I've been growing a Bouvardia terniflora for quite a few years from Logges with some abuse. After not seen much growth on it, I dug my plant up, to see that it had been robbed of good soil and surrounded by invading tree roots. I potted it up and it's showing new growth. Hopefully in the spring I'll be able to find a better spot for it. The HB do like the flowers. I also started bouvardia glaberrima from seed.

Helena

I bought a bouvardia at a plant sale this spring - not sure as to the species but it does look like yours. Yes, the hummingbirds liked it and it was a good bloomer so I'm keeping it although I find it a little floppy. Mine got only a few hours of sunlight.

I found mine in a nursery and since it was labeled as an annual I left it outside in the fall, in a container on my deck. It has now survived and thrived for me for 3 years and the hummers and the butterflies do love it.
My only problem has been in propagating it. I just learned that you should take cuttings in early spring so I will try that next.

When I see Bouvardia I think of Ah..... smells so divine. A bit disappointing that it isn't so with this one. ;-[

Ankrara's Hobby Corner

Mine is one is one of the first plants to leaf out and start blooming in the spring and it is still covered with flowers. As I write this there is a huge hummer drinking his fill from it. Also, the bright red flowers are wonderful in fresh holiday arrangements during December.
These attributes more than make up for any lack of fragrance in my book. This is my absolute favorite plant.

It must be too hot for this plant here. I bought three last late spring. In a month, six weeks max, all three were dead during the summer stifling heat. Can't think of anything else it could have been. They were so bright and pretty when I bought them, too.

I have to say as to whether they'll take the extreme heat, I'm not sure about that , but I did find on the hottest days they needed lots of extra water, so perhaps your's got just a bit too dry, though our highs were generally only in the upper eighties most of the summer with a few low nineties thrown in , but with high humidity as well. I'd think the climate would be fine in south Florida, as mine in general seemed to like the hotter days and grew best as the days got hotter. It could be they originate in the cooler upland areas of Mexico, so perhaps they're not as heat tollerant as I'd think?? I am a bit surprised as well that they winter over so well into zone 8 as for SC, since I thought they'd be a bit more sensitive to frost??

It is pretty hot here, weeks of temps in the 90's and hot humid nights are the norm in the summer. The plant is on my deck where it gets a good breeze year round. Perhaps good air circulation is a clue. I wish I could find out more about this mysterious plant. I was surprised when it made it through the first winter; if it ever does succumb to the cold weather I will be heartbroken.

Bouvardia glaberrima, (which is supposedly a synonym of B. ternifolia), grows wild in some of the wet canyons in S.E. Arizona. I've seen it in areas that get up to 110F, but only in moist habitats. I don't think the heat itself would have been the problem...

In Arizona it would often freeze to the ground in winter, but would come back in the spring.

I've been looking for this species for a few years, but the only thing they offer in the Sacramento area is some hybrid, (or possibly a different species?), that is not supposed to be able to take our winter temperatures...

Mike

I do repeat , that I think the most important thing I've found on very hot days here is just giving them lots of extra water, since they seem to lose it so fast. Meanwhile , though I've not found any sites that say they can be grown from seeds, I've tried several times and recently had a couple of seeds come up , but then just sit there and ultimately die. I do think in their native ranges , and since they're a species, they do selfseed and are spread in that way, so the seeds should work?? I luckily did after two very long months get three cuttings to root this fall, though my spring cuttings as mentioned were always easier and much faster to root!!!

I've not successed in finding seeds of mine plant.I managed to root a cutting this summer-fall of bouvardia terniflora only to have the pot fall and half the cutting break, no signs that it'll live. One of my bouvardia glaberrina plant is doing good. I got the seeds from Southwestern Native Seeds in Tucson, AZ. last fall. There weren't too many seeds and they're expensive, you also have to buy about 4 packets per order. The seeds are similar to eccremocarpus,
I don't know if the plants are as tough as the ternifolia.
Helena

Boy this is an old thread... I now live in the Central Valley of CA. I just received two ternifolia plants from a Nursery called Annie's Annuals (and perennials) today...

It's really not that much cooler here than in Tucson, so we'll see how they do...