CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE
| COMMON NAME Barbara Karst Red Bougainvillea |
| BOTANICAL NAME Bougainvillea buttiana ‘Barbara Karst’ |
| HEIGHT 10′ + |
| WIDTH 10′ |
| MONOECIOUS Needs cross pollination |
| EVERGREEN |
| LIFESPAN Decades |
| PERENNIAL |
| COLD TOLERANCE 29° F |
| SOIL TYPE Well drained |
| WATER REQUIREMENTS Water after planting in ground, and water every day for 2 weeks. Week 3 and week 4, water deeply twice a week. From week 5 forward water deeply at least once a week for the rest of the growing season. Once established, water occasionally. Best results with regular irrigation. Supplement with water during droughts and the hot, dry months to keep your plant lush and thriving. Reduce watering in the Winter when growth slows. |
| DROUGHT TOLERANCE Yes |
| SALT TOLERANCE Yes |
| LIGHT REQUIREMENTS Full sun |
| FERTILIZING In Spring, apply a balanced general purpose fertilizer such as 5-5-5. In Summer, use a bloom-booster, such as 4-6-8. Go easy on the fertilizer, especially with nitrogen, as too much with increase foliage and decrease blooms. Do not allow fertilizer to clump, be sure to disperse evenly. Clumped fertilizer can potentially burn roots, potentially harming or killing a plant. Avoid getting fertilizer on the leaves, flowers, stems, and trunks. |
| FLOWER Red-pink. Plants have both female and male flowers, though need cross-pollination from other plants to produce seeds. |
| MONTH OF COLOR Hot, dry months of the year |
| FRUIT Small, oval, yellow-tan seeds. Inedible. |
| ALLERGENS, TOXICITY AND ANIMALS Mildly toxic to animals. (Dogs, cats, horses, humans.) |
| COMMENTS Beautiful flowers, over 80 varieties of this plant exist. Dry, well-drained areas are best. In locations susceptible to cold damage, cover smaller plants with a frost cloth and secure firmly to protect the day before a freeze. Remove promptly once the freeze has subsided. For larger plants that are difficult to cover, protect the roots by mulching (with mulch, leaves, hay, etc.) no less than 3″ thick and 1′ radius around the base of the trunk above where the roots grow. |
| PRICE 15 gallon $95, 3 gallon $13 |