Bougainvillea Brilliance in July

  There is no plant in the world, or at least our world, that loves lots of sun and heat and humidity more than the Bougainvillea plant.  And we have them back in stock this week !

Our plants are in 3 gallon containers, supported by a small wooden trellis.  You can easily slide the plant out of it's pot (do not remove the trellis) and plant it in the ground right next to your fence or arbor.

You can then train the plant to cascade along your fencing.

Don't have a fence and only do container gardening? just transplant it to a larger container that will give it room to grow and will provide a base so it will not be top-heavy.

With so many colors and textures to choose from (from the plain green leaf to the gorgeous variegated leaf), Bougs can bring a great splash of color to your garden year round.

Loving sun and not needing much water once established, put in the right place, they are EZ to grow and just need some good fertilizing and trimming once a month to maintain their shape and color.

The cycle of the Boug bloom is about 3 weeks from start to finish for each little flower petal, and what happens is that most starter bushes and vines you get, the blooms are in various stages of blooming, so you must always have color.

Again, fertilizing your plant is essential, also having enough sun exposure, and the biggest factor for your success is moisture....once your plant is established in the ground, it loves to be on the dry side --that causes more blooms !!

A sprinkler or twice a week watering system is not enough to establish a plant..they must be hand watered deeply for at least a week or 2 to help get their root system established.

After a couple of weeks, the part time sprinkler system you have (or hand watering ) will be enough to maintain the plant.

Again, the moisture level is important ! We have so many people who come up to us and ask why their Bougs are not blooming -- turns out, most people are over-watering them, and/or not giving them enough fertilizer, or, they have them in too much shade. 

We love time-release fertilizer, and its perfect for Bougainvillea.    Like to liquid fertilize? That works fine too, although you will have to do it a bit more often.   As we said, Bougs love to be trimmed and by trimming them on a timely basis (say once a month or so), you will have a healthier bush that will flower more often, and trimming also helps in you having to deal with an overgrown plant which make for more thornier issues !

Bougs are so versatile....grow them as a vine over an arbor, fencing, or a stand-alone in a big container, or, as they continue to mature, grow them as a 'standard tree", which you can do by snipping off growth along the bottom of the stem.

This week, we have Bougs in Pinks, Yellows, Reds and Purple...some even have variegated leaves.  We also have the dwarf variety pictured above, "Miss Pixie" which is a slow growing bush that won't get that tall, and best yet, she is thornless !

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So, along with bring our gorgeous Bougainvillea to market this week, we continue to have a great assortment of succulents.

Customers are having so much fun with using their plants to create mini gardens.

Inexpensive containers from the Dollar Store, along with some colorful gravel (available at pet stores) make the job EZ and fun.

Mitch's new favorite Passion Vine baby, "Inspiration" continues to bloom like mad and we can't wait to start some babies !

Starting next week, we will be including some "how to" things in our weekly blog - many customers ask us about how we do things, so we want to start sharing some ideas that will be helpful, fun, and hopefully informative.

So check back next week, we will be talking about how to make a miniature greenhouse for your
cuttings !

Meanwhile, hope to see you at Market !


 Here's the info about market:
Saturday Market at Williams Park
Park is located between 3rd and 4th streets just off of 1st avenue north (where the buses go through)
Plenty of free parking on surrounding streets
Safe, shady strolling among the Oaks
Fresh produce and Foods
Arts and Crafts
Plants and yard art
Market hours 9am-1pm.

Can't make Market day? Give us a call or email to set up appointment to visit us !

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Mitch Armstrong Nursery is a licensed Tropical Plant Nursery with the state of Florida

www.heyplantman.blogspot.com

marketannie@aol.com

heyplantman1@juno.com

727-542-9951

727-742-9265