Bougainvillas

Not living in the deep South you just don't see bougainvillas growing around here. Still, I'd seen pictures and thought they were lovely. I was delighted on one Mother's Day when my son arrived on my door step and presented me with a pretty bougainvilla in a hanging basket. The blossoms fell but the leaves stayed and I planned to nurse it through the winter.

My house is comfortable to me in the winter at 59 degees. Don't know why. That's just me. My kids have long teased me that it's warmer outside than it is in my home. My daughter even suggested that I hand out quilts at the front door to visitors. When someone does come visiting I grudgingly turn the heat up to 70 degrees but hurriedly drop it back to 59 degrees when they leave (55 degrees at night). So in this cooler temperature my bouganvilla, relaxing in a window box with a southern exposure, loses all it's leaves and I think, ah well, I've killed it. Then a few days later I notice tiny pink blossoms emerging. What a lovely gift. This confused but pretty plant has bloomed! And continues to bloom all winter!

This strange plant has now been with me through 5 winters, blooming every time, and presenting showy leaves all summer.It has never grown any additional branches. I haven't given it any fresh dirt, no fertilizer, and water it once a day. I can't transplant it because it would never make it through an Oklahoma winter in the ground. Besides, it's become somewhat of a phenomonon and a pet plant. I don't know how long this funny plant will live. I'm just enjoying it while it's here.