Bougainvillea needs help..

Discussion in 'Vines and Climbers' started by jumbojimmy, Mar 11, 2007.

  1. jumbojimmy

    jumbojimmy Active Member

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    Please help me here...

    I bought a bougainvillea two days ago, and placed it in full sun. I've read a lot of articles saying that 1) bougainvilleas like HOT weather; 2) they don't like to be watered much and prefer to be neglected; 3) they like to be root bounded.

    Yesterday, I noticed that the leaves looked dropey and white scar appears on pink bracekts (spelling?). What could be the reason for this? I haven't watered my bougainvillea since Wednesday. The soil looked really dry today, but I fear that if I watered it - it will kill this plant. In the past, I used to have 2 bougainvilleas but they died because I've been too generous with the watering everyday schedule.. This time, I'm intendinfg to only water it every 8 days.

    The weather in Aust has been 33 degree cel...very hot and windy.

    Photos of my bougainvillea:

    http://myfavoriteplants.blogspot.com/

    Your advices and help is greatly appreciated.
     
  2. Chuck White

    Chuck White Active Member

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    jumbojimmy: I would suggest that until the roots have grown enough to support the nourishment of the plant, you should keep the plant just damp. It should be deep watered every 3-4 days, and a liquid plant starter fertilizer could be used. Your warm windy weather is also probably desicating the plant far more rapidly than you presume. It is true that the bougie prefers less water than some other plants and also less fertilizer, but until it becomes established in its new location, it needs a little TLC.
     
  3. jumbojimmy

    jumbojimmy Active Member

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    Thanks for your reply... it seems to me that my plant requires watering. I watered it yesterday, and this morning the leaves feels normal again.
     
  4. jumbojimmy

    jumbojimmy Active Member

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    it's kind of strange...when I left it in FULL sun, the leaves goes dropey.

    I thought bougs like HOT weather. Or maybe my plant is still young, and requires watering regularly. But then, I heard other people saying that the leaves get dropey because of too much watering. confused.
     
  5. Chuck White

    Chuck White Active Member

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    If the leaves tend to return to normal overnite, I would suggest that your plant has not had sufficient time to grow enough root mass to support the growth it currently has. A reduction of the leaf mass will give the roots a break, and enable them to 'catch up'.
     
  6. jumbojimmy

    jumbojimmy Active Member

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    The leaves looks sad and soft, and brittle to touch... the weather isn't even hot today.
    is my bouganivillea going to die? Is there anything I can do to save this climber from having its leaves falling out?
    Is bouganivillea an evergreen climber or a decidious climber?

    Thanks
     
  7. Chuck White

    Chuck White Active Member

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    j.j. : In the colder time of the year, the plant will tend to be quasi deciduous. It tends to look as though it is dying, although it will not lose all of its leaves. It just looks ragged and unhappy. This soon changes as new growth provides the opportunity for new leaves to fill out the bare spots. Any blooms will only be on the new growth. If you are zealous about keeping it trimmed, it is likely you are cutting off its potential for blooming by removing the bloom stems.
    The bougainvillea is a rangy, vining type of plant that has a weeping character. It really isn't a climber per se, in that it has no 'hold-fasts' with which it might cling to a surface. By its nature, it will weave in and out of a trellis, for example, and tend to hold itself erect. Planted in the center of a lawn, it will(can) eventually become a mound three meters high, but only after the stems fill out enough to give it support (which it will do, over time).
    As a specimen plant, I have only one(I got rid of seventeen others which I had as a hedge), and it is trimmed as a multi-trunked, free-standing small tree. It is trimmed so the lower leaf branches are seven feet above the ground. The crown gets the typical 'wild hairs' as the vining character puts long shoots in the air. When these stalks get six to eight feet long , I cut them individually to maintain a rather mushroom-shaped canopy about twelve feet across. any 'hangy-down' shoots are cut flush with the bottom of the canopy because the guy is growing over a public sidewalk.
    As your 'Spring' growing season starts, you will be happy to find that you can easily do cuttings and get as many of these stickery rascals as you want. L.H. Bailey, in "The Nursery Manual", copyright 1896 by Bailey, and in 1920 by Macmillan Publishing Co., states as follows:

    "Buogainvillea Nyctagnaceae
    Handled by cuttings from the half-ripened wood from April to June(you figure out when that is in your hemisphere) ; place in sandy soil in bottom heat; keep moist at temperature of 65 to 70 degrees F. Also grown from root cuttings."

    I have never bothered with the bottom heat, and the cuttings seem to root well anyway. The colored portion of the 'bloom' is really that of the bracts around the actual 'flower' which is only the tiny white belled tubular thing in the center which is trumpet shaped.
    In the U.S., the plant is also affected by a small green caterpillar that eats the leaves AT NIGHT. This frustrates many gardeners because they never check the plant at night with a flashlight. The critters hide during the day and are not likely to be seen. The bugs are the larval stage of a night flying moth. Under normal growth circumstances these are a tough plant that you can beat with a stick without doing any or much harm. The are tenacious growers, and quite hardy, once established.
    I hope you are succesful in getting your little guy going. Once growing, they are tough as nails. Hope this helps a little. Chuck
     
  8. Chuck White

    Chuck White Active Member

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    j.j. As an addendum: Bougies DO like full sun, and the hotter, the better. The longer the day in the sun, the happier they are. Chuck
     
  9. jumbojimmy

    jumbojimmy Active Member

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    Hi Chunk,

    Thanks for your informative response...I finally figured out what's wrong with my plant. It's a trial-and-error type of thing.

    The leaves have been droopy for days so I moved it to ashady area. I noticed there's no improvement, so I watered it deeply with seasoil. And today, the leaves are normal again.

    Is Mary Palmer a shady variety? Or maybe like you said, my bougainvillea is still young and needs some nurturing and protection of hard hot weather.
     
  10. Chuck White

    Chuck White Active Member

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    j.j.: I don't know if there is a 'shade' bougie. Any with which I have had an acquaintance have all been sun lovers. I would presume that your guy has an insufficient root system to keep up with the normal transporation that takes place when a plant is in full sun. The roots can't provide sufficient water to match that which is lost through the leaves while parked in the sun. I would give it a couple of hours of morning sun and broken or high shade the rest of the day for 3-4 weeks to let the roots catch up. After that, I would probably increase the sun exposure a little (like one hour) per week until it is again a full sun plant. Shade will make it excessively 'leggy' and the leaf structure will not be as dense as otherwise. Don't let it get 'wet' feet. Damp is OK, but soggy is not. Functioning on all cylinders, the plant is quite drought hardy. Good luck!
     
  11. kia796

    kia796 Active Member

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    In your pic, see how the soil has pulled away from the side of the pot? This is where roots get damaged from the heat that radiates from the sides of the black plastic pot. There's no soil in that gap and water runs right out the bottom before it soaks the root ball.

    I'd repot it into a slightly (emphasis...slightly) larger pot, same depth as in original pot. And when you repot, you'll likely notice the roots just go round and round because there's very little soil left into which they can expand.

    A trip to Mexico proved to me what you already know...they do like heat, but that's when they're planted in the ground (heat from the side of a pot is not beneficial).

    What I also noticed in Mexico was the poorer-looking the soil (in several cases it resembled fine dust), the more prolific the blooms.
     
  12. Liz

    Liz Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    I would say you are either cooking it in its pot or it is not out door hardy enough. Given our hot weather you might try putting the pot inside a biggerpot and stuffing newspaper or woodshavings between the two pots and keep that damp as well as the pot its self. If it is well established in the garden then yes it is a real survivor but fresh out of a nursery situation possible held inside on a sale table it has soften up.

    just another thought

    Liz
     
  13. kia796

    kia796 Active Member

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    Ah, yes, you make an excellent point, Liz.
     
  14. jumbojimmy

    jumbojimmy Active Member

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    Thanks guys for your replies,

    You are spot on about not having enough soil to cover the roots. I did repotted it about a week ago. So far, no more droopy leaves. However, the flowers / brackets have finish flowering and the leaves aren't as glossy anymore, which is a bit peculiar consider that my neighbour's bouganivillea is still blooming and looks glossy in the middle of autumn. I guess it could be because of transplant shock. I'm in a stage of "neglecting" this plant - hopefully in spring time, it will grow well.
     
  15. Liz

    Liz Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Just give it time and do keep it damp while it is getting it's breath so to speak.
    I am sure if you can give it good basic pot care it will come around.
    Liz
     
  16. busybea

    busybea Active Member

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    jimbo keep the roots covered and deep watering once a week liz is right about sawdust great insulator.underwaterng or overwatering you get same reaction droopy leaves
     

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