Keeping bougainvillea healthy throughout the winter

How do I keep bougainvillea healthy and strong throughout the winter?

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**FULL QUESTION** Dear *Gardening Life*, How can I over-winter a potted bougainvillea plant? I live in Toronto. *—Fran Lee*

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**FULL ANSWER** Fran, These tropical beauties are generally greenhouse plants in Canada, but they can be happy spending the summer outdoors. They will have to be brought indoors well before frost strikes. Spray the plant and soil with insecticidal soap so you don't bring pests in with it and bring it inside by a sunny window; do this gradually — increasing the time a few hours each day — to allow the plant to adjust to its new conditions. It should be in a spot with daytime temperatures between 15 and 21°C at most and nighttime temperatures above 4°C. Keep the soil on the dry side and don't worry if the plant drops some leaves. You can prune it a bit at this time. In mid-spring, increase watering and start feeding the plant with a flowering-plant fertilizer. Once nighttime temperatures are consistently above 10°C, you can gradually start introducing it to its outdoor spot again. Don't put it in direct sun right away or it will burn. Good luck! *—Karen York, Botanical Editor* Other questions recently answered by the GL team: Planting under maple trees Discouraging cats from your garden Hints for growing sweet bell peppers Buying exotic plants in Toronto Preventing brown leaf spot Information on peony-flowered poppies Tips for growing tulips and lilies When to move irises Maintaining blue spruces The best way to grow gunneras Getting rid of sawfly larvae on roses Eliminating earwigs from clematis flowers Beetle damage to spruce trees Removing whiteflies from hibiscus leaves Building a cactus garden Maintaining redbud trees Maintaining Boston ivy growth Using black walnut leaves for mulch Stopping powdery mildew on maples Planting trees near a swale Growing on a septic field How to battle weeds between flagstone and alternative options Mysterious orange powder on the lawn What to do with end-of-season potatoes on the vine How to control Japanese knotweed What to grow in a dry area The proper way to plant astrantia What is the star flower and how do I manage it? How do I eliminate my ant problem? Preventing red beetles from attacking lilies Vine types to grow on a new pergola Maintaining purple fountain grass

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