Out here in Southern California for a few days and I love the bougainvillea they have so much of. Growing on arched trellises, etc. Would like to do try it at home in College Station. Does it do well here?

Mine in SA do great in pots. A hard freeze can kill them.

I've lost mine two of the last three winters in south texas. They come back from the ground but all the hard work is lost every time it freezes maybe consider climbing roses.

Needs almost full sun. Without it, you'll green up but won't get much color.

They also do well with regular feedings. I buy something called Bou-Gain or something like that and have good results. Also, watering takes some trial and error. I read they like drier soil so I was trying to avoid frequent watering but I have had best result watering them at least every other day or even daily when it's really hot.

I had one I planted in the ground and ignored. It did great. It would die with a hard freeze but came back. Had it in a pot at first and just brought it into the garage when a freeze was predicted. Worked great but stayed smaller. When I planted it in the ground it took off. It was huge. Love them.

This is my favorite plant despite the stabby thorns. They can get gloriously tall and fluffy if planted in the ground. One neighbor has one with rarer coral flowers that brings me joy whenever I see it an dit is probably over 10 years old.

I've always left mine in pots. Mostly so I can move them in during the winter. The first one I ever had I left it out all winter and it did survive a few good freezes. It looked like it was dead but it surprised me and came back string. But last year I forgot to get them in before the first freeze and did lose one. I waited and waited but it was toast. They do well but would love to have them grow bigger.

Definitely tempted to plant some after reading this.

bam02 said:

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Mine in SA do great in pots. A hard freeze can kill them.

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Mine died above ground during the two severe freezes we've had, but I cut them off at the ground and they came back as strong as ever.

We had them in Houston and they were impossible to kill. I would think they'd do well in College Station.

If you do trellis them, build something sturdy enough that you can safely place a blanket/tarp on to help with freezing if it's going in the ground. We have a few plants we cover with blankets/tarps when it freezes. Life hack: before covering, string a few strands of incandescent Christmas lights (we use C3 bulb strands) in the plant and plug them in. Then make sure there's no airflow coming in, trap that little bit of heat that those lights produce.

My East TX ones just got eaten by a deer last night, along with several other potted plants.

My Mom has had great success & beautiful blooms in Bryan.

I reuse all the half strings I have since those lights they make now aren't worth a ***** I've had plenty of stuff survive some pretty cold temps as long as the power holds.