What should be done if the bougainvillea flowers abnormally?
You may not be aware of the knowledge about what to do when bougainvillea flowers abnormally. Here are the details:
What should be done if the bougainvillea flowers abnormally?
Every time I share tips on growing bougainvillea, I receive private messages from flower enthusiasts. Although bougainvillea is easy to grow, there are still various problems that often occur for新手 (beginner) flower enthusiasts, such as petals not unfolding properly and abnormal growth issues.
The picture above was sent by a flower enthusiast. It can be clearly seen that there are some granular-like substances on the petals, and some buds and flowers have blackened and withered. What could be the reason for this?
This phenomenon in bougainvillea is not common, and it is also rare in other flowers. The causes of this abnormal growth and withered buds can be summarized into mainly three.
1. Pest infestation
Pest infestations are often a significant factor threatening the normal growth of potted plants, causing curled and deformed leaves, primarily by thrips and leaf-rolling moths.
Flower enthusiasts who grow roses are familiar with thrips. They are very small but can cause significant damage. Thrips not only harm roses but can also damage other flowering plants, leading to deformed buds and leaf scars, severely affecting the normal growth and development of plants.
What should be done if the bougainvillea flowers abnormally?
Leaf-rolling moths are not easily detected in the early stages and can cause leaves to curl. Opening the curled leaves reveals a net inside, which contains the larvae of the leaf-rolling moth.
Leaf-rolling moths not only cause leaves to curl but also bore into them, leaving the leaves incomplete.
Thrips can cause new leaves to become deformed and wither, and they also leave many brown scars. However, this bougainvillea clearly does not have scars, and the leaves have a bumpy appearance, which does not match the characteristics of thrip damage. Also, the leaves are clean, without curling or spider webs, which can rule out damage from leaf-rolling moths.
2. Drought
After ruling out fertilizer damage, it is necessary to consider whether drought is the cause. This bougainvillea shows obvious signs of withered new buds. When growing bougainvillea, we often use water control methods to promote flowering. Could it be that drought is the cause?