When can I take it outside?

When can I take the bougainvillea outside?
Bougainvillea is an ornamental plant that grows in the open air in tropical and Mediterranean regions. In our country, it is sensitive to frost, so it can only be kept in pots or containers, and it must be protected from winter frosts by overwintering.
As the spring months approach, we tend to become impatient and, after the first few days of sunshine, we would love nothing more than to empty the overwintering room to take our plants outdoors. And it’s no wonder, bougainvillea are one of the most breath-taking flowering ornamental plants, and who wouldn’t want them to be the jewel of their garden or patio from early spring?
Bougainvillea is a plant that teaches us patience, and a hasty spring unpacking can be fatal. In the following article, we will answer the question of when you should and for how long you should not move your bougainvillea to its summer location.
If we had to answer the question in one sentence, we would say when night-time temperatures reach a minimum of 6-8°C on a sustained basis.
So not at the beginning of the meteorological spring, nor at the beginning of March, nor in mid-April, but when the frosts have completely stopped and the nights have started to warm up permanently. We know not only from today’s scientific writings, but also from the stories of our parents and grandparents, that decades ago our climate behaved somewhat differently. Frosts would appear in autumn, the first snow would fall in early winter, snow would fall regularly in winter, the snow would not actually melt until spring, and then sometime in late March, as the sun shone higher and stronger, the thaw would begin and spring would arrive. And then it remained this way.

As a result of global warming, our summers are getting hotter and hotter, our winters are getting milder, often with almost spring-like temperatures, and our springs are getting more and more erratic. February often sees consecutive days, or weeks, where the weather feels more like spring than winter. These days should not fool us. We can be sure that February will not yet be spring. In fact, it’s rare that April passes without any serious frosts. On the whole, while the winter and late winter months are milder than they used to be, the frosty spring nights are not going to leave us anytime soon. A few hours of sub-zero temperatures are enough for bougainvillea to freeze. It can be tempting for larger garden centres and department stores to push out the season and advertise spring with shelves full of colourful flowers at the end of February in order to make a profit, but if you want to do yourself a favour, resist the temptation and be patient with your Mediterranean ornamental plant purchases and taking them outside. So, once more to be clear: sustained minimum night-time temperatures of 6-8°C, which will almost certainly come in late April, but more likely in early May. Be patient and don’t expose your bougainvillea to the danger of frost.
As an artisanal nursery based in Hungary, we are dedicated exclusively to growing, propagating and selling bougainvillea mutations. Our purchasing system is overseen by the National Food Chain Safety Office (NÉBIH). Our mother plants and propagations are supervised by a plant protection expert, a plant protection specialist and a plant doctor, assigned by NÉBIH. Our bougainvillea are delivered with a plant passport. The plant passport is the official label required for the transport of plants within the European Union, certifying that the plants bearing it meet the health requirements of all EU plants. In addition to the bougainvillea varieties known in Hungary, our collection also includes the rarest tropical mutations. The procurement of mother plants and propagation from them is continuous. We propagate locally and do not sell to other traders. All our Bougainvillea for sale have strong roots, are healthy and resistant to disease. Plants are delivered by GLS, MPL, or other local couriers. Our plants can be delivered to any place in Hungary within one day of order. Need more reasons to buy?

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