Our bougainvillea is a weird fuschia color (in the other corner, our fuschia is red and blue).
Our first year here we were very conservative about pruning. The result? The bougainvillea adopted a policy of world domination, throwing off wild tangles of shoots and branches.
We thought the frost had killed the monster. We picked out a new color, in a frost-resistant variety. We were reconciled to the idea of something new.
But the frost hadn't driven the stake through the bougainvillia's heart. New shoots sprouted from the root crown in early April. We chopped away the old dead branches and started over. That worked out for the best.
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Dennis, the gardener at the Ritz-Carlton San Francisco, has a beautiful, well trained bougainvillea growing in his courtyard. He patiently answered my questions about pruning.
Today our ambitious friend is kept under tight control, and looks better for it.
Foreground: containers of Meyer lemon, lemon balm, and pineapple sage. |
Here's that first frost bit again.
Here's the third frost bit.
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