Bougainvillea 'Don Mario'

Outside, Bougainvillea should be regarded as a real challenge, and indeed any temperatures below -3°C are likely to cause damage. Nevertheless, I know of several private gardens in Torbay, and in Cornwall, where it flowers outdoors without protection. There are three species in horticulture – B. spectabilis, B. glabra, and B. peruviana – plus a naturally occurring hybrid, B. x buttiana (still sold as ‘Mrs Butt’), are all from winter-dry parts of tropical South America, and tend to be deciduous in our temperate climate. The stout stems have thorns, and the small flowers are surrounded by brightly coloured bracts. Such is the mixing over the years that the straight species are unlikely to be encountered, but each parent imparts different characteristics, and many cultivars tend towards one more than the other. Don Mario is a strong growing form that I have not seen growing outside so should be regarded as tender and needing frost free conditions. Mine does well in a pot in an unheated conservatory.