Who Grows Bougainvillea Arborea?

[gilles06]

Hi Folks,

I am wondering if it would be a good candidate for my 9b med climate?

Looks good, a boungainvilea without thorns and that grows naturally as a tree! And cherry on the cake, flowers are perfumed...

But i am not sure i will find one in Europe?

Do you grow one, show picture please.

Salut

[Ben in Norcal]

12 hours ago, gilles06 said:

Hi Folks,

I am wondering if it would be a good candidate for my 9b med climate?

Looks good, a boungainvilea without thorns and that grows naturally as a tree! And cherry on the cake, flowers are perfumed...

But i am not sure i will find one in Europe?

Do you grow one, show picture please.

Salut

I have one.  Dark out now though.  It's nice because it does not drop leaves in cool/damp like other Bougies do for me in my 9b Med climate.

[gilles06]

Thanks Ben,

Why is it so rare?

[Pip]

It isn't rare, I grow one although I'm in zone 10.These pictures aren't recent but gives an idea about the form when cramped up by giant bamboo.

 

[DoomsDave]

Ah!

That looks like B. "Torchglow."

Except TG is magenta red.

That's not rare, or at least not super-rare. It's in the nurseries. I even have one, struggling to survive. Hmm. Didn't know the flowers smelled.

Learn something new every day!

[Jdiaz31089]

It kind of looks like a crepe myrtle to the untrained eye.

[gilles06]

1 hour ago, DoomsDave said:

Ah!

That looks like B. "Torchglow."

Except TG is magenta red.

That's not rare, or at least not super-rare. It's in the nurseries. I even have one, struggling to survive. Hmm. Didn't know the flowers smelled.

Learn something new every day!

Hi Dave,

Not super rare in the Us, but i can't find one in Europe...

Thanks for reporting.

[Ben in Norcal]

10 hours ago, Jdiaz31089 said:

It kind of looks like a crepe myrtle to the untrained eye.

Yeah, but not deciduous.  I hate deciduous.

[fastfeat]

Tho I haven't tried it personally in SoCal, I know of two people who have grown it. One (an enthusiast who currently flowers a Lagerstoemia speciosa from me in LA Co) received a small FL-sourced plant from me; it slowly dwindled over a couple years, eventually succumbing. Another is a small grower in N. San Diego Co (now mostly defunct) who had several plants in 5s (and others in an unheated greenhouse). This grower said that they seemed no more cold-sensitive than other forms of B. glabra, B. spectabilis. But they stayed small/bushy, perhaps lacking sufficient heat (?) to put up vigorous upright growth (aka become treelike).

FWIW, the current thought is that "B. arborea" is not a valid species; rather, it is likely an upright, thornless (and fragrant) form of either B. glabra or B. spectabilis. Perhaps Eric Schmidt can relate his visit from Harri Lorenzi on this.

[Ben in Norcal]

5 hours ago, fastfeat said:

Tho I haven't tried it personally in SoCal, I know of two people who have grown it. One (an enthusiast who currently flowers a Lagerstoemia speciosa from me in LA Co) received a small FL-sourced plant from me; it slowly dwindled over a couple years, eventually succumbing. Another is a small grower in N. San Diego Co (now mostly defunct) who had several plants in 5s (and others in an unheated greenhouse). This grower said that they seemed no more cold-sensitive than other forms of B. glabra, B. spectabilis. But they stayed small/bushy, perhaps lacking sufficient heat (?) to put up vigorous upright growth (aka become treelike).

FWIW, the current thought is that "B. arborea" is not a valid species; rather, it is likely an upright, thornless (and fragrant) form of either B. glabra or B. spectabilis. Perhaps Eric Schmidt can relate his visit from Harri Lorenzi on this.

They are less vigorous, but far cold hardier than other varieties.  Below you can see my small specimen that has experienced no leaf drop this winter.  You might notice a standard bougainvillea behind it that has dropped many of its leaves.

[fastfeat]

Looking good! Post some pics after they get some good summer heat behind 'em too...

[Eric in Orlando]

Bougainvillea arborea is an invalid name. Dr. Lorenzi said what is being called Bougainvillea arborea is actually the true Bougainvillea glabra and is a tree. In his book it is described as a tree growing 10-12 meters high and is native to the states of Bahia, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Santa Catarina, in pluvial Atlantic forest and semideciduous forests of the Parana River basin.

[Turtlesteve]

On 2/19/2017, 11:22:40, Ben in Norcal said:

They are less vigorous, but far cold hardier than other varieties.  Below you can see my small specimen that has experienced no leaf drop this winter.  You might notice a standard bougainvillea behind it that has dropped many of its leaves.

What's the coldest it has been?  I'm in zone 8 and am aware that some folks plant the more common types as a perennial, but having them killed to the ground every year isn't of much interest to me.  If this type is holding on to leaves during a zone 9 winter, it might be worth trying here.

 

[Ben in Norcal]

22 minutes ago, Turtlesteve said:

What's the coldest it has been?  I'm in zone 8 and am aware that some folks plant the more common types as a perennial, but having them killed to the ground every year isn't of much interest to me.  If this type is holding on to leaves during a zone 9 winter, it might be worth trying here.

 

We've seen 31 or so this year? We're closer to low 10a here, last 5 years at least. But it does freeze several times a year, enough to defoliate bananas.

[gilles06]

17 hours ago, Eric in Orlando said:

Bougainvillea arborea is an invalid name. Dr. Lorenzi said what is being called Bougainvillea arborea is actually the true Bougainvillea glabra and is a tree. In his book it is described as a tree growing 10-12 meters high and is native to the states of Bahia, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Santa Catarina, in pluvial Atlantic forest and semideciduous forests of the Parana River basin.

Thanks Eric for this info