This vigorous, showy vine shines with bright, magenta-red, petal-like bracts. Creates a fine cover for patios or arbors, and is a dramatic groundcover for banks when allowed to ramble unsupported. Drought tolerant when established. Evergreen in frost-free climates; provides superb warm season color in colder winter areas. The Bougainvillea variety Barbara Karst is a marriage of toughness and beauty. Not only does Barbara Karst handle desert heat well, it has been noted as hardy down to 25F. From spring, all the way through summer, the relatively inconspicuous blossoms of Barbara Karst are surrounded by bracts of such a bright magenta-red color that they almost look unreal, though in light shade the bracts will take on a more earthly violet cast. Plant in full sun to bring out the bright color of the bracts, if planted in more shade the color will dull to a reddish-blue. It requires very little irrigation along the coast once established.