I recently moved to Jacksonville, Florida and we planted a pair of bougainvilleas 20 months ago. They seemed to thrive last year even through the winter and are now about 5-6 feet tall. Last week we had a rare freeze where the temperature dropped to approximately 20 degrees F. Now the plants have lost all their leaves. Is there any hope the the plants will survive and is there anything I can do to help at this point?
Bougainvilleas can recover from some frost damage as long as the roots were not frozen. The amount of damage will depend on how low and how long the plant was exposed to freezing temperatures. They will tolerate temperatures as low as 30-40F for a short time. Not much you can do at this point but to wait and see. Wait until all danger of frost has passed in your area. See if some of the damaged branches recovered. They may surprise you and re sprout with new growth in the spring.
Once you asses the winter damage, you can prune your bougainvillea in early spring. If you prune too early and get another frost, any new growth is especially sensitive to frost and will be damaged.
Cut the plant back by 1/2 and prune out any dead stems and leggy growth in early spring.
Begin fertilizing monthly when it starts putting on new growth.
If another frost is eminent cover your plant with a blanket.
more info on bougainvillea care
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Winterover bougainvillea Hi, I bought four gorgeous boug plants at the garden center. I live in Red Deer Canada. My intention was to keep them indoors and they will remain in their pots. Much to my horror and dismay, they are experiencing…
Read Grace discussionI live in zone 8…Pensa, Fl. and ‘I’m new to growing Bougainvilleas …’have kept most of them in pots, and store in the garage over the winter months. They do well there, but sure uses up the room. I’d like to plant…
Read Jean Nerger discussionWintering bougainvillea Hi I live in Albuquerque, NM and have three beautiful bougs. All are quite big and are planted in large pots. I’ve heard about taking them in for the winter so they won’t freeze. So my question is, do I…
Read admin discussionWinterover bougainvilleaI purchased a small bougainvillea plant during the early spring, it is blooming and grown very well as a container plant; however, I live in Zone 7. Since it is quite a large pot I am reluctant to to move it…
Read Linda discussion
Wintering bougainvillea
Hi I live in Albuquerque, NM and have three beautiful bougs. All are quite big and are planted in large pots. I’ve heard about taking them in for the winter so they won’t freeze. So my question is, do I just store them in my garage (zero light) until spring or do they need light during their dormant period? Thanks for your help!
Winterover bougainvillea
Hi, I bought four gorgeous boug plants at the garden center. I live in Red Deer Canada. My intention was to keep them indoors and they will remain in their pots. Much to my horror and dismay, they are experiencing almost total defoliation! Some leaves leaves appear dry and brittle, and some appear a little soft, but all dropping. I spoke to someone at the nursery, and he said they become traumatized from moving. They may not be getting enough light, so I asked about supplementing the sunlight they get with a plant light. It was suggested to wait for a few more weeks, but now all I have are what looks like thorn vines. Would anyone suggest anything else for me do? Would it tramautize them more to get the grow lights? I am watering very sparingly, as I have heard they like to be on the dry side. I would really appreciate some advice, before it is too late. I would just hate to lose them all. Is there any hope of them coming back? Thanks in advance!
Winterover bougainvilleaI purchased a small bougainvillea plant during the early spring, it is blooming and grown very well as a container plant; however, I live in Zone 7. Since it is quite a large pot I am reluctant to to move it to my garage. Do you have any alternative ways that I can frost proof it instead?
Winterover
I bought a bougainvillea and live in Vancouver, BC Canada. Can I leave it outside for the winter? We do not have harsh winters but they get cold. How could I leave it outside for the winter?
I also live in Vancouver, BC – my young bougainvillea lives in a pot on my condo deck. Last winter I left it outside during the winter, it dropped it leaves and I thought it had died. Happily it has made a miraculous recovery this summer with some new shoots and leaves. But it has not flowered this year? I’ll be keeping it inside this winter, poor thing!
I’m thinking about getting it into a bigger pot, is there anything I should do to make this less traumatic for the bougainvillea?
I didn’t go to your site quick enough and my husband thought the tubers/bulbs had to be removed just like the dinner plate Dahylias. Darn it, I guess just throw them away? Should I try the process you use for the Dahylias? Thanks Rosalind
I live in Jax Fl. My bougainvillea was purchased this past spring and tripled in size. It was beautiful. Its roots went through the pot and down into the soil. We had a cold snap (29F) so I covered the plant. A few days later I noticed the leaves were falling off and it took on a thorny look. I dug it up, placed it in a large pot and placed it in my den. Poor thing, its a sight to behold. Can I move it to my garage? Will it revive when spring comes.
Certain bougies can survive repeated frosts under the right circumstances. We live about 7 miles from the Pacific Ocean in the Santa Moncia Mountains at the 1,000 foot elevation. It is one of the coldest coastal canyons in So. California. Nighttime tempratures regularly fall below freezing between Thanksgiving and Valentines Day. Don’t know why–topography, I guess.
We planted a hardy bougie (a variation of the purple-flowering B. spectabilis)on the eastern side of a masonary wall. It has grown up and over the wall, where it gets the western sun. Every year, it loses its leaves and the outer branches become brittle and die off. I trim it back hard to the living wood in the spring. It gets no fertilizer and almost no water from me, and yet it thrives in the summer heat, flowering more profusely every year. My kind of plant! The only downside is dealing with those nasty thorns while pruning. Ouch!
Thanks for the input Bob!
Cold damage
I bought 2 Bougainvillea’s last summer and planted them in front of some lattice we have that’s in front of the pool equipment. They looked great all summer long and well into fall. As soon as we started getting frost warnings I covered them with burlap until the temp got above 34-35. they have both lost all their leaves and the branches look dry and dead. Should I prune the branches back to the main stem or just leave them alone and see what happens after it starts warming up. we live in zone 9. Thanks Craig
I live in Sacramento, CA I have seen several beautiful flowering bougainvillea’s in many neighboring yards.
Our’s survived 2 winter freezes but this last winter it didn’t make it. I have noticed that the yards that have surviving bougainvillea’s have them planted in between two structures, such as a garage and house or inbetween two houses. Do you think that has anything to do with them surviving the frosts, year after year?
Should I treat a hibiscus tree/bush (don’t know yet) the same as bougainvilla as to wintering over in the garage?
my bouganvillea is so high what do i do to protect during winter do i trim it all the way down or what do in do we live in west tx and shes so beautiful right now long vines and beautiful flowers
I live in zone 8…Pensa, Fl. and ‘I’m new to growing Bougainvilleas …’have kept most of them in pots, and store in the garage over the winter months. They do well there, but sure uses up the room. I’d like to plant them outside but concerned about our winter’s low temperatures. Do you think it’s necessary to cut them down to the ground and cover them as I have done with one that I’ve experimented with in this zone? ‘Just hate cutting off all that growth that produces late blooms the next season, and then more cold weather to contend with.
i brought a bougainvillea with me when I relocated from Florida to Maine. It bloomed poorly spring and summer in full sun. I decided to let it die a natural death for failure to thrive. I left it it its pot out in the Maine snow and sub zero temps. Last week I approached the pot to take to the dump, and to my amazement, it had a new 30 in. growth from the roots. I had no idea this was possible.
I bought to large braided bougainvillea toparies at a garden shop last spring. Well Before our first frost here in Centeal Texas I put the large potted plants in an outdoor shed for overwintering. I watered them every month or so. I pulled them out a couple of weeks ago and the plants look dead. The shaped ball on top is all brittle twigs. When scratching the plant skin to find life I have to go almost half way back down the braided stem. I paid $400.00 each for two of these. HELP!!! Please tell me there is still a rescue plan for these two!!