That pot looks too small for such a large plant. & tho you don't say which one you used, insecticide is for killing insects, not remedying disease. Have you inspected to see what kind of insect has eaten those holes in the leaves?

IMPE, bougainvilleas go dormant in the winter, shedding leaves & appearing bare for awhile before the new growth starts.

Hi and Thank you - I don't think the pots too small Boug's like to be pot bound...I can't find any actual bugs on the plants - I sprayed with Spectracide.

They like to be pot-bound, but they can still outgrow their pots. If they are too pot-bound, there will be nothing to feed them or hold the nutrients from fertilizers.

Your plants need a fungicide that you apply to the soil and let soak in through the roots.

Interesting I have sprayed a fungicide on the leaves but have not applied it to the soil - I'll give that a try.

I am in Florida on the central west coast and I have had some trouble with my bougainvillea too. First they fell over from the heavy rains last year so I propped them up again and hard pruned them. They have been bouncing back but now I noticed the same kind of problem that you have on some of the leaves. Most are fine. When I pruned last month, I did notice a bug that I could not identify on on of the leaves. It was very orange. I assumed that's what was eating the leaves and I applied a systemic. It has helped somewhat but there are still some leaves that are being eaten.

I also agree that you need to plant the bougainvillea in a bigger pot but it might not be the most friendly plant to have in your pool area because of the sharp thorns.

FWIW, damage looks a lot like that of little leaf notchers, which have had a population explosion around here over the last few of years. They've been @ my bougainvillea.

As I said above, tho - dormancy may account for the shedding of foliage. It is also a good time to re-pot...

I agree on all three points Carol, and furthermore, would not be surprised to learn that there was still yet another factor here.

Was it left out overnight during the recent cold snap? It almost looks like frost burn

No real cold snap here in Ft Lauderdale

Yeah, I'm up north of Stuart on the east coast and it didn't get cold enough to damage bougainvillea even here.

Have you tried checking w/ your county extension service? They should be familiar w/ common pests/diseases for your region....

I was really hoping someone would look at the pictures and say - "you have so & so fungus - spray with X" Not going to be that easy I guess.

It rarely is.

It's not going to be easy because those plants would like to be replanted in the ground or at least in a bigger pot. Those plants would like to be big and they aren't getting enough nutrients from the soil, which is making them weak and susceptible to diseases and bugs.

It's funny I have a 20 year old Boug at the front of my home - the problem plants are at the back but still get lots of direct sun) The 20 year old is pot bound I haven't transplanted it in 10 years - I give it a handful of Boug fertilizer every coupe of months and it's Great - never has leaf drop. I have always read that Boug's thrive on neglect so.......

Are they all the same cultivar?

yes

They won't exactly die if you neglect them but they do tend to get overgrown and unsightly.

It looks like chlorine water damage to me. Do they get splashed a lot? Bougies are very sensitive to chlorine. Plus, how often do you water them? They like to be dry in the winter, in fact, they bloom better in the winter because it's so dry.

You had me thinking about chlorine splashes but I don't think so. There are 6 plants affected some are away from the pool and leaf damage is on branches that are too high to have been splashed.

Did anyone else consider the brown patches may be tissue die-off stemming from the chewed out sections?

& FWIW, there's a tiny brown-headed fast-moving caterpillar that likes both my roses & bougainvilleas - they will hide themselves between leaves glued together w/ silk & drop to the ground very swiftly when disturbed, making it pretty difficult to find them.

no no one mentioned that makes sense since the leaves definitely look chewed. I wonder if I should try a systemic insecticide?

If the perpetrator-and this is saying there was one-is no longer present, then you're just throwing still more chemicals at a bug-free plant and the surrounding area, with no benefit. You still don't know what's happening...and you still want to apply more chemicals.

I always recommend people deal with the cultural requirements of their plantings first. In other words, if a plant is being allowed to dry out, it makes zero sense to treat it for fungi. If a plant is being grown in too-dim light, it doesn't need fertilizer. Some have already commented on this poor thing being expected to thrive-what, indefinitely?-in this container. I'm pretty sure I'd start there. Even if you have other bougies growing in pots, that simply doesn't mean this one isn't suffering for having been made to do so, again, more or less indefinitely.

That plant-damaged areas or no damaged areas-is simply not a healthy happy plant. There appears to be minimal to no new growth happening. This is not an insect-based issue, even if an insect did do some chewing on it.

I would also suggest holding off on using any more pesticides until you know if you still have a problem or what the problem really is. A lot of people in this thread have made suggestions as to what might have been the issue, but that is all they are. "Suggestions" as to what "might" have done this. Given the range of things mentioned, I would strongly suggest taking the plant (or leaves and close-up pictures if the plant won't fit in your vehicle) to your local Extension Office (not a store where they want to sell you something) and get hands-on expert advice. Many Extension offices even have mobile plant clinics, you can check to see if yours does. Otherwise you could just be playing roulette.

Never bet on black.

Or is it always?

It's a good thing I don't gamble.

I have the same issue here in Cooper City, not far from Ft Laud but mine it's much larger in a big pot in the ground. It's really unsightly. I think its seasonal. When the temps heat up she bounces back nicely after fert. And I agree with another poster, they really bloom when it's dry season. It looks so beautiful. I don't use any pesticides in my yard except on spider mites on other plants because in they seem to be immune to every soap and insecticide. I think if you let it dry out a bit and give it time it should come back nicely in the warmer weather.

They don't need to be splashed to suffer from chlorine. The chlorine evaporates and leaves the water as a gas (I was told). Any nearby plants can suffer from this. It seems not all plants do well by chlorinated pools.

I understand what you are saying but 10 months of the year the plans are beautiful and healthy and then approximately twice a year I get the leaf drop with brown leaves etc. I would think if the plants were chlorine sensitive they would never to that well.