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Old 18-11-2008, 08:49 AM posted to rec.gardens
JayDee JayDee is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Jul 2007
Posts: 41
Default bougainvillea woes - losing leaves and flowers - watering,feeding, etc...

On Nov 17, 9:45 am, "David E. Ross" wrote:
On 11/16/2008 10:39 PM, JayDee wrote:



On Nov 16, 1:59 pm, "David E. Ross" wrote:
On 11/16/2008 9:36 AM, JayDee wrote:


On Nov 16, 9:34 am, JayDee wrote:
On Nov 11, 3:36 pm, ljp other wrote:
On Oct 26, 3:59 am, JayDee wrote:
i used to water my bougainvilleao n the balcony (facing northwest on
my 2nd floor balcony) by letting it virtually dry out, then flooding
it with a couple gallons
so my question is, should I change the way I'm watering back to dry/
drench or keep the soil damp?
I have a bougainvillea indoors and let it dry out between waterings.
Generally, when the leaves start to droop, it's time to water. The
vine is about 10 years old and about 10 feet long. Were you having
trouble keeping it all
here's an update:
There are lots of leaves on the lower braches of the bougainvillea
that are behind the balcony and they become more sparse on the above
branches that reach over the balcony and therefore have more exposure
to the sun (NW) but this has never been an issue before.
There are still just about NO FLOWERS.
This used to be such a beautiful addition to my balcony - I hope
someone here can help me!
Thanks
- JayDee
oh and I feed it, every two or three waterings, Neptune's organic fish
& seaweed fertilizer.
You might be killing it with kindness. Sunset indicates that it should
be fed only once at the beginning of the growing season and once again
in early summer.


oh no! I've been feeding my creeping fig, ficus (same family) as well
as grapevines and they're very happy about it but if Boug doesn't like
it, can you give me some ideas as to what I should do (if anything) to
nurse it back?


THANKS!


- JayDee


Since Bougainvillea can take a moist soil (at least for a while), I
suggest flushing the nutrients out of the soil. Just make sure the
container has a drain hole for the excess water to exit.

Also, make sure that the drain hole actually drains. I had a dwarf
kumquat that committed suicide. Its roots plugged the drain hole (about
1/2 inch in diameter) at the bottom of the pot. The bush then drowned.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/


Hi David. When you say that it can "take a most soil (at least for a
while)" does that mean I should water it similarly to the way I've
been watering my indoor ficus? Let the soil dry out, then water it
heavily. Please tell me exactly how you think I should do this. I'm in
So Cal but more inland than you near Griffith Park.

Thanks again.

- JayDee