Please help me save my dying Bougainvillea

[MARZ_TJ]

Hello all,
My poor bougie is very sick I brought it inside for the winter and put it in a grow tent with all of my other tropical trees. I think I overwatered it or something, cause after about a month inside she started to go south hard. I tried to not water it as much and things just got worse. Im now scared if i dont take drastic action I will loose the tree, and if I do something too drastic I might loose the tree. If anybody has any advice or knows what to do me and this tree would greatly appreciate it.
Help me O'bonsai Kanobi you're my only hope.

 

[vp999]

I think it'll be ok, I have a few bougies and when they're in the heated greenhouse which can get down 35 on a really cold night, they look really bad and lose all their leaves but as soon as spring weather arrives they starts to bud like crazy. All my bougies have no leaves now but all flowers. Just water like one a week in the winter and let them be. I used to live in the Delmarva now I am in Silver Spring ...where about are you? Good luck.

 

[HorseloverFat]

Greetings, Traveller!

The Woody Dwarves gather ‘round To assess your Bougie... smudging sage and chanting healing mantras.. We’ll figure it out, here, in the Tiny Forest...

It needs acidic fertilizer.. and less water..

It should be ok, I think.

@Gabler is in the Delmarva.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Agreed, I feel the tree was kept to wet. Also has a deficiency with iron. By the pale foliage as stated above.

A solid baseline for bougainvillea issues...

Disease and Pest Control

rgbougainvillea.com

 

[Tieball]

While in a tropical climate, with sunny days, my only experience with Bougainvilleas, I just remove all of the bad leaves and then get the tree as much sunlight as possible. Not much water. The problem leaves won’t get better or heal. The bad leaves don't magically turn green again...they get replaced by dormant buds blooming. The roots will then spend the energy available producing new leaves from dormant buds. If this happened I always tried to get the tree as warm as I could....lots of sun and light. Bougainvillea I've had also did really well with minimal watering and good drainage. I believe the trees I grew liked a drier soil to grow in...to much wetness produced those yellowing leaves. Let the soil begin to dry out some. That’s been my experience.

 

[Cadillactaste]

While in a tropical climate, with sunny days, my only experience with Bougainvilleas, I just remove all of the bad leaves and then get the tree as much sunlight as possible. Not much water. The problem leaves won’t get better or heal. The bad leaves don't magically turn green again...they get replaced by dormant buds blooming. The roots will then spend the energy available producing new leaves from dormant buds. If this happened I always tried to get the tree as warm as I could....lots of sun and light. Bougainvillea I've had also did really well with minimal watering and good drainage. I believe the trees I grew liked a drier soil to grow in...to much wetness produced those yellowing leaves. Let the soil begin to dry out some. That’s been my experience.

I've had deficiencies where Ironite turned foliage green again. As to the spotted foliage, I would remove. But...I've never removed yellow leaves. I've left the tree self defoliate if it chooses. But they can turn green again.

 

[HorseloverFat]

I've had deficiencies where Ironite turned foliage green again. As to the spotted foliage, I would remove. But...I've never removed yellow leaves. I've left the tree self defoliate if it chooses. But they can turn green again.

Indeed! A combination of adding Azomite and BouGain (or equivalent) seemed to work well for me.. with similar issues.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Once established, bougainvillea are extremely robust, and can get by with as much water as a desert succulent. I had bougies in landscape in Southern Cal where they wouldn't get a drop of water (rain or other) for nine months straight. The more I cut them back, the more they would grow Their leaves can handle dry or humid conditions, but their roots are somewhat weak and absolutely don't like to sit in water. Err on the side of dry soil with low organic content. Let the soil get relatively dry (but not bone dry) between waterings. If it starts to get too dry the leaves will start to wilt but will spring back with water.

I didn't have to do anything special in terms of fertilization to keep plants robust - as long as they were in full sun 24/7. In partial sun they will grow leggy and won't throw bracts... if they don't die outright. They will absolutely not grow in shade and will die.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I know I have shared this photo before on this site, but I will post it again just to show the soil. This bougie was in full SoCal sun all year round with no supplemental watering. The native soil in SoCal is hard clay with lots of stones and sand and very little organic matter. And yet bougies love it... or at least love the heat and aridity...

 

[HorseloverFat]

I know I have shared this photo before on this site, but I will post it again just to show the soil. This bougie was in full SoCal sun all year round with no supplemental watering. The native soil in SoCal is hard clay with lots of stones and sand and very little organic matter. And yet bougies love it... or at least love the heat and aridity...

View attachment 365694

Beautiful!

That is DEFINITELY a happy plant!

 

[Carol 83]

I know I have shared this photo before on this site, but I will post it again just to show the soil. This bougie was in full SoCal sun all year round with no supplemental watering. The native soil in SoCal is hard clay with lots of stones and sand and very little organic matter. And yet bougies love it... or at least love the heat and aridity...

ways

That picture always amazes me.

 

[Carol 83]

The one thing they won't tolerate is being kept too wet, lesson learned. It doesn't look that bad. Maybe a little Miracid would help with the leaf color. Is it in regular potting soil? Looks really wet.

 

[vp999]

People in my native country Vietnam uses sand to plant bougies and they thrive in that.