Question
I planted my Bougainvillea Shrub in Sept. and it was doing fine, however, about a month after I planted my Bougainvillea Shrub, we had a rainy period that lasted at least a month, with accumulations thet set records for that month in South Florida.

As a result the Bougainvillea Shrub, lost significant foliage, but seemed to hold on and actually began to come back, then we hit another rainy period and now the plant has only a few green leaves on it.

We are approaching the dry season now.  Is there anything I can do to help this plant recover, like cut it back, etc.?

Thanks,
Richard

Answer
Richard,

Bougainvillea love the sun but they also like to be a little dry. Make sure you did not plant it too deep. The crown of the plant should be slightly above soil level so water drains away from the crown quickly. Too deep means the crown could be drowning and rotting. They are a very resilient plant and it should come back okay. You might also inspect it for insects, mealy bugs and scale like Bougainvillea. If you are not sure of what they look like google them and click on images. If you find insects e-mail me back and I will give you info on getting rid of them. You can cut it back a bit but do not cut it so low that there are no green leaves left. Lastly, pray for some sun! Good luck!

Darlene