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felinefrenzy_gw

Can't Get my Bougainvillea Cuttings to Grow- I am desperate

felinefrenzy
11 years ago

Hello-

I am currently living in South Africa where bougainvilleas are big and beautiful outdoors. I am desperately trying to grow some plants from cuttings (from a wild plant) due to sentimental reasons before I move back to the US.

I have killed over 30 cuttings even though I've spent hours online researching how to propagate bougainvilleas from cuttings.

My usual 'method' is to take a cutting that's roughly 6-8" long, roughly 1/8" inch thick, cut off all but the top 2-3 leaves, pot in a well draining mix, scrape the bottom of the cutting, swipe in rooting hormone, plant in a small pot with holes in the bottom.

I then put the plant and cutting into a zip top bag. I spritz water in the bag and on the soil until slightly moist.

I 'water' them this way about every other day. I open the bags at night to let oxygen in. I close them up and put them in the sun (inside) during the day. Overnight they are on a heated floor (we just got past the winter).

I have had 1-3 small 'successes' (small leaves open up) but then the leaves turn brown and die, never to bloom again. I know almost nothing about plants and flowers in general so I may not even use proper gardening terms.

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