| Botanical Name: |
Bougainvillea x buttiana 'Barbara Karst' |
| Common Name: |
Barbara Karst Bougainvillea |
A very popular hybrid Bougainvillea, 'Barbara Karst' is a free-flowering, vigorous, evergreen shrub or vine with particularly eye-catching clusters of bright red to magenta-red, papery bracts surrounding tiny white flowers that bloom periodically throughout the year. In warm winter areas, and from summer to fall elsewhere, the colorful blossoms give way to small inconspicuous fruits. The flowers are borne on stems clad with short thorns and dull, wavy-edged, ovate green leaves. They do not cling and may require tying for support. Fast-growing, this Bougainvillea can be of variable size, depending on how it is maintained and the support provided. If left un-pruned, it could get as high as 25-40 feet and as wide as 5 to 40 feet.
Bougainvillea is a genus of thorny ornamental vines, bushes, and trees belonging to the four o' clock family, Nyctaginaceae. It is native to eastern South America, found from Brazil, west to Peru, and south to southern Argentina. Different authors accept from 4 to 22 species in the genus.
