Bougainvillea ‘Ms. Alice’

Description from Stokes Tropicals

Great in hanging baskets. Full sun and not much water. Zones 10 and higher.

One of the most tropical, exciting and deliciously colorful of all tropical plants. A wonderful vining plant that has a rainbow of colored bracts. In Zones 10 and higher they are permanent perennials; in Zone 9, they can be considered a returning perennial. In lower Zones, they can be green housed or protected from freezing temperatures when grown outside in containers or in the ground. Bougainvilleas come from South America and have small tubular, short-lived flowers in clusters near ends of stems. Large, brilliantly colored long-lasting bracts surround flowers. The variegated forms do not grow as large as the non-variegated types. Plants can be maintained as shrubs by frequent pruning of the spreading canes. Since plants bloom on new wood, pruning is not detrimental to flower production. Bract colors include white, yellow, orange, pink, numerous shades of red, magenta, purple…just about every color except blue. The majority of bougainvillea cultivars are year-round bloomers in cycles of about three months or so. Fertilizing sparingly throughout the growing season will encourage new growth, which in turn is when the flowering occurs. A good loose, humus soil is best. Feeding and tip pruning should be done at the end of each bloom cycle. The two most important considerations in successfully growing bougainvilleas are sun and good drainage. They do not like soggy or wet feet and they refuse to bloom in the shade.