Hi and thanks for your time. I got a bougainvillea at Home Depot about 3 months ago; no idea what type, but standard purple/deep pink bracts and a small mounded shape. It survived a replanting into a plastic pot and had been flourishing on the southwest-facing side of my balcony. About two weeks ago I noticed that many of the bracts and some leaves had tan necrotic spots, which are irregular on the bracts and circular on the leaves. Inspection revealed a minor aphid attack which resolved quickly with one application of a natural spray. However, the spots are still there, and almost all the bracts now have them, including the newest ones. Also, the flowers inside the affected bracts are twisted and dark colored rather than yellow. Now most of the bracts are affected and they are dropping off at an alarming rate. New growth has slowed immensely, whereas in the first weeks the branches were adding inches almost by the day. I've checked but no longer see aphids or babies. Do we have a fungus among us? Am I over-fertilizing or -watering? (Liquid Miracle-Gro once every week or so, watering every 2-3 days.) Any insight will be much appreciated! Many thanks, Becky
I'm not sure about potted ones but in the ground here they thrive on total neglect. Little water and feed. Are you able to put it out nto a sunny garden spot. They like warmth and sun. I should imagine looking at yr location it is smilar weather to here in summer. It may be too much water and feed?? http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=630503 http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1866496.htm http://www.ehow.com/video_4418629_bougainvillea-pest-control-products.html Liz
I'm with Liz, you need to ignore it a little more. You're definitely fertilizing too often! My Bougs live in full sun in poor soil and get watered once a day in the height of summer (45-50C days); they thrive on it. This is one plant that you can all but ignore.
Liz, Lorax, thank you both. I suspected I was being over-attentive and will definitely pull back and see what happens with a little less care. I'm in Zone 17 and with the SW exposure, it's getting 6 hours of full sun and at least another 3 of partial every day. This will increase over the summer too. We're near a lake and have had some zippy wind gusts the last couple weeks (twice they were so bad I moved it to a sheltered corner), so that may be another contributing factor. Glad I found this board! Many thanks to you both for taking the time to give me some good pointers--and the links were just the extra mile, Liz! Be well, Becky
Just one more word of caution. Don't cook it in it's pot if it is in full sun. I usually put plants with their container into a bigger pot and fill the gap with news paper, or wood shavings or straw or even gravel to act as an insulator. On a bad day you can water the insulation to keep it's feet cool. Liz
Awesome idea... it's in a rectangular plastic planter-box hanging over the edge of the balcony, so that would involve some repotting & extra support for the holder... and I don't want to totally terrify the poor thing. But I'll keep it in mind for future ventures with bougainvilleas. (This being my most successful experiment to date!) Meanwhile, I am aggressively ignoring it. Checked the soil and you and Lorax were completely correct--it was damp just under the surface so I was definitely overwatering. We're looking at a good warm sunny week ahead, and it leaned into the sun today already, so hopefully that will dry things out and give it a good kick start! Thanks again, Becky
