Accession Count: 11
Common Name:
'Barbara Karst' bougainvillea
Family Name:
Nyctaginaceae
Botanical Name:
Bougainvillea buttiana
Sub Species:
Variety:
Forma:
Cultivar:
‘Barbara Karst’
Characteristics:
A moderately-vigorous large evergreen vine with dull dark green broadly-ovate pointed leaves that have a slightly wavy margin. It produces its magenta red bracts all along the entire length of its stems in multiple flushes over a very long season from late spring through fall and often into winter (profusely) in mild years with the small white flowers conspicuous against the bracts.
Compound:
Bou kar bar
Geographic Origin:
South America
Ecozone Origin:
Biome Origin:
Natural History:
This is considered to be an interspecific hybrid involving two or more of the species Bougainvillea spectabilis, B. glabra and B. peruviana. It was selected by James E. Hendry Jr. at his Everglades Nursery in Fort Myer, Florida in the 1940s and named after his daughter. Reportedly it was Jim Hendry's grandmother, Julia Frierson, who brought the first magenta-colored Bougainvilles glabra 'Sanderiana' vine into Florida from Cuba in 1875. 'Barbara Karst' is thought to be a cross between this plant and the cultivar 'Crimson Lake'. 'Barbara Karst' is similar to the cultivar 'San Diego Red' (AKA 'Scarlet O'Hara'), which has larger leaves and fewer but larger orange-red blooms in clusters (1).
Cultivation Notes:
Plant in full sun to bring out the bright color of the bracts, if planted in more shade the color will dull to a reddish-blue (1). The most cold-hardy of the bougainvillea, tolerating temperatures in USDA Zones 10-11 to 20F. It also tolerates desert heat well. Provide support for climbing vines, or prune as a shrub.
Ethnobotany:
Height:
20 - 50 feet
Width:
16 - 20 feet
Growth Rate:
Moderate Growing
Grow Season:
Summer
Flower Season:
Fall
Color:
Red
Function:
Screen
Spread:
Non-spreading
Allergen:
Non-allergenic
Invasive:
Benign
Toxicity:
Benign
Hardy:
Semi-hardy
Water Use:
Low water Use
Citations:
- https://www.smgrowers.com/products/plants/plantdisplay.asp?plant_id=261
- https://www.monrovia.com/plant-catalog/plants/365/barbara-karst-bougainvillea/
