A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 poor bougainvillea

hello,
i bought a small bougainvillea this fall that was trained into a tree. when the cold weather hit, it died back a little, but there was still some growth on it. then my darling puppy got into it, and now it is literally a stick about two feet long. no leaves, nothing. will the poor thing grow back? should i cut it back all the way to the soil, or just leave the stick and hope for the best? thanks!

I'd move it to a stand so puppy can't reach& i'd water when soil dried top 1 inch& hopefully by spring you'll know.I'm assumeing you are still growing in pot bought in.Never seen one trained as braided tree.I grow mine in hanging basket.It has 4 flowers left blooming.I have in screened/plasticted porch.it seems quiet happy.

BUT....now my hubbys puppy keeps messing with my plants.just yesterday he had my whole entire new mexican fan palm out running through yard with it.needless to say both plants leaves look chewed on& he fears that rolled up gardenmag now.I hate gurneys,found new use for them

good luck...with both the dog& the plant.

LOL, njoynit! before my pup got the bougainvillea, she munched on my prized jasmine and killed an aloe as well. the (not so) funny thing is, when we brought her home, i put up all my plants so she wouldn't be tempted. that particular day i had set them all on the ground to be watered, and forgot to put those three back. she sure moved fast, only took her ten minutes or so to demolish everything. she walked around with the jasmine rootball for about a week, so proud! i didn't have the heart to take it away from her. now, however, i will have to consider the rolled up garden mag, hee hee.