Help with bougainvillea!!

2 years ago

We have 2 ENORMOUS 2-story bougainvillea on the NE side of our house. Very shady, especially now. When we moved into the house in September, they were super flower-y, although the left side definitely had less than the right. As of Dec, all the flowers were gone (augh) (in contrast to my once-decrepit potted bou in the back courtyard which gets tons of sun and is now full of flowers); and although there's lots of new-growth leaves on both plants and a few flowers trying to show up, the left side is decidedly sparse. The base of the trunk is soft and the landscaper thinks there could be a drainage issue -- it's getting too much water, or there's standing water. However, we only hand water, and not super often -- maybe once or twice/month. The sprinklers are not turned on here.

SO!! Any suggestions on how I can protect the base of the trunk from water? Re-doing the pavers is not an option. :( Would it work to stick some impermeable material around the trunk, so water gets directed away?

Or any other ideas on what could be stressing out this plant? It would break my heart if it dies. We're in CA Zone 9b.

August 2021

2 hours ago :(

Unhappy trunk. You can see the dark patch at the base where it's too wet.

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Emily R.
Original Author

last year

UPDATE: It's definitely alive and is coming back. I panicked too soon. Thanks for the keep calm and carry on advice! :)

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Comments (11)

cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Bougainvillea have definite growing and blooming seasons- they don't bloom all the time. They grow during your SoCal wet winter season and flower during the dry summer season. It was likely just finishing up when you bought the home and moved in.

It's a shame whoever planted those left the trunks braided- I don't know how badly that would affect the vigor- I'll leave that to Gardengal when she stops by. But IMO it isn't helping- they're strangling each other.

But they do need sun to be happy, and especially to flower.

I don't think it's a drainage issue at all- they obviously have been living there quite happily for many years.. I think the braiding weakened the whole thing at the base, it's in a very crowded area, and lack of sufficient sunlight is causing poor flowering.

But again- they don't bloom year round. If this is your only complaint then don't worry.

The sparseness on the bottom happens to huge vines. If it's really offensive to you set a pot of something in front of it. But definitely do not wrap anything around it- it needs air.

You could always start a new, non-braided younger plant along side it if losing the old one would devastate you. I don't think it's all that bad, I just think your expectations did not allow for its non-blooming months, which are many.
Emily R. thanked cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
socalgal_gw Zone USDA 10b Sunset 24
2 years ago
I’m in a different zone (10b) but when I had a Bougainvillea here I didn’t water it at all once it was established. Mine was too rambunctious for the space so I had to remove it. To get that big your plant must have been happy with the conditions so the question would be, what has chanlged?
Emily R. thanked socalgal_gw Zone USDA 10b Sunset 24
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Emily R.
Original Author
2 years ago
Thank you!! We're in the Bay Area; although we had a couple decent rains this winter., we're still in a drought. I've been watching our neighbor's healthy bougainvillea, and it also dropped its flowers a lot later than ours did, but it's south facing, so I just realized it got sun all winter while ours didn't.

I'm more worried about the sparser leaves and the soft trunk. Good to know about the braiding, although there's not much I can do about it now. Yes, socalgal -- I've been wracking my brain to think of what could have changed in the months since we bought the house, since it clearly *had* been a very happy plant for a long time! But I'll just give it some more time and see what it does over the next few months.
cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
"I'm more worried about the sparser leaves and the soft trunk."

I'd message gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) and ask her about that braided trunk though.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
2 years ago
i already mentioned the braided trunk ... and my post disappeared .. whats that all about ...

track the weakened part down to the ground ,.. and is it related to some trunk being squished by the braiding???

ken
Emily R. thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
chadinlg Zone 9b Los Gatos CA
2 years ago
Bougies don't flower well in shade, sun angle is different winter vs summer - so likely less sun now especially on NE side of house... They also are bloom then bust here. We had a cold snap recently and that will stop/slow new growth for awhile. The purple variety here is very tough/cold resistant though and mine is in bloom now, but other colors like yellow/orange are still struggling.

I don't have any irrigation at all near the mature plants - roots spread far...

If parts are looking sad - prune them out and healthier growth will fill in.
Emily R. thanked chadinlg Zone 9b Los Gatos CA
Emily R.
Original Author
2 years ago
@chadinlg Zone 9b Los Gatos CA Laughing at 'bloom then bust.' ;) That's exactly what happened.

@ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5 -- The trunks *are* braided, obviously planted that way a long time ago. Is there any way to mitigate trunk squish at this point?
Babka NorCal 9b
2 years ago
Wait and see. Sometimes they just need a rest. Don't mess with the trunk. I've seen 20 footers with braided trunks. If it gets dry, soak it. If it is wet, don't water. Sometimes they just take a break...so should you!

-Babka
Emily R. thanked Babka NorCal 9b
linaria_gw
2 years ago
re braided trunk

I know that Wisteria tend to get twisted trunks which then fuse together and keep growing without strangeling themselves, perhaps these act similar?

a dendro-chronologist I happen to know told me that they are a nightmare to asess due to this "anomaly" which results in messy, mixed up annual growth rings...
Babka NorCal 9b
last year
Good! ;-)

-Babka