I have successfully had at least two bougainvillea's in the past, however, I never knew what to do with them in the winter, and to what degree at night they can tolerate. I'm in the midwest (always unpredictable weather) Any suggestions soI can keep them going inside through winter?
How big are they? If it's feasible to bring them indoors in pots, this will be successful. If they're big, you can actually trim them fairly severely, so long as you leave some of this year's growth on them. If they're big and on trellisses, you can disengage them gently, lay them on the ground, and cover them with about 2 feet of straw mulch followed by a burlap sack, and you can pray that you have a mild winter. If they're way too big and not on trellisses, there's another option for wintering them outdoors: you can build boxes around them of EPS (styrofoam insulation sheeting), which is available at Home Depot, and then fill these with mulch, and wrap the whole schmoo in burlap. This works for overwintering outdoor banana trees in Chicago. The main thing is to get them out of the wind, which will ultimately do more damage than straight cold. And wear gloves! My bougainvilleas have all been prickly beyond belief. Oh yeah, you're probably good to about 5 degrees centigrade before they start to get grumpy about being cold. They're technically hardy to -7 centigrade, but I personally wouldn't push it.
Thank you for your reply, I was actually out of town this past week and am trying to catch up on emails. Yes, they are in pots, and not really big, yet. (I know they can get big if taken care of), so I don't want to kill them already. I'm glad to know they can be brought indoors hopefully they're in the right "everything" to be comfortable to keep growing, I'd love that, to have blooming pinks & reds all winter. But, I also like your idea about making a box around them, too. I'll keep that in mind for later on. Thank you Nonniex4