Hi there, While visiting Palm Springs, I was captured by the beauty of the bouganvilla vine/tree. I was wondering if anyone can tell me if the plant will survive our Vancouver/Coquitlam winters and how to protect them. Also, where is the best place to plant it in the yard. Any other suggestions would be very much appreciated. Thanks!
Bougainvillea like full sun and warm climates with minimal frost. They can recover from frost damage if it is not prolonged and it does not get too cold. You would need to have some place to keep it during the winter if you wanted to atempt groing one as it would not survive outside. Maybe someone from up there has one growing and can provide you more information with growing them in Vancouver.
Thank you, I've scoured a few sites and it appears, they need to be brought in during the winter. I was hoping I could just cover the plant after cutting it back and seeing what happens in the summer. We have other tropical plants that are doing really well, Windmill Palms, Banana groves, etc. Many of the smaller varieties we bring in to our sun room. Since Vancouver is a rainforest climate with some snow during winter, last winter was a long one, so everything had a slow start this summer. I was thinking of burlapping the tree stalks and mulching the bottom to prevent frost damage to the roots. We have a Sun Room but it has electric heat and tends to be very dry during the winter. I have a sheltered alcove/small courtyard in the front of the house, but it doesn't get much sun to heat up the plant, so that won't do. I guess I will try taking it inside during the winter months and hope that it can survive. Apparently, it will go slightly dormant during the winter months here, indoors. We have an unheated garage with large windows all the way around that lets in plenty of sun during the winter, but I am afraid it might be too cold for the plant to survive. I wonder if I insulated the pot and the branches with landscaping fabric or burlap, and stored it in the garage, if that would help. Any other information would be really helpful. We're in Vancouver, Canada. Thank you for your post and any other posts are welcome.
