Bougainvillea glabra

Plant Characteristics

Habit		vine-climber
Lifespan:	⌛	perennial
Origin:	✈	Brazil

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	sun
Water:	◍	dry
Features:	✓	evergreen, flowers
Flower features:	❀	red

Scientific Names

Nyctaginaceae >

Bougainvillea >

glabra >

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Paper Flower (Bougainvillea glabra), also known as lesser bougainvillea, is the most common species used for bonsai. It has shiny green, slightly hairy leaves and magenta colored bracts.

Bougainvillea, a native of Brazil is an evergreen, climbing woody vine. Tiny white flowers usually appear in clusters surrounded by colorful papery bracts, hence the name paper flower. Single and double flower forms are available. The woody trunk tends to be twisted and the thin stem have sharp thorns and dark green leaves. Bougainvilleas can be easily grown as a hedge, an arch or a tree on the ground and in pots. Bougainvilleas available in a variety of species, is ideal for bonsai.

Read about Bougainvillea glabra in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Bougainvillea glabra, Choisy. Grows 10 and more ft. high and wide, when planted in the ground and allowed to have its way; glabrous: lvs. ovate and acuminate, glabrous and bright green: bracts cordate-ovate, bright rosy red, distinctly veined. Brazil.—Free-flowering and handsome; often grown in pots and kept dwarf. Var. Sanderiana, Hort. Very floriferous, blooming even in very small pots.—A very worthy plant both for pot culture or as a shrub or climber. Often blooms when 1 ft. high, but reaches a height of 10-20 ft. Var. Cypheri, Hort. A much larger and finer plant than the type; the large and bright-colored deep rose bracts are freely produced in long plumose clusters on all the principal growths, and are more highly colored than those of the var. Sanderiana. It may be treated the same as var. Sanderiana as to cult. It is an acquisition as a decorative plant. Var. variegata, Hort. Lvs. prettily variegated with creamy white; useful as a neat and quick-growing foliage plant for summer bedding. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Cultivation

Bougainvillea may be grown from root cuttings and branch cuttings. Cuttings can propagate plants easily. Cuttings should be planted in a shady area until they form roots. The shoots, a few inches in length, can be replanted in sandy soil with bottom heat and moisture. Half-ripened or old woodcuttings in six to twelve inch lengths may be rooted April to June. Bougainvillea does best in dry conditions. They need full sunlight, warm weather and well drained soil to flower well.

Gallery

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  Flowers.

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References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

• w:Bougainvillea glabra. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Bougainvillea glabra QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)