Bougain Be Gone

Several years ago we planted two bougainvillea plants next to the gap in our fence that we had to create because of the large live oak tree planted on the property line.  We had hoped that the bougainvillea would fill in the space and prevent unwanted critters from coming through the gap because bougainvillea plants have long, sharp, nasty thorns.

The first couple of years, the plants were fine.  Then a combination of weather (lack of rain) and poor nutrients started to take its toll on the plants.  I tried special fertilizer, special plant food, and lots of watering, but nothing much seemed to help.

I trimmed the bushes a couple of times because they were getting "woody," but that also was a rather lost cause.  When we came back this year, the branches were tangled and scraggly, the leaves were sparse, and what leaves remaining were diseased and brown at the edges.  We determined that the location where I had planted the bougainvillea just did not have enough sunlight or nutrients for the plants to do what we wanted them to do.  So out they came today.

The bougainvillea just did not fill in the area
the way that we had hoped it would.

While I cut and bagged the thorny branches, Rick got out the shovel and started to dig up the roots.  We worked for a couple of hours.  In the end, the bougainvillea were gone and the leaves around the area were raked and bagged.

We are back to a clean slate to add some color
to the area.

Tomorrow we will go to Lowe's to pick up something else to try in that area.  I still want color against the brown tree and the white fence.  I might try some dwarf schefflera (arboricola) with the variegated green and yellow leaves.  The schefflera is one of those plants that we see growing everywhere.  I seems to thrive in either sun or shade, tolerates droughts in the summer, and fills in well.  It is easy to trim to the desired height and shape that we will want, so we are going to give it a try.

If the schefflera don't work, we'll just have to look for something else.