I have a bougainvillea pre bonsai that I got from Wigert's last fall. They had had some hail so it arrived without a lot of leaves and potted in mostly bark. I kept it in the greenhouse which gets pretty cold in winter (down to 40F) and it never really did much except for dropping some of the leaves it had. I figured it was probably semi-dormant and didn't worry about it too much. When the weather warmed up this spring, I kept hoping it would leaf out, but it would just put out a couple leaves and then they would turn yellow and fall off. Finally I thought it might do better repotted into well drained bonsai soil, so I repotted it about 2 months ago. It promptly responded by flowering wonderfully, it was just covered in pink bracts for the last 2 months. But, it still won't grow leaves. It tries to, but as soon as the leaves get full size, they yellow and drop off. I water it almost daily but it is in a very well drained mix so it isn't getting too wet. I don't see any signs of pests. Any idea what is going on?
Bougainvillea leaves dying
- Thread starter karen82
- Start date
DavidBoren
Mame
Have you tried some high nitrogen fertilizer? Or fertilizer, in general?
Yes, I gave it some Osmocote about a month ago. I don't remember the ratio but it was a general purpose formula. I don't think I gave it anything before that, although there were fertilizer granules in the pot when I got it.
40F isn't too cold for bougies to survive. If it's growing leaves, but they yellow and drop off, perhaps it's still a little too wet despite your well draining soil? Bougainvillea like a Mediterranean climate, which means dry warm air, and sun baked soil. I have one in a pot that also gets few leaves but blooms wonderfully. I don't think I fertilize it enough or give it quite enough sun. I think they can be fickle like figs and sulk if conditions aren't perfectly to their liking, but they don't die easy unless they freeze hard or stay so waterlogged that they root rot. Maybe try a high nitrogen liquid fert like DavidBoren suggested. Or maybe a PH thing? I'm not sure if they like acid or alkali more. You could research what commercial growers say they like.
I wasn't worried about it surviving 40F, I just initially thought that it not growing leaves was due to the cold temp (and short day). It's enjoyed nice warm temps for the last 3 1/2 months. I actually have 2 Ficus caricas in the greenhouse too, they dropped their leaves over winter but were happily leafing out by mid-April.
I didn't get a picture of one of the pots it's in but basically the entire bottom is fairly large mesh. I think it would be hard for the roots to stay too wet in that, but I'll try watering less.
Here are few photos, I apologize for the cluttered background but I didn't want to move it and lose all the bracts (it's mostly done flowering and the bracts are drying up). I know it looks like it has plenty of leaves in the 2nd photo but those are essentially its only leaves and they are showing signs of yellowing, too.
Is it a sign of a nutrient deficiency or being too wet? It's currently in a much smaller pot that I got it in, with a mesh bottom, and a well drained soil mix. I was wrong about it being general purpose fertilizer. It's actually Osmocote Fruit and Vegetable 14-14-14. Should I be giving it a higher nitrogen fertilizer?
Also, is the flowering a good or bad sign? At first I was happy to see it flower, but when it continued to have trouble with leaves, it made me wonder if the flowering was just kind of a last attempt to reproduce before dying.
Is it a sign of a nutrient deficiency or being too wet? It's currently in a much smaller pot that I got it in, with a mesh bottom, and a well drained soil mix. I was wrong about it being general purpose fertilizer. It's actually Osmocote Fruit and Vegetable 14-14-14. Should I be giving it a higher nitrogen fertilizer?
Also, is the flowering a good or bad sign? At first I was happy to see it flower, but when it continued to have trouble with leaves, it made me wonder if the flowering was just kind of a last attempt to reproduce before dying.
There is actually a fertilizer on the market that is formulated specifically for bougainvillea. It’s called Bougain. I have had good results with it. It seems to really bring out the color in the bracts, in addition to the leaves generally being healthy. I agree with what others have said about keeping the soil a little on the dry side and giving the plant as much sun as you can.
Bonsai Nut
Nuttier than your average Nut
In a vacuum, looking at the photo of the leaves, I would say it looks like iron deficiency. Consider using an iron supplement like Ironite, or make sure your fertilizer comes with iron (Bougain, for example, does).
Note that a couple of other things can cause similar symptoms, including over-watering, and over-fertilizing (particularly with phosphorous). However it doesn't sound like either of these would apply to your situation. Also, if you are watering with alkaline water, the high pH can block iron uptake even if there is plenty of iron available. Make sure you are watering with neutral or slightly acidic water. Also avoid chalky soils (but again, I don't think this applies to your situation).
Note that a couple of other things can cause similar symptoms, including over-watering, and over-fertilizing (particularly with phosphorous). However it doesn't sound like either of these would apply to your situation. Also, if you are watering with alkaline water, the high pH can block iron uptake even if there is plenty of iron available. Make sure you are watering with neutral or slightly acidic water. Also avoid chalky soils (but again, I don't think this applies to your situation).
LemonBonsai
Shohin
If I could say. When I first got my bougie it looked like this, in fact some looked worse then your leaves.
I started feeding it with 28-10-10 miracle grow fertilizer. Its labeled as "for acid Loving Plants"
And here it is today
Looks a little bare but was just pruned. I havent had problems with my leaves since using this fertilizer.
I started feeding it with 28-10-10 miracle grow fertilizer. Its labeled as "for acid Loving Plants"
And here it is today
Looks a little bare but was just pruned. I havent had problems with my leaves since using this fertilizer.
Katie0317
Chumono
Bougain is all you need on this.
ABCarve
Masterpiece
I was given this one early spring of 2021 while it was flowering. It had an ugly negari which I air layered off. It dropped most of its leaves but continued to flower and flower and flower without growing new leaves until a week ago. It had me worried as it might be in throes of death. That’s over a year 1-1/2 without new leaves. It has just started producing new ones, however I don’t have the chlorosis. Now I’m wondering how long it may be before it flowers again. Any insights to this growth habit??
I haven't measured the pH but it gets mostly rain water which should be neutral to acidic. I'll get some bougain for it though.
I can't give it more sun without moving it out of the greenhouse. The greenhouse probably blocks 10-15% of the light. Around here, temps are usually around 60 at night, 80 during the day. Tomorrow night is supposed to get down to 55, I figured the bougie would be happier nice and warm in the greenhouse even with the reduced sunlight. Or am I wrong, and it would do better outside?
Until I can get Bougain, I have some Dr. Earth Acid-Lovers fertilizer that I use for my azaleas, would this be good for the bougainvillea? And would you recommend scooping off the Osmocote fertilizer or leaving that on, too?
RJG2
Omono
This has happened to me as well, not for a year and a half, but at least nine months. Haven't figured it out - I've only had mine for 2.5 years.
My leaves are also wavy/curled similar to how yours look. Which I think is weird considering most pictures I see the leaves are nice and flat. Can't figure that out either...
I think my problems started around the time I repotted in a kanuma/pumice blend - thinking they'd like the acidity, but maybe it was too water retentive.
I moved all three of mine to APL this year to see if it helps (they all have the same issues, but are all from the same parent plant - air layer and cutting).
ABCarve
Masterpiece
Glad to hear we’re not alone! Mine is in APL. I thought this thing would have been dead long ago. Maybe something to do with the air layer??
penumbra
Imperial Masterpiece
No question about it.
Theo Smith
Yamadori
I agree, the dark veins and chlorosis look like textbook iron deficiency. Hard to tell why without knowing the variables of watering, uptake, nutrients, weather, Ph etc. I would add to this advice that in this circumstance, I’d err on the dry side. It’s okay to let these plants dry out, surprisingly okay. I’d follow the above advice and eliminate wet feet as a potential issue, which is a common one for boooo-geeeeez.
