bougainvillea problems

Lehi, UT

I purchased a bougainvillea (Barbara Karst) at our local Home Depot, put it in front of a south window, and it has dropped all of the blossoms and now several leaves are falling off. There are very few leaves left on the plant. It is looking pretty bad! Any suggestions? Is it bad to have direct sun rays shine in on it? What could be the problem?

I might have an answer. I purchased one in March and had to keep it inside until the last frost here, which is about beginning to mid April. Mine did the same thing. I ended up doing a lot of research to safe it and then luckily the weather warmed up and I moved it outside. From what I read, bougainvilleas take full sun. And I certainly put mine to the test. I live in the Chihuahuan desert in New Mexico and it took full sun and heat all summer long. Not only did it get all it's leaves back, it's also quadrupled in size and bloomed constantly. I would suggest more light, and is it near any drafts or ac vents inside? They seem to thrive in warmth. I hope that helps. I'm just dreading bringing mine in for the winter. I'm worried that it'll lose all it's leaves again, and I'll lose it.

Fruitport, MI(Zone 5a)

This happened to me a couple of years ago. Every bud fell off. I talked with the nursery and they said that this is common. They don't like to be moved. In time it did come back. I had mine in a south window also and it blossomed in the winter. It likes full sun. I would ckeck for spider mites just in case. Not sure why the leaves are falling off too. How often are you watering it? Maybe it's getting too much.
I have one this year also. It had over 100 buds on it. When the temps got in the 90's followed by a low of 48 a couple of days later, all the buds fell off. Extreme temps seem to effect it also. Since the temps have gotten coller, its starting to bud again. Good luck.

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