Bougainvillea Watering
I seem to be having to water it every couple of days and it really doesn't look very happy as it dries out. What am I doing wrong and what should I be doing?
Please help me as it was not a cheap plant to buy and was given to me as a present from my mother for my birthday - so don't want to lose it.
Bobbie
Doug says:
It dries out because you need to water it more and this plant will not appreciate a variable watering.
Soak it!
Then go back the next day and touch the soil with your finger. If your finger is damp, walk away. If your finger is dry, then soak it again. As long as your finger is damp, do not water. Most of the time, folks overwater their houseplants and rot the darn things off. But do not let this plant go bone dry or it will wilt. A wilt or two is recoverable but do it three times and start getting your compost pile ready for a victim. Always use warm water with houseplants.
It's about the watering. Once you get it settled in (and there's always a settling in period as it has come from a greenhouse) then you can start feeding it with a weak fertilizer solution.
But do get that watering right and then yours can look like this one. :-)
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