I have several types in my yard and I notice that all are not created equal.
The most precocious has sabre-thorns and is a prodigious flowerer (purple)
and climber, followed by a white one with similar properties.
The plants with more subtle colours don't seem to be as vigorous and I have
yellow, pink, and orange.
I have planted the vigourous ones in pots with an 8ft stake in the middle up
which these grow, and they are pruned back when they reach the top so they
are forced outwards to give a tubular effect.


"Dave Thompson" wrote in message
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"Anthona" wrote in message
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"Dave Thompson" wrote in message
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"Charles" wrote in message
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On Mon, 22 Aug 2005 23:26:07 GMT, "Anthona" wrote:

I have this hardy bogie that i bought in florida back in march and
still in
the same pot. I cannot replant it in my garden because of seasons here
in
the nyc area. I noticed that while its in full bloom, it needs to be
watered
amost daily...possibly because the roots have no more room to grow in
that
pot? I was hopeing that i could get it into the vine state for the
summer on
my sunny patio and then cut it back in time for the late fall season,
and
start it over again next spring. Has anyone here had experience with
such a
plant under similar conditions? If so, could u tell me how u handle the
situation to your satisfaction? Thank you



NOt sure exactly what you are trying to do, but I have had some in
pots since 1997. they never got to looking like vines. When watered
regurlarly they look a lot better.

Out here where they thrive, Phoenix, they do best when stressed. Meaning
they produce prodigious flowers when baked and ignored. Watering them
produces more green than flower, and you want the opposite. You can
literally get a vine 25 ft tall with nothing but color.
Well, in my case, I have to water it at least every other day so the
'flowers' look alive and it gets about 5-6 hours of sun. Watering it,
does not seem to make me get more green growth. Its almost 6 months since
I brought it home and other than flowering sporadically. . If it gets
too much water ( storm showers included), the flowers wither away. I
still think that confineing such a plant to a pot, even the original one,
curtails the green growth. I would love to get it to 'vine', but now with
fall approaching, does not seem a good idea. I plan on bringing it
indoors at the first sign of frost, and put it into my south sunny window
exposure. Maybe fertilizeing may help it to vine? Of course i'm
referring to next spring.

One thing I've found with pots, especially the original pot, is that
direct sunlight can cook the roots, especially if the pot is black or
thin. I lost a bunch of heirloom tomatos that very way.

Try putting it in a larger pot that's a lighter color and ceramic and
aclimating out of direct sunlight but not shade. Also try a denser
substrate in the pot if the soil is typical all organic soil from a bag.
Bougainvilleas are used to more sand or clay and it will also help retain
water.

You might also consider repotting in a larger plastic container, digging a
hole in an appropriate spot in your yard, and placing the pot in for the
summer. This will also keep roots cooler and allow you to yank the pot in
the winter and put it inside.

But yeah, don't expect a Bougainvillea to go crazy and thrive when it's
potted. They are a big expansive plant. One notable bougainvillea I
remember at ASU grew up the side of a three story building covering all 3
floors about 15 to 18 feet wide. The base was about a foot across.