Bougainvillea styling - chop that branch?

[badatusernames]

I've been eyeballing this branch for awhile and I can't think of any good reason to keep it. It's thick and it's coming out parallel to the ground.

I'm getting the itch to take it off now as it's just pushing out some new flowers but I suppose the smart thing would be to wait til spring, as despite the flowers coming it's quite sparse being indoors, having lost a lot of leaves during the transition. The yellowing and burning there you see on some leaves was due to over fertilizing, I think, those leaves have just been hanging on for months.

Anyways, regardless of timing - what are your thoughts? Would you keep this branch? Why?

I think there's a few options as to what I could do with this tree, but that thick side branch seems like it should be a no-brainer to lop... but I'm a novice, and thought it would make for both an interesting learning experience as well as an interesting discussion to post this up.

This also may just be an excuse to lop it out of excitement to try to make a cutting from it.

 

[Clicio]

"When in doubt, don't cut".

I would keep it. Bougies are easy to sprout from old wood and back bud, so I would wait for a while and chop the branch short, and use the new sprouts to change its direction and build taper/ramification.

 

[badatusernames]

"When in doubt, don't cut".

I would keep it. Bougies are easy to sprout from old wood and back bud, so I would wait for a while and chop the branch short, and use the new sprouts to change its direction and build taper/ramification.

well heck that's a good idea too

I sorta figured it was so thick compared to the trunk that it wouldn't ever look right

 

[TimberLakers]

I'd keep it too.

You could try some different planting angles to solve for parallel.

 

[badatusernames]

Well now I'm glad I asked before lopping it off... more to consider!

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

If you keep the tree potted at the same angle that it is now, I would probably remove that branch. But a slight tilt of the trunk, and the branch will cease to be horizontal. Its up to you.

 

[Clicio]

If you keep the tree potted at the same angle that it is now, I would probably remove that branch. But a slight tilt of the trunk, and the branch will cease to be horizontal. Its up to you.

Leo, you mean tilt it a little to the right?

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I meant tilt to the left, which would bring that branch above horizontal.

This tree is "somewhat busy", If I were able to see it in 3D, I would probably remove 1/3rd to 1/2 the branches. But I don't like designing from photos. This time of year in northeastern USA, it is winter, and under lights bougainvillea do not grow as vigorously as outdoors. I would suggest just leaving the branches until spring, then if @badatusernames feels inspired, they could to a major styling and reduction. But right now is not the time of year to do so.

Some branches go up, above horizontal, some are horizontal, some are descending, below horizontal. I would "pick a theme" and get rid of the nonconformists. The pattern of branching is haphazard, it needs to be unified. I'd eliminate a good number of the branches. But that is me.

@badatusernames should sit with pencil and paper, or a photo and laptop photo editor program and play with possible designs. If you create a new design (on paper) every week for 3 months, using only branches that actually exist, by the 5 to 10 repeats of the exercise, you will know exactly how you want to style this tree.

 

[Forsoothe!]

Sorry, but the tree is the antithesis of bonsai. There isn't a tree in there. The lower right trunk needs to be rotated 40° to be vertical and all the growth is one sided and too vertical to be styled, so that needs to be re-started practically from zero. The rest of the tree is not much better and would be best used as air layered off, pick your site(s). Straight anything is the enemy in bonsai and it's what you get in a long untended plant. Dividing the tree into two or three re-starts may get you something in five years, but the tree as a whole has nothing but big problems.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm just stating the obvious. I've made many virts in the past and upon parsing this one all I find is more problems. Go for the long game and forget about making this tree as presented into something desirable.

 

[badatusernames]

I meant tilt to the left, which would bring that branch above horizontal.

This tree is "somewhat busy", If I were able to see it in 3D, I would probably remove 1/3rd to 1/2 the branches. But I don't like designing from photos. This time of year in northeastern USA, it is winter, and under lights bougainvillea do not grow as vigorously as outdoors. I would suggest just leaving the branches until spring, then if @badatusernames feels inspired, they could to a major styling and reduction. But right now is not the time of year to do so.

Some branches go up, above horizontal, some are horizontal, some are descending, below horizontal. I would "pick a theme" and get rid of the nonconformists. The pattern of branching is haphazard, it needs to be unified. I'd eliminate a good number of the branches. But that is me.

@badatusernames should sit with pencil and paper, or a photo and laptop photo editor program and play with possible designs. If you create a new design (on paper) every week for 3 months, using only branches that actually exist, by the 5 to 10 repeats of the exercise, you will know exactly how you want to style this tree.

this is exactly what’s going through my head. too busy, something major needs to change, and that branch seemed “obvious”, but even though i’ve seen people adjust the position of trees to account for something like this before it just never entered my head to do so with this one til people suggested it here

right now i’m just letting it go til spring, giving me plenty of time to think! i can see a few possible directions to go and have the time to decide where i want to take it come spring...

i got this tree this past June like this