A very beautiful plant @ctrl-alt-nwo and Bougainvilleas are passion. Passionately colorful, passionately vibrant, passionately floriferous - reflecting life in Spain. They remind me of flouncing flamenco dresses, frilled and ruffled, gorgeously swirling over walls and pergolas.

PLANTING BOUGAINVILLEAS

Bougainvilleas have a very delicate root system and stem to root connection so take great care when planting. Don't carry your plant by the stem and don't disturb that root ball. For the same reason, transplanting is difficult, so choose your position carefully, thinking many years ahead! Avoid planting near swimming pools - they are lovely but very messy plants; all those flowers have to fall sometime and somewhere - let it not be in your pool! Your plant will need at least 5 hours of sunshine daily to thrive; they prefer warm, sheltered situations though will survive a light frost when mature. In mild coastal climes, they often stay evergreen. The original purple, followed by the deeper colours, tend to be the hardiest. With maturity, they will become drought tolerant, flowering well on just an occasional soaking through the hot summer months. Never overwater - it weakens the plant, reduces flowering and can cause root rot. Feed with a general purpose fertiliser early in the growing season, changing to a high phosphorus and potassium feed in late spring/summer to promote strong root growth and good bract colour. Be aware that their colouring can vary according to growing conditions, position, soil and fertilising programme. Small, pale leaves often indicate an iron deficiency.

PRUNING YOUR BOUGAINVILLEAS

Pruning is not so difficult, though it is a rather thorny job! Don't be afraid of it - your bougainvillea flowers on new wood so it needs to be pruned to provoke lots of blossoming. Simply cut all the side shoots, leaving 3 or 4 leaf buds, back to the main framework. Prune during the coldest part of the year when your plant is bare so that the framework can be more easily seen. Minor cutting back of long unruly shoots can be carried out at any time.

Be inventive with this luscious, floriferous plant - it's not just a climber! It makes wonderful and colourful groundcover tumbling down a bank; a spectacular arching shrub; an unusual and pretty small tree or standard; and it will claw its way up and cascade over an old tree, and it can form a lovely pot plant too. If planting in a pot, don't over-pot - it tends to flower best when the roots reach the side of the pot and are somewhat cramped.

http://www.andalucia.com/environment/blowsy-beauties-bougainvilleas.htm