Actual size and flowering may vary slightly based on season.
Orange King Bougainvillea
Orange King Bougainvillea covers itself in bronze-orange bracts through the warm months. It is a vigorous climber that can reach 15 to 30 feet with support, or you can prune it into a fuller shrub. It loves heat and takes the reflected sun off hot walls. Use it to cover a wall, fence or arbor, or to screen a view.
Best for: covering a hot wall, fence or arbor, screening a view, and orange color in full sun and reflected heat.
Orange King is a vigorous climber that can reach 15 to 30 feet with support. It does not cling on its own, so tie the stems to a trellis or wire as it grows. Plant about 6 to 8 feet apart along a wall or fence.
Trained over an arbor or along a fence, it screens a view with bronze-orange bracts through the warm months. For a hedge or screen row, plant about 4 to 5 feet apart and prune it to shape.
Bougainvillea loves summer heat and takes the reflected sun off west and south walls. Give it at least six hours of direct sun for the best color. Once rooted, keep it on the dry side, since extra water means fewer bracts.
Frost around 28 to 32°F burns the stems, though it usually regrows from the roots in spring. The stems carry thorns, and the papery bracts drop and blow around. Keep it back from pools and busy walkways.
- Hedge or screen row4-5 ft apart
- Along a wall or fence6-8 ft apart
Water often while it gets rooted, tapering to about once a week through the first summer. Once rooted, soak it about every 7 to 10 days in summer and about once a month in winter. Let the soil dry between waterings, since extra water means fewer bracts.
Tie new stems to the support with strong ties as it grows. Do the main pruning in spring once frost danger has passed, with light trims after each bloom flush. Wear gloves and long sleeves for the thorns.
Cover it with frost cloth, not plastic, on frost nights. A freeze can drop its leaves, and it rests until spring. Leave any damage in place until new growth shows, then cut back to just above it.
Give one light feeding in spring and none in winter. Heavy feeding pushes leaves instead of color.
Small green or brown inchworms chew ragged leaf edges at night and leave tiny black droppings. Healthy plants handle it, so treat only young plants or heavy damage with BT.
Drainage test first. Dig the hole and fill it with water. If water is still sitting in the hole a day later, you likely hit caliche, clay or hard soil, so fix the drainage before planting. If it drains very fast, the soil is sandy. Standing water around roots is a common reason new plants fail.
Weed cloth. Cut it away from the planting hole and where the roots will spread. Remove any plastic sheeting completely, since it keeps water and air out of the soil.
Rock or decomposed granite with no soil underneath. Bring in soil close in texture to your native soil, mix it with the soil below, and build up enough depth for roots before planting.
If you can break through. Use a breaker bar, pick, or jackhammer. Dig through the caliche and break out the solid chunks. Backfill with the soil you dug out, with no compost or manure in the hole. Confirm drainage before planting.
If you cannot break through. Dig narrow holes through the hard layer beside the root ball, not under it, and refill them with the same soil, not gravel. If it still will not drain, plant on a low mound of the same soil.
Root ball. Check the outside edges for any roots circling around. Loosen or cut those so they grow outward. Do not break up the center of the root ball.
Depth. The top of the root ball should sit at or just slightly above the surrounding soil level. Planting too deep can lead to rot and kill the plant.
Drip emitters. At planting, put the emitters on the root ball, on different sides of the plant. After about 2 months, move them to the outer edge of the root ball. Over the first year, add emitters farther out toward the edge of the branches as roots grow. Once a plant is rooted, never water only at the trunk.
How big does Orange King get?
With support it can climb 15 to 30 feet. Without support it sprawls into a large, rambling shrub. Prune it after bloom flushes if you want to keep it smaller.
What color is Orange King?
The bracts are orange with bronze or copper tones, and some describe them as orange to apricot. The true flowers are the tiny white ones in the center of each cluster.
Does it need a trellis?
Yes, if you want it to climb. It does not cling on its own, so tie the stems to a trellis, wire or fence with strong ties. Without support it grows into a sprawling shrub.
How far apart should I plant it?
Plant about 6 to 8 feet apart along a wall or fence, or about 4 to 5 feet apart for a hedge row. The Spacing tab on this page counts plants for your run.
Can it take a hot west wall?
Yes, bougainvillea is one of the few flowering plants that thrives on hot west walls and in reflected sun. Give it at least six hours of direct sun for the best color.
How often should I water it?
Water often while it gets rooted, tapering to about once a week through the first summer. After that, water deeply every 7 to 10 days in summer and about once a month in winter.
Why is it not blooming?
Too much water or fertilizer keeps it growing leaves instead of color. Let the soil dry between waterings, skip extra feeding and make sure it gets full sun.
Will frost kill it?
Frost around 28 to 32°F can burn the stems and drop the leaves, but it usually grows back from the roots. Cover it with frost cloth on cold nights, and wait until frost danger has passed before cutting off damage.
How do I plant it without hurting it?
Its roots are fine and easily damaged. Slide it out of the pot carefully and set the root ball in whole without breaking it apart. Plant in spring after frost for the best start.
When should I prune it?
Do the main pruning in spring after frost danger has passed, and light trims after each bloom flush. Wear gloves and long sleeves, since the stems carry thorns.
Is it safe near a pool?
Keep it well back from the water. The papery bracts drop and blow around, and they end up in the pool.
Is Orange King poisonous to pets?
Bougainvillea is not known to be poisonous to pets. The thorns are the main risk, so keep it off pet paths and play areas.
Orange King Bougainvillea for sale in Arizona, delivered to you
Orange King is a vigorous bougainvillea with bronze-orange bracts that can climb 15 to 30 feet on a wall, fence or arbor. It loves the heat, takes reflected sun and needs little water once rooted. Below are the questions people ask most, from size and support to watering, frost and pruning.
Sourced from trusted Arizona growers and delivered directly to your door, job site, or property. We deliver across the Valley and to nearby towns, and quote delivery anywhere else in Arizona.
How big does Orange King bougainvillea get?
With support it can climb 15 to 30 feet. Without support it grows into a large, rambling shrub, and pruning after bloom flushes keeps it smaller.
Orange bougainvillea for a west wall in Phoenix
Bougainvillea is one of the few flowering plants that thrives on hot west walls and in reflected sun. Orange King adds bronze-orange color there through the warm months.
How do you train Orange King on a fence or trellis?
It does not cling on its own. Tie the stems to the support with strong ties as they grow, and guide new shoots along it.
How far apart do you plant Orange King?
Plant about 6 to 8 feet apart along a wall or fence. For a hedge or screen row, about 4 to 5 feet apart works.
Watering Orange King in the Valley
Water deeply, then let the soil dry. Once rooted, about every 7 to 10 days in summer and monthly in winter is plenty, and extra water means fewer bracts.
Frost and Orange King bougainvillea
Frost near freezing burns it back, but it usually regrows from the roots. Wait until frost danger has passed before pruning the damage.
Planting Orange King bougainvillea
Plant in spring after frost so it roots in before the next winter. Keep the root ball whole, since its fine roots do not like being disturbed.
We deliver across the Valley, from Phoenix, Scottsdale and Mesa out to San Tan Valley, Maricopa and Casa Grande, and up to Prescott, Sedona, Payson and Globe. See delivery areas and rates.