On 24/10/08 15:24, in article , "Tom
Withycombe" wrote:

In message , Sheila
writes
I have given a small Bougainvillea plant to a friend, its about 8" tall, in
a pot, and it was outside all summer, she has taken it indoors, but thinks
its going to be happier outside, I am almost, In fact I am sure that it
should be indoors for winter, but need your expert advice before I go and
read her the riot act! We are in Formby, North West, between Southport and
Liverpool, but don't get fierce costal winds, as protected by sand dunes. We
actually have our own Mini Climate here, snow 8/10 miles away, and not a
sign here, Ian McCaskel (weatherman) once said that Formby had the ideal
climate in the UK!


For what it's worth, I have seen bougainvillaea growing happily and in
great profusion in many places where there is frost.... e.g. on the
lower slopes of Mount Kenya but my feeling is that while it may be able
to take a couple of degrees - say down to -3C - I doubt if it could
withstand regular and prolonged exposure. Otherwise it would probably be
much more widely grown in the UK than is currently the case. Living in
Dorset I have to say that I don't recall seeing any growing in this
relatively mild county. If it's in a pot and it's as small as you say,
there should be no difficulty in whipping it indoors or keeping in a
cool greenhouse should Mr. MacCaskel or colleagues forecast strong east
winds with associated blizzards.

I suspect some of the best advice on this topic may come from Sacha.

Good luck to the plant!

You're very flattering, Tom but I can think of several people who will know
much more about this than me - to name only three, Charlie, Nick and David
Poole. In terms of Southport, I've only ever gardened in the tropics of
Jersey and Devon!

I wouldn't risk it myself and certainly not with such a baby plant. In
parts of Britain some Bougainvilleas will go to around -3C for short periods
and if they're mature plants. But I really wouldn't do that to this one!

IMO, it needs to be in a light, frost-free place for the winter which is not
too hot, either and given minimum watering and very free drainage during
winter.

For the info of the original poster, I asked my husband - he's the
nurseryman, not I - and he said well, she can put it outside but that will
be all she does to it. ;-))
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
(new website online)