No Green Thumb

My Bougainvillea Now

My Bougainvillea is back from the dead! I thought for sure I had killed it. My husband and I went shopping for some plants to spruce up the balcony of our old apartment.  It had a pretty sad view facing the side of another building and a small sky and city view.  We never had had plants before, and I worried I would not be able to take care of them, but most of all I worried the kids would get into them.
 

The Old View

I picked a bougainvillea plant because I love how they bloom all year round in California.  Bougainvillea are everywhere and very bright, come in many colors, pretty to look at, and don’t need much water.  However, my adorable husband brought home a pot for it that had no holes in it for drainage. My knowledge of flowers comes from the gardening I did as a kid, which was at a house and in the ground.  I didn’t even think to check for holes in the bottom, I just repotted it. I made a huge mess, but I was proud of myself, and my plant did very well for a little while.  I left a sense of accomplishment, I could be a plant person.  It looked great, I wanted more, but my husband said lets see how this one goes.  Then someone gave us two ficus trees, which of course I have had no problems with!  The balcony soon became bearable and I started taking the kids out there again.  It changed the way the apartment looked when you were inside you could see green and pink, and we were happier.  Sadly, the leaves began to fall off my bougainvillea, even though the flowers continued to bloom.  I was concerned and looked up online how to care for bougainvillea’s and found I should only water them every other day or so if they are potted.  I changed my watering from everyday to every other day and yet the leaves still did not return.

Old View With Plants; Bougainvillea (with no leaves)

Then we moved to a new apartment, with a larger balcony and a wonderful city view, I noticed something. My bougainvillea plant smelled really bad, and it was so heavy it took two of us to barely lift it up!!! Then we realized the pot was not just full of dirt, but was full of water as well.  I had unknowingly rotted out my soil for my plant.  So when we moved it was my chance to prove to myself that I could keep a plant alive and healthy!  I picked out a pretty blue pot and made sure it had both drainage holes and a try to catch some water. I replanted it with new potting soil, watered it every other day. I also fed it with some Miracle Grow plant food, which The Home Depot garden center had assured me would help revive my plant in no time at all. Time it did take and lots of it. Soon I had a problem that was completely opposite from the previous problem I had with my plant. It began to have no flowers and tons of green healthy leaves. I was sad, but as time went by I hoped it would begin to bloom the beautiful magenta flowers.  This summer came and went and still no flowers, I began to lose all hope. I had failed at getting my favorite plant to bloom again.  Until last week, I saw a few buds on my plant. I was so excited!  My faith returned that perhaps I had a green thumb underneath it all.  Today my plant is getting back to where it was when I bought it and it is once again beautiful, healthy, and bringing color to our balcony. There is hope for green thumb mommy after all.