Plant Library

Other Names:  Dwarf Bougainvillea

Group/Class:  Bambino Series

Description:

A compact, dwarf series developed to stay small and better behaved; stunning orange blooms over attractive variegated foliage; excellent for beds, or training on small trellises; great for patio containers and hanging baskets; best color in full sun

Ornamental Features

Bambino™ Baby Sophia Bougainvillea features showy orange round flowers with coral-pink overtones at the ends of the branches from mid spring to late fall. It has attractive buttery yellow-variegated bluish-green foliage with hints of grayish green. The oval leaves are highly ornamental and remain bluish-green throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Bambino™ Baby Sophia Bougainvillea is a multi-stemmed evergreen woody vine with a twining and trailing habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This woody vine will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and can be pruned at anytime. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies to your yard. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Spiny

Bambino™ Baby Sophia Bougainvillea is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting
• Hanging Baskets

Planting & Growing

Bambino™ Baby Sophia Bougainvillea will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. As a climbing vine, it tends to be leggy near the base and should be underplanted with low-growing facer plants. It should be planted near a fence, trellis or other landscape structure where it can be trained to grow upwards on it, or allowed to trail off a retaining wall or slope. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years.

This woody vine should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. It is not particular as to soil type or pH, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid. It can be propagated by cuttings; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Bambino™ Baby Sophia Bougainvillea makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor containers and hanging baskets. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.