The Bouvardia flowers are named after Parisian doctor Charles Bouvard, personal physician to Louis XIII and director of the Jardin des Plantes. These are small shrubs from South America that are grown in a greenhouse.

 

The flowers are loose clusters of tubular starlet, fringed with leaves and carried on tall stalks. Each stem resembles a small bouquet in bright firework colors. The stems are thin and erect and are clothed with small, green leaves. The leaves are bright green and pointed.

 

Bouvardia comes in white, pink, salmon, and red color and lives for one to two weeks. The dainty flowers and soft colors bestow an air of femininity wherever they make an appearance. They also have a faint delicate scent. The bright salmon, red, and white color range and interesting flower form offer interesting design possibilities.

 

The plant grows to 0.6-1.5 m tall. Bouvardia has fine foliage and beautiful, tubular white flowers. Bouvardia flowers are normally harvested with two to three outer flowers open.

The best compost for them consists of two-thirds loam, one-third peat and leaf mold and an addition of sand. When grown as houseplants, a minimum winter temperature of 7 °C is required, with a minimum of 12 °C while in flower. Sun and plenty of water provide good growing conditions. When working on Bouvardia, clean stems, cut, "Quick Dip" and place in water solution with flower food. It has a vase life of 7-14 days. 

 

Did you know?

 

• B. longiflora and B. jasminiflora (both have white, fragrant flowers) are some of the varieties of this plant.
• Bouvardia is ethylene sensitive.