bougainvillea adjusting to inside

[hinmo24t]

heres some documentation on my boug. was worried when i brought it inside to south facing windows, it dropped most of its leaves.
wasnt sure it was getting enough light... then, as @Carol 83 assured me, they are tough and has since acclimated, pushed out new growth, maybe even
some new 'flowers' developing.

looking forward to beginning the bonsai journey (nigel saunders' jargon) for most of my trees this march/april.

many hardcuts and rootwork forthcoming. im digging up 3 sugar maples on my property i cut .75 of a year ago to pot up, and i think
i might bury my purple crabapple, beech, white oak, and a few others for ground-growing a few years, instead of potting them up or hardcutting them

the bougainvillea



^that 730AM sun tho

 

[Bonsai Nut]

If you can keep aloe (or haworthia can't tell which) alive in that sun, you should be fine with bougainvillea.

Just make sure you don't drown the roots. They are happier if you keep them too dry than if you keep them too wet, particularly if they are showing sparse foliage.

 

[HorseloverFat]

My Bougie flowers look like this too, indoors.

Mine also partially defoliates itself upon the move indoors..

You have supplemental lights, yes?

 

[hinmo24t]

If you can keep aloe (or haworthia can't tell which) alive in that sun, you should be fine with bougainvillea.

Just make sure you don't drown the roots. They are happier if you keep them too dry than if you keep them too wet, particularly if they are showing sparse foliage.

i got lucky with the sun pattern for my house. i repotted and split a lot of aloes/hawothias/jade etc. and they have all taken.
have to be careful with watering like you mentioned. the boug has only been getting once a week water which i will go
to 1.5 or every other week soon. i run that formula generally for larger pots inside that hold moisture longer than the 4" or less terracottas
which get a weekly watering. misting for a lot of my plants almost daily except for the boug and dry lovers on that side of the house.

My Bougie flowers look like this too, indoors.

Mine also partially defoliates itself upon the move indoors..

You have supplemental lights, yes?

i do have cheap supplemental lights that i use afterwork > overnight, if the day was cloudy.
the lights work from what i can tell. it helped with getting the succulents to prop/repot in the fall and winter.

 

[HorseloverFat]

i got lucky with the sun pattern for my house. i repotted and split a lot of aloes/hawothias/jade etc. and they have all taken.
have to be careful with watering like you mentioned. the boug has only been getting once a week water which i will go
to 1.5 or every other week soon. i run that formula generally for larger pots inside that hold moisture longer than the 4" or less terracottas
which get a weekly watering. misting for a lot of my plants almost daily except for the boug and dry lovers on that side of the house.


i do have cheap supplemental lights that i use afterwork > overnight, if the day was cloudy.
the lights work from what i can tell. it helped with getting the succulents to prop/repot in the fall and winter.

Cool! Glad it is workin’ out.

Have you ever considered timers and an 16/8 lighting schedule?

Also.. hows your humidity?

 

[Cadillactaste]

I've grown bougainvillea without a grow light. My only frustration was, removing all winter growth because without proper light...they get leggy internodes. (I keep the tropical in a sun room with large windows and two 4x4 sky lights...I was not happy with the direction of development. I want tight internodes)

Where I focused on development and didn't even permit this one to bloom until this past year. It needs another dose of fertilizer threw at it.

Bougainvillea can do fine indoors for wintering. Its all in what your final goal is...and how soon you want to get there. *If you choose to use a grow light or not.

2015 image


This time I have focused my energy as well as the trees, on development.

This year...as it sat on my bench. First time permitting to bloom.


And taken today...under a grow light.
It sits backwards on the bench. To permit the canopy to reach into the grow light than away.
Needs another dose of fertilizer. My tropical grow well through winter. Just hard pruned the dwarf powderpuff beside it. Removing blooms as well. That tree has bloomed non stop since June when it arrived.

 

[Carol 83]

i do have cheap supplemental lights that i use afterwork > overnight, if the day was cloudy.

My tropical's kind of limped along with just a southern exposure. Then I got some cheap red/blue grow lights and they did a little bit better. This year I switched to some better ones that are supposed to mimic natural sunlight and are much easier on the eyes. I am limited to the strip lights, can't have the big hanging ones in my set-up. But they have made a big difference, the trees are thriving not just hanging on until spring.

 

[Cadillactaste]

My tropical's kind of limped along with just a southern exposure. Then I got some cheap red/blue grow lights and they did a little bit better. This year I switched to some better ones that are supposed to mimic natural sunlight and are much easier on the eyes. I am limited to the strip lights, can't have the big hanging ones in my set-up. But they have made a big difference, the trees are thriving not just hanging on until spring.

Glad to hear you upgraded and see the difference. Makes it rewarding to have them really thriving while indoors. It's a feel good feeling for sure.

 

[hinmo24t]

Cool! Glad it is workin’ out.

Have you ever considered timers and an 16/8 lighting schedule?

Also.. hows your humidity?

humidity has been sufficient for my tropicals with misting.
my warm mist humidifier let me down because its bottom fill and leaked on my floor,
so i need to order a top fill. they are all holding up well regardless with just misting. i know my cane angel wing begonia
prefers more moisture than a lot of them so it gets special attention (more misting and soil misting)
Monstera Minima putting out a new leaf
every 3 days in my Leca setup, and the one in soil is also growing /taking to a 6" terracotta, slightly slower than Leca clay semi hydro.

i wont run more lights than i do now unless i need to,
because if its a clear or sunny day, these windows get light from the 7AM hour until 3ish

 

[Cadillactaste]

I keep a humidifier...but I don't mist. Misting can bring fungal issues. And that is something I don't wish to deal with if I don't have to. My humidity is around 40. My tropical grow just fine.

 

[hinmo24t]

Glad to hear you upgraded and see the difference. Makes it rewarding to have them really thriving while indoors. It's a feel good feeling for sure.

made me remember appreciating the south front i have, im a morning person and get to watch the plants in early morning light and thru the day if im not working...
prob wouldnt be into them as much if i had to stack my bedroom, bathroom and spare room on other side of house.

 

[hinmo24t]

I keep a humidifier...but I don't mist. Misting can bring fungal issues. And that is something I don't wish to deal with if I don't have to. My humidity is around 40. My tropical grow just fine.

true. i keep an eye on them and use lots of mosquito bits for gnat control (for 100 plants in the house thereabouts, i have very few fungus gnats)

i brief guests on them...not fruit flies

 

[Cadillactaste]

true. i keep an eye on them and use lots of mosquito bits for gnat control (for 100 plants in the house thereabouts, i have very few fungus gnats)

i brief guests on them...not fruit flies

I wasn't thinking pests...but fungal entirely. It weakens and sets ones back when we get it in our collection. I don't like to spray fungal treatments in my house. So I do my best to keep fungal issues away.

 

[HorseloverFat]

I keep a humidifier...but I don't mist. Misting can bring fungal issues. And that is something I don't wish to deal with if I don't have to. My humidity is around 40. My tropical grow just fine.

Same here.. about not misting... i keep two “cool” humidifiers... mostly just run one of them... I run two If I have the “fresh air” access Wider as the south sun heats up my lil’ room..

It averages 65-80 degrees And 70-75 percent humidity, time of day depending... but my trees/plants that require this space spend a decent-sized chunk of the season in there, given my climate.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Same here.. about not misting... i keep two “cool” humidifiers... mostly just run one of them... I run two If I have the “fresh air” access Wider as the south sun heats up my lil’ room..

It averages 65-80 degrees And 70-75 percent humidity, time of day depending... but my trees/plants that require this space spend a decent-sized chunk of the season in there, given my climate.

I have a sensor to alert me if I drop to 65F. Then a secondary heater is turned on. I prefer happy growing trees. Cool mist for me as well. Jerry Meislik keeps his humidity between 30-40 he once said on his group. So I don't stress higher humidity. I was so hesitant to even add ficus because of ones struggling with winter fungal issues. When I learned one didn't have to. Then I added my ficus and am glad they grow through winter without skipping a beat when moved inside. Not even leaf drop.

 

[hinmo24t]

I wasn't thinking pests...but fungal entirely. It weakens and sets ones back when we get it in our collection. I don't like to spray fungal treatments in my house. So I do my best to keep fungal issues away.

i run a tower fan oscillating 24/7 to help evaporation, havent run into fungal issues but will keep an eye out for sure

i treated my yucca and citrus with neem/soap/water recently because i saw some webbing on the yucca, and the citrus was right next to it

success thus far. indoors, my biggest worry is spider mites.

i treated mealybug on succulents at one point in last 3 mos too, on one jade i believe

 

[HorseloverFat]

I have a sensor to alert me if I drop to 65F. Then a secondary heater is turned on. I prefer happy growing trees. Cool mist for me as well. Jerry Meislik keeps his humidity between 30-40 he once said on his group. So I don't stress higher humidity. I was so hesitant to even add ficus because of ones struggling with winter fungal issues. When I learned one didn't have to. Then I added my ficus and am glad they grow through winter without skipping a beat when moved inside. Not even leaf drop.

This is also good to know! Thank you!

 

[Cadillactaste]

This is also good to know! Thank you!

Welcome.