Bougainvilla Trees
 

Trying to locate Bougainvilla trees without success. Fairfield Farms has Bouganvilla trellis and shrubs but no Bougainvilla trees. Has anyone purchased one and if so, where?

Those dam things will grow like crazy in the Florida climate and are almost impossible to kill. If you know someone who has one take a cutting from it and stick it in the ground. Before you know it the thing will be out of control.

I am GUESSING that you cannot find these as they are not suitable for this area of Florida. If you are set on these trees, please contact Master Gardener (they have free meetings at Pinellas Plaza), you can ask about these and possible alternatives if these are not suitable.

I'm not a gardener or anything like that, but we did have Bougainvillea "trees" when I was younger. I believe you need to train the young plants to become trees, and certain varieties do better at becoming "trees." Also, I'm not being facetious, but it may help in your search, if you're doing searches, to spell it correctly... bougainvillea.

I had family and friends with these plantings that actually cut into their irrigation
lines and main water lines.

You train the bougainvillea to be a tree or shrub. It’s all the same.

I just got rid of mine. It became a weekly chore of trimming and cutting to maintain its shape and size. Had it for years but as I got older it became harder to take care of. Beautiful flowers but that is only if you let it grow out of control. Also beware of the thorns.

Got ours from Fairfield Farms
 

We bought a twisted trunk Bougainvilla from Fairfield Farms in Oxford, maybe they were just out right now? Also you could try Marion Market this Thursday or Friday?

A Bougainvilla probably won't survive a central Florida winter. They grow fabulously in south Florida.

Ours has been OK
 

We have had ours here for the past 4 years and it has done well. It has never been covered and two or three winters ago it got very cold.

I hope you find what you need, they are SO BEAUTIFUL! But tons of flowers on the ground. Good luck with your search.

We just cut our down because all we did was trim it! Every 3 weeks or so it required trimming and has thorns that are an inch long. Ours grew from 2’ tall to 8-9’ tall in a few years time. It likes a lot of sun and will take over your yard!

I would try to find thornless ones, other wise when you trim it you’ll pull out bloody stub. :shrug: O wait most don’t do there own “landscalping”…. never mind…:oops:

I was at Lowe's and Home Depot a few weeks ago and they both had them so maybe check there.

I have two of them for the past three years and they are nice. No problems with the cold snaps in winter and never covered them. I trim them usually every 6 weeks as they grow like crazy. Also buy a pair of long rose bush trimming gloves as you will need them for the thorns.

We got ours at Village Palms on 466 near Rolling Acres.

A few years ago I saw a beautiful one here in the Villages. It was actually grafted onto a different tree so that it was only a bougainvillea at the top and you could mow under it. It was in the front yard of a house North of 466 and off Morse that has changed owners. I suspect the new owners didn’t know how to prune it as I no longer see one in bloom when I drive down that street. I too wanted one and couldn’t find one either. I tried grafting one myself but didn’t really know what I was doing. Let me know if you come up with something.

I'm digging mine up this weekend. You can have it for free.

There is a local farmer who sets up on CR 48 and Number 2 road in Yalaha most days. He has beautiful larger trees 4' +/- tall. Prices are very reasonable.

Have also seen some at nursery on E CR 462 near railroad tracks east of US 301. Not sure if they still have some.

they were just at Lowes on 466A......

Trees
 

IMHO. I own three of these trees and they are a pain! The thorns are horrible, they grow like weeds and you are always trimming them. If I had to do it all over again, I would have used bottle brush trees.

Try KB on 362 off 301. Bought a tree there 3 years ago and it’s courageous.

Bougainvillea trees
 

I was looking for a while also and then just found a couple at either Lowe's or Home Depot. I don't remember which..
Either the one in Wildwood or the one up near Lady Lake

I was told that the Robellini being used everywhere does that, too.

We have two bougainvillea small trees in our neighborhood and they are beautiful. They are very small so I wonder if they are a patio version planted in the yard. I planted a little one from Home Depot that was in a hanging pot and I transferred to the ground by my lamp post. A year later… totally out of control!

Had a couple and ripped them out. They work well on a lot where they can grow and are not near anything, not very likely on these lots. Grow like weeds with sharp thorns. Not a friendly plant in these circumstances but I do see that some people have them and they do bloom.

At big nurseries starting in February
 

They were at Home Depo and Lowes starting in February. Wait for next February or use clipping if you cannot wait or leave spot marked and plant later.

Like others, we got rid of both of ours. Out of control growth which makes it an endless chore which leaves you with bloody hands from all the thorns.

Bougainvillea trees
 

Bountiful Farms in Leesburg has those.

Au contraire! Ours in our CYV grew like crazy, and my husband had to get on a ladder to keep it from growing over the wall. And the thorns! We had it taken out. We don't miss it.


We had a Japanese lilac bush at our Michigan condo that I trained from a bush into a tree. It grew to be 15 feet tall and flowered every spring after the first three years. I think our crepe myrtle here used to be a bush and is now a big tree.

Can you grow them in large pots to limit their growth and for ease of maintenance?

I had the vine version growing up a tree in Georgia. It's growth rate was unreal. I think it grew measurably in 24 hours. I remember having to trim 20 ft off it regularly.

We tried that, after about 1 1/2 years the root ball blew the pot open.