# Help me save this bougainvillea **URL:** \ **Category:** Horticulture\ **Created:** [May 13, 2021, 12:42am UTC](https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/t/help-me-save-this-bougainvillea/8273 "2021-05-13T00:42:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Erick\_l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cc9497/32.png) [@Erick\_l](https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/u/Erick_l)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2021, 12:42am UTC](https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/t/help-me-save-this-bougainvillea/8273/1 "2021-05-13T00:42:36Z")
So, a couple of weeks ago I found this bougainvillea forgotten at the back of a nursery. I don’t know why but I felt drawn to it and hoped to save it. I reported it, helped it stand with that rock and has had those tiny sprouts since I brought it. I am very new to bonsai (and plants overal) and might have been naive thinking that it can be saved but… is there anything I can do or is it a lost cause? ![20210512_181804](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/uploads/bonsaimirai/original/3X/f/2/f21be4b23d67861612677f1c467641c591b9fcdc.jpeg) ![20210512_181815](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/uploads/bonsaimirai/original/3X/c/f/cf25d9ca65a80568e2a59ff8ad41d68a3b23382c.jpeg) ![20210512_181827](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/uploads/bonsaimirai/original/3X/a/5/a55c457d3f050091a6def81f1503ca6c3e90d488.jpeg) ![20210512_181853](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/uploads/bonsaimirai/original/3X/2/4/2479d2c12f6c8a64aa3c41d57f950b79c543cf7a.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![KurtP](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.bonsaimirai.com/kurtp/32/16188_2.png) [@KurtP](https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/u/KurtP)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2021, 6:13am UTC](https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/t/help-me-save-this-bougainvillea/8273/2 "2021-05-13T06:13:03Z")
Looks great from here. Let it do it’s thing. DO NOT put in a inside sunny south window. Morning sun, Lots of indirect light, shade. Outside, if possible. NO fertilizer, in the short term. Maybe lightly in a month. Don’t over water, damp, not wet. . Ya, I would rescue it, too! ---
**Author:** ![Erick\_l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cc9497/32.png) [@Erick\_l](https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/u/Erick_l)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2021, 12:42pm UTC](https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/t/help-me-save-this-bougainvillea/8273/3 "2021-05-13T12:42:17Z")
Oh man. Thank you. You give me hope. So it’s normal for those little leaves to stay so tiny? Also, rainy season is starting over here. I have it set in a balcony where rain doesn’t hit it, but it is humid. Should I, for example, bring it inside every night? ---
**Author:** ![MartyWeiser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@MartyWeiser](https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/u/MartyWeiser)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2021, 2:22pm UTC](https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/t/help-me-save-this-bougainvillea/8273/4 "2021-05-13T14:22:54Z")
Bougainvillea can handle light frosts so there is no need to bring it in at night unless it will freeze. I have found that when they get over dry they will put out small leaves and then sit for a while to build up energy for root and new leaf growth. I have one that I keep indoors for the winter and it always gets missed with the watering at least once and drops most of its leaves and takes several weeks to recover. It is now outside for the summer. ---
**Author:** ![Erick\_l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cc9497/32.png) [@Erick\_l](https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/u/Erick_l)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2021, 3:27pm UTC](https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/t/help-me-save-this-bougainvillea/8273/5 "2021-05-13T15:27:07Z")
Cool Marty. That gives me hope. Any other tips or recommendations are welcomed. I will be so happy if I can save it. I don’t know why I felt so drawn to it since the moment I saw it. ---
**Author:** ![MartyWeiser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@MartyWeiser](https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/u/MartyWeiser)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2021, 3:59pm UTC](https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/t/help-me-save-this-bougainvillea/8273/6 "2021-05-13T15:59:38Z")
Keep it moist but not wet and indirect light as Kurt said until it starts to show more growth. ---
**Author:** ![Erick\_l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cc9497/32.png) [@Erick\_l](https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/u/Erick_l)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2021, 4:33pm UTC](https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/t/help-me-save-this-bougainvillea/8273/7 "2021-05-13T16:33:05Z")
Thanks a lot guys! Should I to anything with dead or brittle branches? Cut them off? I also see these gray spots. Fungus? ![20210513_103214](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/uploads/bonsaimirai/original/3X/9/5/95fc55ebf26fc9f5b8445e2ed2ca6fc8bc554986.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![MartyWeiser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@MartyWeiser](https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/u/MartyWeiser)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 3:16am UTC](https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/t/help-me-save-this-bougainvillea/8273/8 "2021-05-14T03:16:20Z")
I would not cut off branches for now since that will disturb the roots a little while you are making the cuts. I have no clue about the spots - never had anything like that.