Highly perfumed Bouvardia are best suited to warmer climates, a tender shrub they do not survive frosts and cold winters. They also need protection from strong winds. A number of varieties are available.
Fragrance is described as a sweet jasmine with a touch of honey. It is a pleasant fragrance and as Bouvardia make a good jut flower you can bring that indoors. This a plant related to Gardenia, so a hint to the perfume is here.
In a sheltered warm position they are an excellent shrub to provide fragrance and perfume. Widely grown for cut flowers, sometimes said to be difficult, however not so in the right climate.
Bouvardia with its fragrant white flowers would be a number one choice on every gardeners list if they lived in a warm climate.
Varieties
- Bouvardia longifolia is perhaps the most popular, and comes in a number of colours from white to pink and red, although it will reach around 1m (3ft) in height it is easily pruned.
- Bouvardia longiflora humboltii is white flowering and its fragrant pure white flowers being very popular. It is the pure white, fragrant flowers from summer through to autumn that are the attraction, along with the perfume
How To Grow Bouvardia – Basic Care
You do need not only the climate, but also the right position t9o grows this plant outdoors. It will grow in cooler climates and can be grown in pots in a sheltered warm position.
This is a herbaceous perennial from Mexico and if you have mild winters then can grow this plant outdoors, with cold winters it is best grown in pots and overwintered indoors.
A summer flowering plant in winter it will be deciduous in cooler climates but evergreen in warmer climates.
Bouvardia require a humus rich moist soil, good drainage and a warm sunny position. It also needs a position where it is tucked away out of the wind. Bouvardia has very brittle stems and is easily damaged by winds.
Growing Conditions
- Position – Full sun to part shade
- Soil – Humus rich, pH 6 – 7. Ensure drainage is good
- When To Plant – Plant in spring
- How To Plant
Weed the area well
Plant and mulch around the plant.
Water in well with a liquid seaweed fertiliser - Watering
Maintain moisture through the first summer
Never allow the soil to become wet and soggy, let it dry a little between watering. - Ongoing Care
Fertilise in spring with a general purpose organic slow release type fertiliser.
Once established Bouvardia can tolerate dry spells.
Top Tips
- Do not over water as this can cause weak growth or root problems.
- Do not over fertilise, again you can get weak leggy growth and less flowers as well.
- Although it does like a moist soil, it will tolerate dry periods as long as they aren’t to long.
- In cooler climates plant Bouvardia in a container on a sunny and sheltered patio, so maybe it is not such a tricky plant after all.
What’s in a name?
Bouvardia is named after Charles Bouvard, personal physician to Louis XIII and superintendent of the Jardin du Roi in Paris,
Longiflora means “Long Flowers”
The specific epithet “humboldtii” is after the naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt
Available From The following Nurseries
412 James Lane, Fern Hill VIC. 3458 - Phone 0419002651
Large range of Rare plants, Climbers, Bulbs, Perennials Fruit Trees, Ornamental Trees and Shrubs. Available both Retail and by Mail Order
www.whitehousenursery.com.au