A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 What's wrong with my bougainvillea

Hi folks!
My bougainvillea is not very happy. There is leaf dropping along with discoloring of various leaves. I'm going to my make my first attempt at uploading from "photobucket".

My picture will tell you more.
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n130/snapshutter/8-10-07065.jpg

Any help you can give will be greatly appreciated.

See if you plant have little bugs like cotton?
Somethink like that:

Hi tppc,

Thanks for your response!

I just checked my plant and I do not see any bugs. Do you know the name of the bug you mentioned that appears as cotton?

Thanks Teresa

Other suggestions? Anyone?

Stephanie

Hi Stephanie,

Can you answer some more questions in the meantime waiting
for some of the gardener's to come thru...

growing conditions the plant is in right now???

What kind of soil is it in?
Regular garden soil/or bagged soil, if so, what kind?
What kind of drainage does the area have?

Watering practices? By hose, sprinkler, drip, only rain water...
And when do you water, in the morning, afternoon, evenings?

Have you used any fertilizers' lately?
If so, what kind?
What time of day?
And was the soil dry or wet before hand?

Is the plant in full sun, partial, shade???

How old is the plant?

Hi weezie,

Okay!

The plant is sitting along side of my front door step, potted and facing north.

I am not sure of the soil content as it is in it's original container from the nursery.

I water by hose, every 2 to 3 days, usually in the mid-afternoon.

I have given it granule plant food but not sure the name. Will have to get back to you on that.

I purchased the plant about 4 months ago.

Stephanie

Hi Stephanie,
I think it's mealybugs... I now thar 3 days ago in our forum.
I hope you find what is wrong.

Hey tppc,

Mealybugs? Hmmm, are they visible to the naked eye? What can I do to rid them if that's what it is?

Thanks

Stephanie

Weezie, I told you I would get back to you on the fertilizer.

It's called "Colorburst" for plants and flowers, 15-30-15.

Do others agree my plant has mealybugs?

Hi all!

Here's an update on my bougainvillea. I moved the plant over three feet to a location for full sun. I removed the plant from an outside pot it was sitting in as it did not have holes for drainage. My bougainvillea seems to be doing much better!



I do need to transplant to another pot though. Would it be okay to do this now? I'm in zone 9. It is not blooming at this time. I don't know that it should be though.

gosh, what a difference. Was it standing in water since there were no drainage holes?

Hi Bestofour,
Unfortunately, it was. Say about an inch or two. It was sitting in a beautiful ceramic pot. I recently found out there are drill bits that can be used to drill holes in ceramic pots. Came from good source.