I have two large (about 6ft) bougainvilleas in very large pots (I repotted from very small ones straight to very large ones few months ago). The medium is a mixture of local garden soil and acidic sandy soil with great drainage. I also added some peat and mulch on top. Temperatures reach about 100 F these days and humidity is low. The leaves look wilted so I started watering more often but I noticed zero difference. Few hours after watering or the day after, the medium is moist but the leaves still look like this. What could it be? The wind? I cannot spot any pests under the magnifying lense.

They are in pots because the yard soil where they are is horrendous; mostly concrete from past build works.

Looks almost like viral infection, they are super tough.

But the heat you described and the timing of the leaves shriveled up would steer towards being dry and desiccated foliage from lack of water, the leaf with no dry edges doesn’t match wster stress, odds on the leaves won’t recover.

That said the curling makes me think something in the soil like a pathogen, let them dry out they are super tough.

Can the leaves be crushed up in the hand like a dried up leaf or are they still moist inside?

4 hours ago, Than said:

I have two large (about 6ft) bougainvilleas in very large pots (I repotted from very small ones straight to very large ones few months ago). The medium is a mixture of local garden soil and acidic sandy soil with great drainage. I also added some peat and mulch on top. Temperatures reach about 100 F these days and humidity is low. The leaves look wilted so I started watering more often but I noticed zero difference. Few hours after watering or the day after, the medium is moist but the leaves still look like this. What could it be? The wind? I cannot spot any pests under the magnifying lense.

They are in pots because the yard soil where they are is horrendous; mostly concrete from past build works.

Wilty -ish / cupping look of the leaves i can see via your pictures = Pretty typical of what i see when it gets hot, even the ones in the ground.. Heck, gets hot enough here and the tenderest / newest growth will burn back, even on big specimens that have been in the ground for ....decades...

Is, what it is in hot / hot and dry places..

In pots? keep them moist ..but not soaking wet ..or in overly organic rich soil.

As far as soil, ..those planted in the ground? Bougs. could give 2 ***'s about the " quality" of whatever their feet are in.. Better it drains? = even better..

All planted here at the house are / were planted in native soil ( Which = rocky / sandy/ chunky / un-amended / full of prior construction debris )

Rarely provide extra water for any of the ones i planted since they went in. Older, wayy too spiny " Grandma " Bougs i yanked / that were here when we moved in? only got whatever water falls from the sky.

Others i planted at the old house? = same deal.. Not sure how they do it but these things somehow find whatever moisture they need.

All thrive, even thru our much hotter than your summers. Absolutely no comparison, no matter what.



Once past the just planted stage of installation? Wash, Rinse, Repeat for 99% of Bougainvillea you'll see planted in yards / commercial landscapes / along freeway greenbelts throughout the region.

That said the curling makes me think something in the soil like a pathogen, let them dry out they are super tough.

9 hours ago, happypalms said:

Can the leaves be crushed up in the hand like a dried up leaf or are they still moist inside?

I also knew they are super tough; I remember my grandma had one in a terracota pot, and never watered it. It became a monster. The leaves are still moist inside.. I don't get it.

7 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Wilty -ish / cupping look of the leaves i can see via your pictures = Pretty typical of what i see when it gets hot, even the ones in the ground..

As far as soil, ..those planted in the ground? Bougs. could give 2 ***'s about the " quality" of whatever their feet are in.. Better it drains? = even better..

I notice the bougainvilleas other houses have (they are everywhere) and I haven't seen any like mine. All other bougs look happy. As for the soil, I tried one last year in the ground and it died..

I must mention I also have one in the ground, at a different spot with better soil (amended) and that one does not have shrivelled leaves something which makes me think that it's the pots.. perhaps too much water? But then I would expect brown leaf tips, not shrivelling

49 minutes ago, Than said:

That said the curling makes me think something in the soil like a pathogen, let them dry out they are super tough.

I also knew they are super tough; I remember my grandma had one in a terracota pot, and never watered it. It became a monster. The leaves are still moist inside.. I don't get it.

Have they been fertilised? Over fertilised will cause the leaf curling.

11 hours ago, Than said:

I notice the bougainvilleas other houses have (they are everywhere) and I haven't seen any like mine. All other bougs look happy. As for the soil, I tried one last year in the ground and it died..

I must mention I also have one in the ground, at a different spot with better soil (amended) and that one does not have shrivelled leaves something which makes me think that it's the pots.. perhaps too much water? But then I would expect brown leaf tips, not shrivelling

When you planted it, did you disturb the roots at all? IE: teasing a tightly bound rootball apart, breaking any? ....Is something mentioned a lot that can kill or temporarily set back smaller sized ones.

Here at least, older, well established specimens? you can chop a big spiny menace to a nubby 5" stump poking out of the ground and they'll explode w/ new growth within a couple weeks of being hacked. ..is something you see landscape " slaughter crews " do w/ Bougs planted in various commercial / highway landscapes just about every spring here.

The specimens i yanked this past spring were 6' x 5' before i chopped them to the ground inc. using an axe head to chisel out chunks of the above ground portion of the burl / some of the roots on one of them ( = figured that would end it.. ) Nope, it started to throw new growth from the remaining stumpy burl within days ..which is when i yanked what was left, and it's buddy..


Did the planted specimen that died receive the same light exposure as the healthy one? or does the healthy one see ..even slightly different.. conditions ( say more shade thru the hottest part of the day compared to the dead one? ) If both saw the same conditions, and they were getting the same amount of irrigation than something else got the dead one.. And i highly doubt it involves the soil being modified vs being planted in natural / existing soil.. Again, from experience, while amending soil certainly doesn't hurt one bit, as long as it drains well / isn't a swamp, these seem to be pretty indifferent about that aspect.. If they did? i'd have lost at least half of the ones i've planted over the years, esp. here.

The pot aspect is an interesting thought but not something i might place high on a list of potential causes since people keep Bougs in pots for years ( ...or far longer, lol ) as Bonsai subjects. A nursery i worked for had some hanging around in a greenhouse long enough that they were ready to go bonsai subjects ( 60% of the soil in the pots missing yet the plants were healthy and chunky and could live out their lives in a 8" deep x 14 or 16" wide Bonsai pot. ).

Only caveat? If the pot is black and sits in full sun a good chunk of the day? = i'd move it to somewhere shadier since you can cook roots in a pot. Cooked ...and now decaying.. roots? = perfect environment for pathogenic fungi / bacteria issues.


Shriveling / lax looking / cupped leaves, vs brown - tipping, = can all be related to too much / too little water, and other issues associated with.

Most things that i see brown tipping on = quantity of dissolved salts in our water.. = un avoidable. That said, when i see it, i know i might want to ease up on any watering.. Our extreme heat + low dew points thru the summer can cause that to occur too of course..

When i see a well watered, perfectly green plant suddenly wilt / 80 -99% of green, but totally dried out leaves start shedding, w/ out any prior issue being noted ( ...brown tipping or whatever? ) = highly likely some soil borne thing got it.. Not much that can be done about that except starting over.

Is ..what it is..