Lighting the Torches

A great plant that endures the winters frosts, intense western and southern sun of summer, and takes very little watering once established, the Torchglow Bougainvillea makes the perfect plant for our Tucson gardens.  This compact plant grows tall and shines bright with plenty of sun.  In fact, this bougainvillea outperformed several other bougainvillea varieties from our historic frost. 

I have a western exposure with very little space.  Recently I completed one section and I'll be working on the 2 other skinny planters this winter.

This is a tall plant without the big thorny thorns that are traditionally found on most bougainvilleas.
I rarely water this section at all, and they thrive on the neglect.  Again, this all happens once they have been established.  Check out several of our bougainvillea around the property from over the past year.

I look forward to the growth and color that this structural plant will add to our sunny sides at El Presidio.  Torchglow or Bangkok Red Bougainvillea do well in Tucson.  For colorful bracts, plant any bougainvillea in direct sun.  The more shade it has; the more it will just produce green leaves.  If the plant freezes back, don't trim until spring.  The root system is vigorous and will produce new leaves and stems in April.  With some fertilizer, the plant will grow fuller, lusher, and sexier than before!  Plus I also love how this plant looks again stucco. Stay tuned for more! 

The Perfectionist In Me

Ever walk out in the garden and get frustrated?  That was me today as I was outside working on bits and pieces here and there.  I had to pull out two dead Jacarandas and then I replaced them with two Mandarin orange bushes.  Little by little the fruit garden is coming along.  However, as I was carefully taking one of the Mandarin bushes out of the container, the roots all fell out and I had to carefully try and place them into the ground.  I'm crossing my fingers that the plant will be okay.  If not, I have the plastic container and receipt. 

Look at this garden!!!  Can you believe that this is my headling pic for the blog?  It has filled in somewhat, but I had to trim the Cereus and Jacaranda down and all of it shows new growth.

As I move over to the fern garden, I see my basil is coming up nicely and I fertilize the bamboo.  The trees are all swaying in the wind and I'm enjoying the breeze until I see that the VERY top of my Euc has a bare branch.  Being OCD, I stare at it for several minutes.  I grab my binoculars, research info on the internet, and take a chair with a very long pole to examine where the tip of the tree goes bare.  I'm still just wondering if the leaves will come back as there are many branches with new growth.  Essentially I want all traces of winter gone from the garden NOW!

For the good news, I see fresh fruit on the apricot, peach, fig, tangelo and mulberry trees. The persimmons is about to flower.  In fact, I ate several of the mulberries and was very thankful that we have fruit trees all around us.  I looked at the whiskey barrels and saw beautiful flowers on the cacti.  My castor beans are coming back as are the older bougainvillea.  My only remaining sacred Jacaranda is very green and lush(only half the tree survived).  BUT for every several steps forward, we take one backwards!  An interesting thing in the bougainvillea world happened.  The freeze killed all the first year regular looking bougainvillea in the sun garden YET the Torchglow variety all survived. And what about all of those elephant ears I planted last year?  I believe May will reveal whether the bulbs survived or not.   I've got so much more work to do! I have one whole side of bamboo garden to put in while on another, I've still got to do the citrus garden. One thing at a time....I know.  It just is overwhelming sometimes.  So do you ever look at your garden and get frustrated? 

The beginnings of my succulent garden.

Bougainvillea

Hot. Sexy. This next "vine" is a woody menace.  It's not a climber or a twiner....but it sure makes a nice barrier of thorns.  Of course, what would a Tucson garden be without bougainvillea?  By now, you should have trimmed this plant back, but if you didn't, don't stress.  This plant is utilized quite a bit in Tucson and around the desert southwest.  In Phoenix, it stays mostly green(though not this year with our extreme freezes) and lush(not jealous) while in Tucson, this plant does die back to the ground during winter.....but it always comes back with a vengeance:)  I love this plant and don't mind getting stuck with all the thorns and nasty branches because it adds so much flare to the garden that it deserves the right to be so nasty in nature.  It's a VERY drought tolerant plant.  Once this plant is established, I never water it.  It's very good for the water bill.  Plus there are two other reasons you should consider this "vine"(although for me it's more like a huge bush!).  1.  Security.  Put it in a place where you don't want people going like a window or side yard.  This plant WILL keep out transient beings.  2.  Place this plant on a trellis or patio overhang.  Remember a while back I wrote about wisteria and how it isn't a good plant for Tucson?  Instead of wisteria, think about using bougainvillea in this manner.  It needs pruning and training so always wear gloves. There is a post I wrote this past summer on "Shaping".  I use plastic clips and metal wiring to shape our bougainvillea on the property.  It's always a battle on my body, but the homeowners absolutely love this plant so I'll make them happy.  The hot pink/red/purple/salmon leaves all summer long makes people smile.  This plant is also the kind of "na na na boo boo" plant to all other gardeners in cold areas.  Gardeners like to show off here and say to their friends and family back home, "Look what we can grow here!":) Simply put, this plant has the power to transport you to a Mexican Riviera or tropical paradise with a drink in your hand. Okay....but here's the secret for your own beautiful bougainvillea.....

While this bougainvillea does fine in this spot, it needs constant attention and help staying in place.  It also doesn't get all the sun it needs; so it makes a nice evergreen bush with some color here and there.

Many gardeners HATE our western exposure here.  It's hellishly hot and only established cacti and other hot worthy plants can grow in these places.  The bougainvillea is one of these plants.  The more sun; the more color you'll get.  This plant wants the direct sun; needs the direct sun.  Plant this in the shade and it will be only a shadow of what it can do for your property.  Direct sun with 8+ hours of sun will make this plant EXTREMELY happy.  I have several areas where I utilize our bougainvillea.  This monster plant has risen to extreme heights to the 2nd levels of our buildings and frames the entrance ways. See above pic.  I have attached wall grips to keep the bougainvillea upright and in place. On our hot western parking lot, I have placed the less thorny and more upright bushy Bangkok Red Bougainvillea(or the Torch Bougainvillea).  This plant has a hot hot pink color to it and literally looks like an upright torch with the pink flowers adding the flames on top of the plant.  The only setback with this variety is that it is more frost sensitive, but it will grow back:)  Both plants can get VERY large so make sure you have enough room for them.



Bougainvillea Torch Glow can grow to be a 8-10 foot looking bush.  This plant is not "viny" in any way.(I've even seen it grow larger near a Tucson business off of Broadway!!)



One last thing before you go crazy with this fast growing vine/bush.  When put into the ground for the first time, it can be slow growing, but once established, it grows quickly back after winter is over.  Let me describe the "flowers" of this plant.  The hot pink/red/purple/salmon "flowers" are actually not flowers but bracts.  The actual flower is a tiny little group of white blossoms surrounded by the bracts. There you have it.....a great plant for Tucson!  Just wear gloves!!