Feed me

Bougainvillea plants are notoriously difficult to grow because of their sensitivity to water and weak root system.

So when commercial nurseries saw the beauty of Tom Scannell's bougainvillea, they started buying what he was feeding his plants. “We just used it in-house for our own products,” Scannell says.

Scannell's plant-food sales have been so successful that Scannell got out of the bougainvillea-growing business in 2012. Today, Bougainvillea Growers International sells plant food such as BouGain and supplements such as SuperGain through retailers such as Home Depot and to horticulturalists at Busch Gardens and Disney World.