Bougie moved from Tallahassee to Toledo

I sometimes take 90% of the roots off. They don't miss a beat. The other trick is you must defoliate when you do this.

John in Toledo said:

...and that's what makes it fun!

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Absolutely I spend a good amount of time trying to decode. It is fun! Who knows, it may just be sage wisdom that is beyond me. He is the SORCE after all...

milehigh_7 said:

I sometimes take 90% of the roots off. They don't miss a beat. The other trick is you must defoliate when you do this.

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Well, I'm certain it's close to being rootbound. I'm excited to get at it this summer.

John in Toledo said:

Well, I'm certain it's close to being rootbound. I'm excited to get at it this summer.

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They like being rootbound... keep that in mind.

milehigh_7 said:

They like being rootbound... keep that in mind.

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Hmmm...perhaps I'll just give a trim, then, to give it some room. The pot is pretty big.

John in Toledo said:

Hmmm...perhaps I'll just give a trim, then, to give it some room. The pot is pretty big.

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They are often so big and fleshy that you will be able to kind of untangle them and straighten them and trim the ends. I would nick the roots close to the trunk and dust with rooting hormone. They sort of act like a succulent to be honest. To give credit where it is due, I adapted my technique from the Phoenix Bonsai Society's site. I ran this guide by some pretty knowledgeable people and they said it was sound. So I have been kind of using it in various forms ever since. I think I have only lost 3 out of about 50 or so in the past two years when I did it this way. The others I lost were either not defoliating or repotting out of season:

Any time between the middle of June and the middle of August : Step 1. cut back branches and trunk to 18" to 24" high, saving only the largest or best positioned branches, everything else above ground goes (You can start shaping/trimming a couple of days in advance, but that's not necessary. Watch out for those thorns! No harm if you want to leave only a couple of small green leafy branches to ease your mind that the tree's still alive...) ; Step 2. dig the plant up along with as many lateral roots as possible that extend out only about six inches or so from around the trunk base, being sure to keep any good-looking surface roots (You'll probably have a few thick diagonal and vertical below-surface roots to cut -- trim them all the way back to the stump. And don't worry if you end up with less roots than you do when transplanting other types of trees. Be sure you have plenty of water with you: just a little for the plant roots, but most of it for you -- the air temperature while you're doing this excavating could easily be over 100°F! Did we forget to mention that you should start working before mid-morning or after dinner?) ; Step 3. plant the "bougie" in a large container -- cut-down 55-gallon drum, mortar mixing box, heavy plastic dish tub large enough for this particular specimen, etc. -- filled with chicken grit or well-draining large grained sandy soil mix, and keep sufficiently watered but not waterlogged ; Step 4. the plant should be pushing out lots of new growth buds by the end of one month ; Step 5. the next mid-June, after giving it its first shaping trim, transplant your tree into its first large training pot. Your dug plant's success is all but guaranteed. (PBS http://www.phoenixbonsai.com/PPlants.html)

Hack Yeah! said:

I'm sure you're right about the spring repots. Although, I think they're pretty touchy at other times as well. Mine just dropped leaves after cutting a few branches back. Seemed very healthy and growing very quickly at the time.

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Good to know. Some of mine are in need of trimming up, was going to do it tomorrow. Maybe I'll wait.....

Thanks. Nice straightforward and simple. You mention "nicking" the roots. Can you clarify? Do you mean partially cut?

Also "dust with rooting hormone"? Will you share a bit about why/how you do that? Is there a specific make of rooting hormone you tend to use for this application?

John in Toledo said:

Thanks. Nice straightforward and simple. You mention "nicking" the roots. Can you clarify? Do you mean partially cut?

Also "dust with rooting hormone"? Will you share a bit about why/how you do that? Is there a specific make of rooting hormone you tend to use for this application?

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Just a little wound nothing major. The reason would be to induce more fine rootage near the trunk. I don't think it would matter much what kind you used although if you found something that had fungicide added it might be good.

Well, I made it to the hottest part of the year without messing with it (hooray for me!). Time to repot!

This thing is root-tight from top to bottom. Based on lots of stuff in the "Are you a bouger" thread, I am planning to remove the bottom 1/3-1/2 of the root ball, but leave it kinda tight around the edges, then defoliate. There are a few branches that gave up the ghost before I got the indoor winter humidity thing under control. Once they are removed and naked, I'll put up a pic for branch retention, trimming and wiring comments. I'm pretty nervous, as this is my first bougie report, and all this warning about fragile root-shoot junctures is of concern. I lack the finesse that experience would provide.

For now, I'd like some input on pot choice. I figure this might be as good a time as any to swap to a new pot. The brackts are of that common bright fushia color. See below.

Any pot choice feedback? I know there are rules/common practices for this, like glaze is for flowers (I think), but I don't know them well. I'm hoping you all can give some suggestions. I wonder if you will suggest the same one I like best.

The brownish one is a bit wider, but shallower. The blue one is a little smaller, but deeper. The black one is both wider and deeper.

I picked these up at the recent Columbus Bonsai workshop I attended.

I like #1 & #5. I am generally ignorant of these rules you speak of, though.

I would go with the blue, but then I have a thing for blue pots. But black or brown just doesn't seem right for a bougie.

I vote for the blue lot also. Nice tree!

queenofsheba52 said:

I vote for the blue lot also. Nice tree!

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Thanks. If it ever passes, I'll use the trunk to make a shaft for an arrow, it's so straight! I am excited to get feedback on branch selection and wiring.

I actually like the first pot the best, good shape and nice color. But without knowing the bloom color would be hard to envision. Happy Repot day!

Here we go. The root pad was very dry even though I water it daily. The soil just fell out as I held it in my hands. Most of it was a pair of roots that circled the pot edge several times. When those two were gone, you can see how little remained. I am glad I took off the leaves, so that reduced root system will have a decent chance at feeding all the remaining green.

When I was done, I started wiring, then realized I didn't have a clear vision so I stopped. I didn't think it wise to wire without purpose, and since the roots were so fragile, I feared the branches would have behaved the same. By no means is it crowded, I hope it grows fast enough to settle in soon. Gave it a good long soak, then set it in the first place in the garden that gets shade. Fingers crossed.

John, do you know what sort of mix it was in - that had dry spots despite daily watering?

substratum said:

John, do you know what sort of mix it was in - that had dry spots despite daily watering?

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Nope. It was the soil from purchase. Looked like garden soil with a shit-ton of tiny pebbles. I repotted into Tiny Roots "tropical blend".

Just realized that you can see the thick circling root on the left in picture 4. It almost looks like it was trying to make bark.

That was smart to stop wiring, the idea is to wire it first, then repot. For all the reasons you listed, so you don't tear up roots as it moves around in new soil. Looks like you wired it in, that's good too. When you wire before repot, and are doing a new angle, stick a wedge under the pot so you can wire to the new angle. Looks like you could carefully take the second (wired) branch and move it back to the left, as right now it seems unbalanced to the right with all the new lean. You want to counter that so it doesn't look unstable. Hope it grows fast for you.

Great tip about the wedge! Thanks.

Sound advice for the branch.

Right now, I feel like I'm waiting to exhale waiting for signs of new green.