Q: I have six bougainvillea plants in my back yard. I have three on the east side and three on the west side planted about a year ago.Β Last summer the ones on the west side looked great and ones on the east side looked really bad. This summer the ones on the east side look great (see picture), the ones on the west side (not shown) look really bad.
We feed them and spray for bugs but still no luck. The water system goes off every other day at 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. My wife also waters them with the hose. But we canβt seem the get them to look good at the same time. Do you have any ideas as to what we can do?
A:Β Bougainvilleas are fairly tough plants once established and by the time they are a year old they should be doing well. The trouble last summer could have been from the shock of transplanting them. The plants on the east side appear to be getting western afternoon sun. That is where they do best and your plants on that side look great.
The plants on the west side appear to be getting eastern morning sun and might be shaded in the afternoon by the wall. Since full sun is prescribed for these plants, it could be a factor for the ones that may be shaded. Itβs hard for me to say from the photos (not shown) how much shade they get but itβs something to keep in mind.
From your description, the trouble this year may be due to overfertilizing and overwatering. Once or twice each year is all you need to fertilize and watering should be done less often and deeper than your current schedule. Try switching your irrigation schedule to once every seven to 10 days to a depth of 12 to 18 inches in the summer. Then you can reduce the irrigation to once every two weeks in the fall and every three weeks in the winter.
Peter L. Warren is the urban horticulture agent for the Pima County Cooperative Extension and the University of Arizona. Questions may be emailed to
