What should I do with my bougainvillea?
Angela Wiseman, by email
Stefan says: You were given a bougainvillea as a gift and wonder if you should overwinter it indoors in a cold greenhouse or leave it outside. You don’t say where you live but it’s highly unlikely the plant would survive outdoors because they’re tropical and not frost-hardy. This means taking them indoors, which is only feasible if the plant and its container aren’t too large, or into a greenhouse. My concern is that you refer to a cold greenhouse, which will probably be unsuitable as bougainvilleas don’t reliably stand a winter temperature below 10C. It’s a shame bougainvilleas are so tender because in full flower in summer they’re beguilingly lovely and I’ve often said the ideal location for them in Britain is alongside a heated indoor swimming pool, though sadly, few of us can offer one of those.