Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
boothbay_gw

Wilting Bougie

boothbay
9 years ago

I bought 4 Bougies this year, 2 mid summer and 2 late summer. Aill were doing fine out on my sunny patio this summer, but i had to bring them into my home as the weather was getting too cool for them. I have a sunny south exposure and that is where they were placed. I have always seem to have problems when i have to bring them indoors, and so far 3 of them are doing nicely in small pots. I only water when i see them at the verge of wilting, and they quickly revive, with the exception of one. its that one that i would like to save. The last time it wilted i water slightly around the tender roots a few days ago, and now that one is wilting even worse again and so soon after the last time. I don't know how to handle it. It bloomed slightly for me in the summer with its yellow flowers and is in a 4'' clay pot. This time, none of them dropped their leaves after being given less sun, when I brought them in. I feel the soil is choking this one, but what do i know, its just a guess and wondering if it be wise to repot this time of year.

Comments (7)

  • turtlewalker34205
    9 years ago

    What is a Bougies ?

  • boothbay
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    what is a Bougies?>>>>

    Use your imagination.

  • turtlewalker34205
    9 years ago

    I'm sorry I thought you wanted some help on how to care for whatever a Bougie is.

  • boothbay
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Sorry...I thought u were making fun of my abbreviation for Bougainvilleas..many have used it beside myself so i thought it was obvious...but obviously its not.

  • sultry_jasmine_nights (Florida-9a-ish)
    9 years ago

    I know what a bougie is :P
    Hmmm, I would carefully pull it out of that clay pot and look at the roots. I really don't like clay pots for mine. I keep mine in large black nursery pots. If I had a really small one I would still keep it in a plastic pot vs the clay. With clay, they say, water once for the pot (because it absorbs water) and once for the plant. I think clay is fine for cactus and succulents but I don't like them for bougies even though the bougainvillea doesn't mind being dry.

    If they roots are okay, then the plant is probably just a little too dry.
    If the roots look rotted (brown or mushy) or have a bad smell then you will need to cut off the bad parts, and repot. Foliage can also wilt due to over watering as well because the plant can't absorb water if the roots start to rot. I usually use a fast draining potting soil with extra perlite mixed in.
    Do you have it near any heating vents or a direct heat source? If so, then the foiliage may be wilting due to that. In which case just moving it should help a little. You can also check under the leaves to make sure there a no sucking insects like aphids or whitefly.

    I have 20 bougies and have grown them my whole life. I used to live in the desert and they were on the highway in Phx just blooming like mad when the temps were 115+ and the asphalt on the freeway is hot enough to cause serious burns lol. So I know these plants can take a lot more abuse than most think especially with heat.

    What they do hate is wet and cold together. If it is cold they like to be dry. They don't like to freeze but can take some slight freezing temps if it isn't too long and the day temps go right back up. They may freeze to the ground and come back which is what they will do here in my zn 9a if I left them out of the gh during the winter.
    As is now, I plant them into the ground and then dig them up every fall cut the vines back severely and sever the root ball and dump them into a black nursery pot and throw them in the gh for the winter. They come back just fine in the spring when I plant them back out. They get bushier that way too. I have a huge purple one that I have grown into a tall tree shape that is probably 15 years old.
    ~SJN

  • boothbay
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks, from one Bougie owner to another..:P I have no experience whatsoever with growing them outside, for the exception of potted ones, during the Summer on my patio. Its when I start bringing them in is when I start to have problems cause of my limited knowledge of them. i've read constant 'how to's. till I am blue in the face, and yet I still have that indoor problem. I have had very good success with the "Barbra Kurst" variety, but anytime I try to go to yellow, I fail miserably. This last one is known as "California Sun". Yes, I do have it in a clay pot mainly cause some of the how to's say its very important, better than a plastic container. I took it out of the pot and what little roots I saw, were very thin looking and fragile...so i couldn't tell weather they are alive or dead. I did repot using fresh moist soil and added perlite. I do have it on a sunny south window, above the heat, so maybe its reacting to the heat as you say, but my "Barbra K" is there also and other than the normal wilting, water it, it comes right back. I understand that they have a dormancy period and wondering if that has something to do with that other plant, but don't all Bougies have a dormancy period? BTW, the "Barbra K" is in a plastic pot. So what may be good for one variety, may not be for another.

  • sultry_jasmine_nights (Florida-9a-ish)
    9 years ago

    I have also noticed that the yellow/light golden orange seem to be pickier. I have the California Gold and it is more finicky than the others in a pot. I also used to have a variegated yellow/gold and it never did really well in a pot. I agree that Barbara Karst is super tough and will grow into a monster if you let it lol.
    The purple bougainvillea are beautiful, good bloomers, and also very tough so maybe you could try that one. They make good trees so you could prune it into a small tree shape and it might be easier to manage it in the house overwinters. I keep mine around 6-7 feet. It will grow huge if I let it.

    Hopefully your yellow one will acclimate to the house and make it through till spring. If they do go dormant be very light handed on the watering. They will not use water much if they are not actively growing and more likely to rot.
    ~SJN