It was tempting to prune my bougainvillea while it was covered in dead leaves in January. I waited until new growth started emerging on those branches & then pruned them. The top & outer branches had been hit but I let them be until the evening temps warmed. Some of it was but most of it wasn’t dead. My bougainvillea looked dead for a few months. Daytime temps are the same & can be warmer here but it’s the overnight temps which do the damage.īougainvillea is semi-dormant here in the colder winter months so I feel it’s best to leave them be. Here in Tucson (zone 9a/9b) I wait until March or April because the evening winter temps are colder. This is the 1 which determined the form they’d grow in for the rest of the year. I gave my bougies in Santa Barbara (USDA zones 10a/10b) their heaviest pruning in late January/February. You can see how it had filled in & was putting on a big show of color. This is the same plant at the end of October. You may have to prune it 3 or 4 times to get it to grow back into the shape/form it was or want it to be. How you prune yours will depend on how badly it’s been hit & the form you want it to take. I keep my Barbara Karst pruned as a shrub & don’t want it to get too tall or wide. You can read & see how I pruned mine in those 2 posts linked back to back above. Wait until the evenings have warmed above 40F. How Do I Prune Bougainvillea After a Freeze? If yours is tall & you cut it way back, you’ll most likely get a lot of foliage growth. I could have done it a bit sooner but kept putting it off because other things (life!) got in the way.
#Gitter kaarst full#
I don’t let it get too tall & keep it pruned as a full shrub rather than a climbing plant. My Barbara Karst looks the same right now (early Nov.) as it did last year. They have a thinner growth habit & don’t flower as much because the grapefruit tree shades them. Mine growing against the house opposite the pink grapefruit tree didn’t get nearly as much damage as my Barbara Karst growing in the driveway area. It depends on how bad it’s been hit & how & when you pruned it. How Does Bougainvillea Come Back After a Freeze? Bougainvilleas are winter marginal here in Tucson but you see them planted all over town regardless. My 2 bougainvilleas needed a winter pruning to shape and train only. I lived in Santa Barbara for 10 years where the winter temps rarely dip below 40F. I’m learning all about this topic with you. Tucson is slightly colder in the winter (USDA zones 9a/9b) than Phoenix (10a/10b) where bougainvillea gets bigger & has a better chance of not being hit. Anything below that will cause light or extensive damage. The sweet spot for bougainvillea is above 32F. What is the Lowest Temperature Bougainvillea can Tolerate? With mine, most of the outer branches & foliage got hit but the roots didn’t get hit because the ground didn’t freeze. What determines if bougainvillea can survive is how many consecutive nights & if the ground freezes. My other 3 bougainvilleas aren’t as floriferous. Barbara Karst is a vigorous grower and a big bloomer so it’s a good indicator. You’ll also find out what I’ve done and how it affected the bloom. I’m going to answer some questions 1st and then give you a timeline of what went down with these freezes. Bougainvillea after a hard freeze, part 2.
#Gitter kaarst update#
Here’s an update on how my bougainvillea (actually bougainvilleas but the one I focus on got hit the hardest) is doing 9 months after a freeze. Have you ever wondered if and how bougainvillea would come back after a freeze? I found out firsthand the answer to this question first this past year.
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