 2-3 feet tall. Depending on growing conditions and pruning, bougainvillea can grow quite large, reaching heights of 10-20 feet or more as a vine, or maintained as a shrub at 3-6 feet tall and wide.
• Q: What size pot does it come in? A: The plant is shipped in a 3-gallon nursery pot, which is suitable for initial planting. For long-term container growing, you will want to transplant it into a larger pot, at least 15-20 gallons, to allow for ample root development.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: Bougainvillea is primarily an outdoor plant, thriving in bright, sunny conditions. In USDA Zones 9-11, it can be grown outdoors year-round. In colder zones, it can be grown in containers and brought indoors during winter or treated as an annual.
• Q: How much sunlight does it need? A: For abundant blooms, the red bougainvillea live plant requires full sun, meaning at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day. The more sun it gets, the more flowers it will produce.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? A: Yes, bougainvillea is considered relatively easy to care for, especially once established. It’s quite drought-tolerant and doesn’t require much fertilization. The main tasks are ensuring enough sunlight and occasional pruning for shape and bloom production. These bougainvillea growing tips are straightforward.
• Q: What condition will it arrive in? A: Your red bougainvillea live plant will arrive well-packaged and healthy. While some leaves may be lost during transit, and it might not have flowers upon arrival, the plant itself will be in good condition, ready to thrive in its new home.
• Q: How long until it blooms? A: Once established in its new environment and given proper care, your bougainvillea should start producing its vibrant red bracts within a few weeks to a couple of months, depending on the season and growing conditions.
• Q: What’s the minimum temperature it can tolerate? A: Bougainvillea is sensitive to frost. It can tolerate temperatures down to about 30°F (-1°C) for short periods, but sustained temperatures below freezing will cause damage or kill the plant.
• Q: Can I train this bougainvillea to climb? A: Absolutely! Bougainvillea is an excellent climbing plant. With support from a trellis, arbor, or wall, and gentle guidance, you can train it to climb and create a spectacular vertical display.
• Q: Is this bougainvillea 3 gallon plant deciduous or evergreen? A: In tropical and subtropical climates (USDA Zones 9-11), bougainvillea is largely evergreen. In areas with mild winters, it may shed some leaves, but it generally retains its foliage year-round.