Bougainvillea almost bare after transplanting

Question

I just bought a bougainvillea & I told my mom to make sure not to transplant it but she forgot & did it anyway. I've only had a few of these but I remember that they do not like being moved. It was gorgeous & full or fuchsia blossoms when we bought it. 2 weeks later it's just a stem & the cement is now covered in fuchsia. What can I do?

Answer 1

poor thing. Definitely transplant shock. Do you remember if it was in a shaded or semi shaded area when you bought it? If you have put it out in full sunlight after it had been grown in a semi shaded area it will suffer quite dramatically. Typically you need to "harden" plants off before exposure to full sun. It has gone into emergency recovery mode and is shedding as much foliage and blossoms as possible. Keep it well watered. I hope that you weren't feeding it... that usually makes it worse. You have to actually wait for it to return to "water balance" before feeding it. Don't worry though it is a very hardy plant. Keep the water up, remove the dead foliage and blossoms. Once it looks to be recovering put some slow release fertilizer in and it should come back. Will take time though.  

Answer 2

I would check the stem; is it still green?  If it's woody then you can scatch the top layer of bark(in a small patch) and see if it's green.  Does it have leaves?  Also check the stems, does it look like more branches and leaves are coming?  If it is still alive then it has a chance, just be careful to not over water because without leaves a plant has trouble getting rid of excess water that it takes in, just keep it moist.  

Answer 3

Plants do go thru transplant shock...if it dropped all its foliage along with the blooms this is not a bad sign. Plants have a way of rejuvenating them self and by dropping all their leaves this starts the rejuvenating process. It always bothers me when the leaves hang on and turn brown. Keep it watered good and use a water soluble fertilizer on it once a week drenching the soil around it. good luck

Answer 4

Keep it moist, and fertilize it. I usually use slow release fertilizers, but you may want to use a water soluable one such as miracle grow, as it works quickly and doesn't burn easily. The plant will need to establish new roots before it begins to rebloom. Seems like they prefer to be a little root bound to encourage blooming.

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