Charlie Pridham wrote:

"'Mike'" wrote in message
...
Last year we built a veranda over the patio. This went right across the
back
of the house to the boundary. Our neighbour has very kindly continued the
overhead to his building so we now have a South facing very warm very
sunny
area which we wish to plant a Bougainvillea in and train over the back of
the house and onto the front of the veranda, in a manner somewhat similar
to
the Chalets in the Sandals Complex I saw a short while ago when I was in
St
Lucia.

Question. With a maximum frost of about 2 degrees, if the roots are well
under the veranda, would what we wish to do be possible?

We are not far from Ventnor Botanical Gardens here on the Isle of Wight,
about 5 miles, who have all sorts of exotic plants out doors

Many thanks in anticipation.

Mike


Yes it's possible, choose varieties based on B. spectibilis (generally the
strong reds and purples) avoid variegated plants and if possible find a
supplier who knows what they are talking about.
Plant as close to the wall as possible and water when in growth, the plant
will go dormant in winter and lose its leaves at which time it needs to be
as dry as possible. Hence the reason for planting in the dry.
I know of two outdoor plants in Cornwall and one in Torbay (I expect there
are more I am unaware of!)
We are in Cornwall, but we've never dared to expose our Bougainvillea to
the outside weatheer during the winter. Where in Cornwall is the out
door plant?