Hello! I am new to this board, and have only been gardening for about 7 years now. One of my favorite plants are bougainvilleas. I have several in pots and hanging baskets, and all has been well until this morning. We had an unexpected temperature fall last night, and I did not bring them inside. Now the young blooms are wilted and the leaves are droopy. I am pretty sure it was the chill. What can I do to help them recover. I have to bring them in as the we seem to be getting another week of cold nights. Thanks for any help. Bina
Bina--you did the right thing bringing them in now for the cold nights. Bring them back outside during the warmth of the day if at all practical...they will prefer the bright humid conditions outside over the inside of a house. You may lose your current flowers, but the plants should be fine. They are almost hardy way up here where some people even keep them highly protected but in the ground, tho they do need the hot summers like you get to produce lots of flowers. In other words, the one cold night hasn't killed your bouganvilla...just pamper them a bit longer and you're all set for the rest of the summer.
Thank you for the swift reply! In the course of the day, the larger blossoms seem to recover in the strong sun, the young ones do not look promising, also most of the leaves perked up. They are tucked into my daylight basement for the night, and get to go outside weather permitting, as you suggested. Perhaps you can help with another matter? I planted a tiny baby Lemon Verbena, and one of my dogs decapitated her before I got to put up a barrier. I left the root ball in the ground, hoping it might grow up again. Is there any hope? Bina
