Cây hoa giấy thuộc dạng cây thân gỗ và có thể mọc leo, vươn dài và khả năng mọc khá nhanh với nhiều cành và có gai. Lá cây có màu xanh thẫm (xanh quanh năm), hình trái xoan (thuôn ở phần đỉnh lá, phần gốc lá lại tròn, hơi cong) và mọc so le.
Bougainvillea are popular ornamental plants in most areas with warm climates, such as Florida, South Carolina,[6] California, and across the Mediterranean Basin.[citation needed]
Although it is frost-sensitive and hardy in USDA Hardiness Zones 9b and 10, bougainvillea can be used as a houseplant or hanging basket in cooler climates. In the landscape, it makes an excellent hot season plant, and its drought tolerance makes it ideal for warm climates year-round. Its high salt tolerance makes it a natural choice for colour in coastal regions. It can be pruned into a standard, but is also grown along fence lines, on walls, in containers and hanging baskets, and as a hedge or an accent plant. Its long arching thorny branches bear heart-shaped leaves and masses of papery bracts in white, pink, orange, purple, and burgundy. Many cultivars, including double-flowered and variegated, are available.
Many of today’s bougainvillea are the result of interbreeding among only three out of the eighteen South American species recognised by botanists. Currently, there are over 300 varieties of bougainvillea around the world. Because many of the hybrids have been crossed over several generations, it is difficult to identify their respective origins. Natural mutations seem to occur spontaneously throughout the world; wherever large numbers of plants are being produced, bud-sports will occur. This had led to multiple names for the same cultivar (or variety) and has added to the confusion over the names of bougainvillea cultivars.
The growth rate of bougainvillea varies from slow to rapid, depending on the variety. They tend to flower all year round in equatorial regions. Elsewhere, they are seasonal, with bloom cycles typically four to six weeks. Bougainvillea grow best in dry soil, in very bright full sun and with frequent fertilisation; but they require little water once established, and in fact will not flourish if over-watered. They can be easily propagated via tip cuttings.[7]
Bougainvillea is also a very attractive genus for Bonsai enthusiasts, due to their ease of training and their radiant flowering during the spring.[8] They can be kept as indoor houseplants in temperate regions and kept small by bonsai techniques.
B. × buttiana is a garden hybrid of B. glabra and B. peruviana. It has produced numerous garden-worthy cultivars.
The cultivars ‘San Diego Red'[9] and ‘Mary Palmer’s Enchantment’ [10] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit. Bougainvillea are relatively pest-free plants, but they may be susceptible to worms, snails and aphids. The larvae of some Lepidoptera species also use them as food plants, for example the giant leopard moth (Hypercompe scribonia).
