Hello! Unfortunately I've been very out of it and stressed this season and have completely neglected to take my bougainvillea which normally stays on the porch inside for winter. The leaves are a little browned but still flexible, and doing the bend test, the plant still has yellow-green tissue far up on the stem that i tested and could easily bend without snapping. I bent it quiet a bit before it snapped and saw the yellow to slight green tissue. I want to know what I could do to help save the plant. Should I bring it inside and prune immediately, or just bring it inside to wait and see what happens? The very tips of the branches seem dead but 5-6 inches below that still seems to be alive, or mostly alive. We have not recieved snow yet this season but have had quiet a few frosty nights this november and beginning december. I will also be going away for a month, and want to know how exactly you would set up an automatic waterer for a bougainvillea, or if I should even bother if I just give it a good deep watering before i leave. I'll be gone for slightly over 5 weeks.

Thank you for any help!

Is the soil currently moist at all? If so, please don't water it. We have no idea where you are, so I don't know what kind of temps it has experienced so far. Bougainvilleas can take light frosts and even defoliated plants can fully recuperate. Bougainvilleas thrive best under dry conditions..., especially one that has been stressed. Don't feed it either. These plants do better with though love. Leave it be until it shows signs of new growth.

So, how did it go?