Bougainvillea 'James Walker' - A vigorous evergreen vine with branches that can reach 30 feet long. It has large medium-green leaves that have wavy margins and very large reddish-magenta long pointed bracts surrounding the larger-than-average white flowers, making the bracts and flowers more prominent than on other Bougainvillea cultivars. The flower bracts on this cultivar start orange then open to an iridescent magenta giving it a bicolored look early in the flowering season, which lasts from late spring well into the fall.
Plant in full sun where it requires very little irrigation along the coast once established. Hardy to about 20-25 degrees F.
The name for the genus honors the French admiral and explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville (1729-1811). Bougainville first visited South American in 1764 on a voyage to settle the Falkland Islands and in 1766 he left on a journey to become the first Frenchman to circumnavigate the globe. On this trip he was accompanied by the botanist Philibert Commerson (AKA Commerçon), who reportedly named the plant they found 'Bougainvillea' but it was not officially described until 1789 by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu. Jussieu actually misspelled the name as Buginvillea, and this name was not corrected until the 20th century.. Further intrigue regarding this plant's discovery is that it may have actually been discovered by Philibert Commerson's assistant (and possibly his lover) Jeanne Baré, who he had snuck onboard, disguising her as a man.
Bougainvillea 'James Walker' is also known by the cultivar name 'Ambiance' and it is considered to be an interspecific hybrid involving two or more of the species including Bougainvillea spectabilis, B. glabra and B. peruviana. We have grown this outstanding Bougainvillea cultivar since 1995.
The information about Bougainvillea 'James Walker' that is displayed on this web page is based on research conducted in our nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We will also include observations made about this plant as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We also incorporate comments that we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they share cultural information that aids others growing this plant.
Please note that after 46 years in business, San Marcos Growers will be discontinuing nursery operations by the end of 2025 and the property will be developed for affordable housing.
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