Yellow leaves on Bougainvillea are something you should worry about. I am not talking about the natural leaf yellowing (shedding older foliage). If you notice unnatural leaf yellowing, treat your plant as early as possible. In this article, I will tell you why Bougainvillea leaves turn yellow and how to cure it.
In gardening, the most stupid step is to treat hard-earned plants in a hurry.
First, you should know how to identify if the yellow leaves are part of a plant's natural process or not. Then I will move forward to find the reasons of bougainvillea leaves yellowing based on symptoms. (This is what I do while diagnosing and treating plant diseases)
Those who read my articles might already know I am obsessed with Bougainvillea and created a few articles like what to do if your bougainvillea is not flowering and Caring and Growing Guide.
Identify natural leaf yellowing
If your healthy Bougainvillea plant suddenly starts to show yellow leaves as the temperature decreases ( entering the winter ) start checking the leaves.
The lower and older leaves yellowing is a positive sign and you need not worry at all. This is a completely natural process. This is how your Bougainvillea plant is shedding older leaves.
The leaves will fall slowly and it takes time. Maybe more than 15 days after it starts getting yellow.
Even if you touch the leaves, they will not fall that easily. This is a healthy sign for your plant. (I am not talking about the leaves that entered the browny phase after the yellow phase)
Now move on to the next part.
Reasons and treatment
I have almost 20 Bougainvilleas and most of them are ground planted.
I noticed the yellow leaves mostly on potted plants. Even in summer, I witnessed Bougainvillea leaves turning yellow.
This is something scary.
Scattered yellow leaves
If you notice yellow leaves scattered all around your plant, there might be two possible reasons: A watering issue (Overwatering or Underwatering) or a Fungal infection.
Don't worry I am gonna help you find the exact reason based on symptoms.
The picture you are seeing is just the start. If you leave your plant untreated ignoring this, you can see more yellow leaves on different stems in a few days.
The young green healthy leaves turning yellow is a symptom of overwatering if you notice the following:
- Touching the leaves with your fingers is enough to remove the leaves from the plant.
- The leaves will not go brown after yellowing (not even a slight brown shade). They will fall directly just getting yellow.
- The soil is moist.
Treatment:
For potted plants, gently tip the pot on its side to drain any excess water.
Let the soil dry and do not water until the soil gets dry completely.
Do not add mulch at this time. I know they are good at decreasing moist from the soil but it will also prevent the direct sunlight to reach the soil surface.
Now let's understand what happens if your Bougainvillea is underwater.
You can notice some yellow leaves with brown spots on them or a slight brown shade in the yellow color.
I had a better chance to take a more accurate picture, but I forgot to capture that. This is what I have now with me. You can get an idea from the picture.
The leaves will not fall that easily like I told you for overwatering. But this is less dangerous.
Treatment is quite simple: water thoroughly. Once the soil gets dry, water it again. You can see the improvement in a couple of days for sure.
For overwatering, you need to worry as the plant can really die.
Note: Never ever feed your Bougainvillea plant when the plant is in stress like these. Let it overcome the stress first.
Most of the leaves are turning yellow
Overwatering and fungal infection can both turn most of the leaves yellow.
On fungal infection, you can notice tiny white spores on the leaf stem and the leaf vines. (You need to look closely)
Treatment: Use any fungicide that is made for ornamental plants.
Tip: You should remove the yellow leaves manually as fungus can spread rapidly and affect other healthy leaves.
In winter, there is a lesser chance of fungal infection.
Do not get confused with leaf discoloration
If you leave your Bougainvillea plant in a shady area, the leaves will start losing their actual color. I have seen one of my potted plants turning yellow in the shade.
You can place it back in a sunny spot to cure the yellow leaves.
To quickly fix it, you can apply phosphorus-based foliar spray on the leaves.
Doing gardening and writing the gardening experiences at the same time is really stressful. But I love it when I find my articles are helping others. You can subscribe to this site to help me write more.
