Bouganvilla - Gardening & Landscaping

Deana · #1 (**permalink**) 05-06-2002, 10:36 AM

Anyone have success with bouganvilla? Any advice?

We bought a huge, 'viney' plant that had tons of blooms... which have all fallen off. A few of the leaves are starting to yellow.

I've heard to water, water, water it, and I've also heard that they don't like water... that they thrive in the sun... that they need shade

I'm not sure what to do with this dang thing and I don't want to kill it - they are so beautiful when they are blooming and healthy!

Trina · #2 (**permalink**) 05-06-2002, 10:55 AM

Deana... I'm going to email my mother (who has a huge green thumb--unlike her daughter

) to see what advice she has about this plant.

nicolef888 · #3 (**permalink**) 05-06-2002, 02:22 PM

Hi D-

I currently have 3 Bongainvilleas and have had great success with them. It did take me killing two before I got it right though. Anyway, after I killed the two by leaving them out to freeze in the winter, the three that I currently have are babied.

First of all, is your Bogainvillea still in the original pot or is it in the ground?

Is it in the sun or a shady area?

From my experience, Bogainvilleas only like to be planted in the ground in the spring. They won't grow if it's too hot or too cold. I have kept mine in pots but not the originals-I have gone up a pot size and they seem to be happy. Mine are in an area that get morning sun and afternoon shade. They LOVE tones of water!!!! What I've also done is to put peat moss over the soil in the pot and that seems to keep their soil a little wetter longer.

Let me know the above info and I will try to help you in any way that I can. They are really beautiful plants and pretty easy to care for. Winter is when they need to be babied-I bring them inside and put them in the garage for the duration of the winter.

Deana · #4 (**permalink**) 05-06-2002, 03:04 PM

Nicole, thanks for the information!
We planted ours in the ground - which I'm learning isn't the best thing, since they like to be root bound. We have a trellis on the back of our fence, and we are 'training' the plant to climb - at least that's our goal.
It gets a lot of sun - all day. It is in the backyard, and our backyard faces northeast.
We have lots of mulch all over our flower beds for added moisture, but I think the peat moss is an even better suggestion.
I didn't know they liked water so much. Someone once told me to "leave them alone" and that they DON'T like water. Well, we did in fact leave it alone and water it sparsely... which I think is the reason it's not doing so well. We only planted it a week ago, so it does have some hope, I'm just sad that it dropped all of it's blooms.
Do you know if they respond to plant food or if they need acidic soil (we bought a large bag of acidic soil to plant our magnolia tree in)?
Thanks for being so helpful - I'll take any suggestions that you have!

nicolef888 · #5 (**permalink**) 05-06-2002, 05:05 PM

Hi D-

My suggestion is to just give it a lot of water. They like to be fed as well. I have just been giving mine regular plant food once every six weeks. If he continues to do poorly, I suggest placing him a pot and waiting until next Spring to plant him in the ground. We haven't had much of a Spring this year and it may be a little too hot for him. Just give him another week in the ground, some food and lots of water (if you can, water him in the morning and at night)-see how he does.

As far as liking acidic soil, I have never used any acidic plant food in mine (I do use it for my Azaleas though who respond very nicely to it).

I hope this helps! Keep us updated!

Deana · #6 (**permalink**) 05-06-2002, 05:09 PM

Nicole, thank you, thank you! I will start watering him in the am and pm - I always water at night, after the sun sets but not usually in the morning. It will actually be nice to take a few minutes before heading out to work and go outside to water!

Margarita · #7 (**permalink**) 05-06-2002, 05:20 PM

Good luck with the nursing, D! I'm sooo jealous. I love bouganvilla but I'm sure there's no way they'd grow here.

nicolef888 · #8 (**permalink**) 05-09-2002, 07:14 PM

D-

How is your Bogainvillea doing?

Deana · #9 (**permalink**) 05-10-2002, 12:15 PM

Hi Nicole!
Guess what? It's doing much better! It looks healthier. And I think it may bloom again, because there are very small white 'bud' looking things starting to grow.
My husband has been watering in the morning and we water at night. We also have Cannas, which love to be watered, so they are getting a morning and evening drink too.
Thank you so much - I really didn't know it needed that much water, and it's really helping. Plus I'm going to get some peat moss this weekend.

nicolef888 · #10 (**permalink**) 05-10-2002, 12:19 PM

That is great news!!! I'm glad that I could help out

Csara · #11 (**permalink**) 02-02-2003, 02:00 AM

my bouganvillas are in horrible shape and I don't know if I can even salvage them. I know this sounds horrible, but I forgot about them...we were away and I haven't watered them since I've been back. I know--so bad of me. Anything I can do other than watering them and just hoping they come alive again?

nicolef888 · #12 (**permalink**) 02-02-2003, 09:26 PM

The first thing I would do is to check if the Bogainvilla is still alive. Try cutting one of it's branches and check to see if there is a green area inside. If the inside is brown and brittle, the plant is most likely dead and there is nothing you can do. Keep on cutting the branch until you do find some green it. Sometimes you will find a little of the green closer to the stem area.

Are you Bogainvillas in pots or in the ground?

When and if you have determined that your Bogainvillas are alive, you should get some Hibiscus Fertilizer (I heard this the other day and I plan to try it) and fertilize the plant according to the directions on the bottle/bag.

Also, where did you buy your Bogainvilla? If you bought it at Home Depot and you still have your receipt then you can return it as many of their plants have guarantee's. Some are for a year and others are for the life time of the plant.

Good luck!!!!

Csara · #13 (**permalink**) 02-02-2003, 09:42 PM

Thanks Nicole! I just walked in from watering them and they look pretty dead so I'm going to go back out and cut the branches to see if there is any green left. If so, I'll go buy that fertilizer you mentioned. My plants are potted and I got them from my mother so no receipts, I'm afraid. I think I'm just a huge brown thumb.

I'm working on it though...

Deana · #14 (**permalink**) 02-03-2003, 03:10 PM

I'm so sad

. The bogainvilla that I worked so hard on last summer is a goner. We had a couple of freezes here, and I forgot to cover it up. So, I dug it up on Saturday.

nicolef888 · #15 (**permalink**) 02-03-2003, 06:36 PM

C-

Let me know what you find. Don't worry it takes a lot of trial and error to successfully grow plants. I've killed many plants...not on purpose but because I was still trying to figure it out. Don't give up though, it gets easier!!!!

D-

That is too bad about your Bogainvilla. Did you check the branches to see if it was dead?