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Bougainvillea

2 photos

Forest and Kim Starr / Wikimedia Commons - CC BY 3.0

Bougainvillea

Bougainvillea spectabilis

A vigorous, thorny tropical woody vine from Brazil, grown across the warm world for one of the most spectacular floral displays in horticulture - sheets of magenta, purple, red, orange, pink, or white that can smother a wall, fence, or pergola. The vivid color, though, is not from petals: it comes from papery BRACTS (modified leaves) that surround the true flowers, which are small, slender, and white to cream. Bougainvillea spectabilis is a sprawling, climbing scrambler armed with sharp, woody thorns; in frost-free climates it reaches 15 to 40 feet, hauling itself up supports and over rooftops, but it can also be kept hard-pruned as a shrub, a hedge, or a container plant. It is frost-tender and hardy in the ground only in USDA zones 9b-11b; everywhere colder it is grown as a greenhouse, conservatory, or seasonal container plant and overwintered indoors. It blooms most heavily when grown lean and a little dry in blazing full sun, which is why the showiest bougainvilleas are often the ones that look slightly neglected. The quickest way to tell it from the near-identical B. glabra is touch: B. spectabilis has softly hairy (pubescent) young stems, leaf undersides, and flower-tubes and broader, more rounded bracts, where B. glabra is smooth and hairless.

Climate fit: narrow (17/100)

Structure

Focal point

Container

Light

Full sun

Water

Low water

Mature size

15-40 ft tall · 5 ft apart

Hardy in zones

9b-11b

frosty to nearly frost-free winters

Native in Illinois

No

Grown strictly as an ornamental - it is not food, and no part is eaten.

°C

°F

Cold hardiness

These values are location-based: this location's current hardiness is the baseline, and the 2050 value is a projected future climate for this same location.

Now

Zone 6b

Plotwright

USDA Zone 6b

-5°F to 0°F

Won't grow here

2050

2100

Zone 7a

Plotwright

0°F to 5°F

Won't grow here

In plain terms: This location has cold winters. Its winters are projected to keep warming through 2050.

✕

Out of range today and still out of range in 2050.

Heat tolerance

Heat tolerance values are location-based too: heat days today are observed at this site, and the 2050 value projects this same location under a future climate.

Loading AHS heat-zone data for this location...

Where this plant fits

Suitable across 2 ecoregions - 2 climate-resilient through 2070. Best matches first.

California coastal sage and chaparral

›

Fynbos shrubland

›

What it needs

Conditions

Light

Full sun

Water

Low water

Spacing

5 ft

Habit

Sprawling, climbing thorny tropical woody vine (kept as a shrub, hedge, or container plant)

Care tips

•

Grow it lean and a little dry in blazing full sun: let the soil dry between waterings and go easy on nitrogen, since overwatering and rich feeding give you leaves instead of the papery bracts you want.

•

Treat zone 9b as the cold edge - it is frost-tender, so in colder regions grow it in a container, keep it in full sun, and move it to a bright, frost-free spot before the first freeze.

•

Prune right after each flush of color, not before: bougainvillea blooms on new growth, so cutting back after flowering shapes the plant and triggers the next wave of bracts.

Lifecycle

Planting

Where hardy (USDA zones 9b-11b), plant in spring in full sun in light, fast-draining soil against a strong support - a sturdy trellis, pergola, wall, or fence - since the mature vine is heavy and vigorous. In colder regions grow it in a container of free-draining mix that can be moved to a bright, frost-free spot for winter. Space plants about 5 feet apart. Handle with gloves: the stems are armed with sharp thorns.

Transplanting

Bougainvillea resents root disturbance and its brittle roots break easily, so move it as little as possible: plant or pot it up gently in warm weather, keeping the rootball intact, and avoid teasing the roots apart. Pot-grown plants are best slid into a slightly larger container rather than bare-rooted.

Early growth

Train the long, thorny new growth onto its support and let the soil dry between waterings - it flowers far better grown lean and a little dry than lush and wet. Go easy on nitrogen, which drives leafy growth instead of bracts. Wear gloves and long sleeves while tying it in, since the thorns are sharp and the sap can irritate skin.

Maturity

In frost-free climates it matures into a large, near-evergreen thorny climber that blooms in repeated flushes most of the year, heaviest in warm, dry, sunny spells. It flowers on new growth, so prune right after a flush to shape it and trigger the next; mild water stress and lean soil keep the bracts coming. In cold regions a mature container plant is overwintered indoors and pruned hard.

Propagation

Propagated from semi-hardwood or hardwood stem cuttings taken in summer, rooted in warm, moist, free-draining medium; named color forms are grown from cuttings to come true. It is grown vegetatively rather than from seed in cultivation.

Plant this, not that

Better fit for this place

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Full sun / Part sun / Part shade

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Educator packet

Plant packet

Bougainvillea educator packet

A vigorous, thorny tropical woody vine from Brazil, grown across the warm world for one of the most spectacular floral displays in horticulture - sheets of magenta, purple, red, orange, pink, or white that can smother a wall, fence, or pergola. The vivid color, though, is not from petals: it comes from papery BRACTS (modified leaves) that surround the true flowers, which are small, slender, and white to cream. Bougainvillea spectabilis is a sprawling, climbing scrambler armed with sharp, woody thorns; in frost-free climates it reaches 15 to 40 feet, hauling itself up supports and over rooftops, but it can also be kept hard-pruned as a shrub, a hedge, or a container plant. It is frost-tender and hardy in the ground only in USDA zones 9b-11b; everywhere colder it is grown as a greenhouse, conservatory, or seasonal container plant and overwintered indoors. It blooms most heavily when grown lean and a little dry in blazing full sun, which is why the showiest bougainvilleas are often the ones that look slightly neglected. The quickest way to tell it from the near-identical B. glabra is touch: B. spectabilis has softly hairy (pubescent) young stems, leaf undersides, and flower-tubes and broader, more rounded bracts, where B. glabra is smooth and hairless.

Scientific name

Bougainvillea spectabilis

Plant type

shrub

Hardiness

9b-11b

Light

full-sun

Moisture

low

Spacing

60 inches

Classroom prompts

- Which plant traits are observations, and which are care recommendations?

- How would this plant fit change if the garden location moved warmer, colder, wetter, or drier?

- Which source-backed facts would you cite in a lesson handout?

Use the Sources & citations section below for page citation styles and the field-level source list.

Sources & citations

Cite this page

For lesson plans, articles, or research that uses this page. Use the source cards below to explore the references that informed this record.

Plotwright. (2026, May 17). Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea spectabilis). Retrieved 2026, August 20, from https://plotwright.com/plants/bougainvillea-spectabilis

Sources used for this record

This record is compiled from the sources below.

Plants of the World Online (POWO)

Botanical research database

Open source

Source guide

Flora e Funga do Brasil

Botanical research database

Open source

Source guide

NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox

University extension service