A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 Bougainvilla

My Bougainvilla has branches and no leaves. Its in a container. Is it still saveable? If so how can i make it bloom?

Is it outside or inside? Did it have leaves and then drop them all? If it's inside, it probably lost it's leaves and went semi-dormant. Put it outside when the weather warms up, give it some liquid fertilizer and it should grow new leaves.

Hi there,
I think alankhart is right that your boug is dormant right now. When the weather conditions become favorable, new leaves will sprout, at which point i would suggest a mild fertilizer, and not before. One other thing about bougainvilleas is that their roots do not like to be disturbed, so hold off on repotting until absolutely necessary. Good luck!

Its outside. There was a hard freeze on December lows 20s. Will it survive?

eeek! That is a hard freeze. Last year, we had a record 18 degree temp. overnight here in Tucson, and I don't recall any of my friends losing their bougainvilleas. However, their plants were in the ground and I know that can provide insulation. What I would do is wait...put it out in the direct sunshine, and hopefully you will see some new growth within a month. If not, I'm sorry deb789, but I think your baby is a goner. Hope this helps!

Hi! My bouganvilla is also in a container, and it did the leaf-dropping thing when I accidently left it in a freeze. It's taken about a month, but I'm happy to say, it's back again. So give it some sun, keep it watered, and it should come back for you. Good luck!

Yup, the Bougainvilla will come back, but might take a while. We get down in the 20s, all leaves gone, but back it comes every year.