Bougainvella And Canna Solutions

Question

I bought a bougainvella and a canna for my balcony. The leaves of canna became a little brown so I put iron sulfide. The plant is at a position where sun is on it for 5-6 hours per day and I put water every day or every second day(I am in Greece and we have every day 30 Celsius degrees). My bougainvillea became like this (photo) since I first put it there. I have tried putting it at positions with a lot of sun or little. I have watered it almost everyday or I haven’t for a few days. I have cut some of its leaves and I have put iron sulfide at it too. Everything that I did I failed. Even its new leaves are problematic (I don’t have any wind problems). What should I do?

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Answer 1

Overwatering is a very common mistake made when compensating for heat. This is what has happened, here, leading to infection.

Another thing to note is the size of the container, compared to the size of the plant. The roots probably only fill out just a small portion of the soil right now. It is also worth noting that the soil appears to be topsoil, and not potting soil. This will remain wet under the surface, when the top seems dry. This means that the soil will be too saturated, leading to infection.

From here, I would put this into a smaller container (one that is only an inch or two larger on all sides than the previous container) and use a good potting soil with good drainage.

The last, and most important thing is to treat with IRON SULFATE and not IRON SULFIDE, which is what sulfur reducing bacteria produce. This can trick the plant into thinking that it is dying.

Make sure to test soil moisture with a meter until you get familiar with how soils dry. Make sure to test pH and nutrient content, often, as well.

Here are some articles that will help:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/testing-soil.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/soil-ph-plants.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/vines/bougainvillea/bougainvillea-in-containers.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/bulbs/canna/planting-cannas-in-pots.htm