The Bougainvillea ‘Golden Gate’ is a cultivar with vibrant, golden-yellow bracts. It’s a popular choice for gardens and landscapes due to its cheerful color and vigorous growth. The ‘Golden Gate’ variety is a fast-growing climber that can reach impressive heights. It is ideal for covering walls, fences, or arbors. Its spreading habit creates a dense and colorful cover.
Characteristics
- Color: ‘Golden Gate’ is known for its striking bracts that start as a golden yellow or orange, maturing to a vibrant pink or orange-pink, providing a beautiful bicolor effect during transition. The true flowers are small and white, nestled within these colorful bracts.
- Growth Habit: This cultivar has a vigorous growth pattern, capable of reaching up to 20-30 feet if given enough support, making it ideal for large trellises, walls, or as a ground cover on slopes.
- Leaves: The leaves are green, often with a slightly lighter vein contrast, and they have the typical bougainvillea shape, ovate with a pointed tip.
- Thorns: Like most bougainvilleas, ‘Golden Gate’ has thorns, which assist in climbing but necessitate careful handling.
- Blooming Period: It blooms in cycles, with peak flowering during the warmer months. In climates without frost, it can flower nearly year-round with proper care.
- Hardiness: It is suited for USDA zones 9-11. It can handle light frost but is not tolerant of prolonged cold conditions.
Cultivation
- Light: Needs full sun for at least 6 hours a day to bloom profusely. Less light can result in fewer flowers.
- Soil: Prefers well-drained soil; a mix of loam, sand, and some organic matter works well. It’s adaptable but does not tolerate soggy conditions.
- Watering: Water thoroughly but allow the soil to dry out somewhat between waterings. Once established, ‘Golden Gate’ is drought-tolerant.
- Fertilization: Use a fertilizer with a higher phosphorus content to encourage blooming. Limit nitrogen to avoid excessive foliage growth at the expense of flowers.
- Pruning: Prune after flowering to shape the plant or control size. ‘Golden Gate’ can withstand heavy pruning, which can also encourage more prolific blooming by promoting new growth.
- Support: Due to its climbing nature, providing a structure like a trellis or pergola will support its growth. It can also be trained into an espalier.
- Pests and Diseases: Generally resistant, but watch for aphids, mealybugs, snails, and slugs. Good air circulation and dry conditions help prevent fungal diseases.
- Cold Protection: In cooler climates, it should be protected from frost or grown in containers that can be moved indoors. Mulching the base can provide some root protection against light frosts.
- Propagation: Can be propagated from semi-hardwood cuttings taken in the summer, using rooting hormone to enhance success rates.