There is nothing worse about loving plants than dealing with their loss. No matter how hard you try, you may or may not get lucky. One of the plants that can give you a lot of trouble is bougainvillea. It is common that, if you do not take precautions, you will find your bougainvillea dry.
But is it possible to recover it? The truth is yes, if the plant is still alive. For this reason, we are going to give you some of the reasons why your bougainvillea is drying out and how to recover it to find it in all its glory.
How do I know if my dried bougainvillea is alive?
First, you need to know if your bougainvillea is “alive”. Otherwise, no matter how well you find the key to why he dried up, if he has no way to recover, because he died, he will be of no use to you.
One of the most effective methods of determining whether a plant is alive or not is to cut a branch. If the cup you create is green, you’re in luck because it’s still alive.
However, it may happen that the cup does not come out green, but brown. You already give her for dead? The truth is no, there is still more you can do.
Scratch the trunk of the bougainvillea a little, as far below the ground as possible, to see if removing some of the bark makes it green. If so, I hope you can get it back.
If it’s brown, if it’s light, you still have a chance to save it, but if it’s dark brown, it’s not easy for you to save it.
The reasons why a bougainvillea dries up and how to recover it
Now that you have a better idea of whether your bougainvillea has a chance to recover, the next thing you need to do is figure out why your bougainvillea is dry. The most common are:
you change places
Bougainvilleas, like other plants, do not tolerate you constantly moving them. For example, imagine you just bought it and put it somewhere. But after a few days you see the leaves falling off and you think the place is wrong. So you change it.
And all these changes, which we make to try to locate it well, stress the plant because then it never knows where the sun rises, and you also don’t give it time to adapt to its new place.
In this case, it is best to place it in a very sunny place and leave it alone. Keep giving him the care he needs and hopefully he will pull through.
You’ve gone too far with the irrigation
Another reason your bougainvillea is drying out may be due to irrigation. And not precisely because they lack irrigation, but because it may happen that you have gone too far with it.
If the bougainvillea is dry, or if you notice it starting to dry out, we recommend checking the soil it has. If you see it very wet, and not precisely because you just watered it, you may have overwatered it, which is hurting the roots.
It is better to remove it from the pot and check that the roots are not too bad. If so, what you can do is try to remove the roots that seem soft, black or weak, to give others more strength.
However, we do not recommend putting it back in the same pot, let alone with the same soil.
It is better to use a mixture between soil and drainage, so that this does not happen to you again. And also if it can be, try to control the risks so that it does not happen again. For example, for a few days after the transplant, it is better not to water it and put it in partial shade. Be aware that it could get worse, as an emergency transplant will stress her even more, but hopefully she might be successful.
The sun does not shine
Lighting is one of the assets of the bougainvillea. And when he is not given the necessary light, it can be a big problem for him.
Not only is this because the plant is not flowering, but it can also end up drying out (like getting too much sun).
In general, a bougainvillea needs about 5 hours a day to flower, and to give the maximum of flowers it needs at least 8 hours. In fact, the more sun there is, the more flowers there will be.
If there is no sun, the plant will wither and eventually dry out, but the same will happen if there is too much sun, or if it is too intense and too strong. Especially if it’s been a while since I’ve been in the sun. In the end, it will end up drying out if you don’t control the risks, or burning if you spend too much time putting it in direct sunlight.
Your dry bougainvillea is attacked by a pest or disease
Don’t be surprised if your bougainvillea is dry and you’ve given it all the care it needs, it has a pest.
To be sure, it is best to check the leaves, branches, stem and even the soil for any unwanted insects. If you detect it, you will have to apply a treatment to save it, but before doing so, we recommend removing all the dry part (nothing will come out of it) and thus preventing the plant from sending nutrients to the parts that they won’t come back again
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Did you know that a plant can burn if you put too much fertilizer on it? In the case of bougainvilleas, they do very well in nutrient-poor soils and do not like to be fertilized too much. So fertilize as little as possible, and if possible with low-nitrogen fertilizers.
We can’t assure you that once you spot the problem and fix it, you’ll get your plant back, but at least you’ll provide the means for your dry bougainvillea to succeed. It will depend on whether you caught him in time, and what happens to him, to save him or not. But we already tell you that this plant is usually quite strong and could recover. Have you ever had this problem ?