Bouganvillea ideas...

Starfox

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Hey all,

I have a few bougainvillea plants in my garden that are surplus to my requirements and up until now I figured I was just going to pull them for green waste or see if a neighbour wanted them but now I have an idea to bonsai them but not sure the best way to approach it.

I have 2 small plants as seen in the pics below which I think would suit well and I also have a much larger one that is probably at least 8 years old.

Everything I have read states it's best to put in a pot and trim the roots around spring time, well it's autumn here now and they are in flower and the two small plants I can leave in the ground until spring if I have too and just prune the growth back at some point unless anybody thinks it'd be better to do otherwise.

The larger tree poses more of an issue as it is going to have to go much sooner over the winter, the trellis it is on is falling over and rotted and we will be using that space for something else anyway so what is the best approach to possibly digging it up and keeping it alive?

I know these things are hard to kill, there are also two stumps(one underground) from a couple of other ones that have been cut down that are sending out new shoots but what I don't really know if I should be digging them up now and hoping for the best or what really.

Any ideas on the best way to proceed?
 

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jk_lewis

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They seem pretty small. I'd let them grow a few more years. Prune them back so side branches develop to help thicken the stem.
 

lieuz

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They seem pretty small. I'd let them grow a few more years. Prune them back so side branches develop to help thicken the stem.

I agree. It's naturally a vine, like @jkl mentioned best to just prun it back to get more girth thickness.
 

Starfox

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I don't mind doing that with them and sit on them for a bit, they will have to go in a pot at some point but that can wait a bit.

What about these pics of the older one, it looks a bit of a mess in there but there is a bit of girth to it in parts.
Also is there any point in salvaging the one that is cut right back?

Either way none of it will be staying so I'm just trying to work out what if anything I can do with them other than throw them away.
 

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lieuz

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That older one looks a lot better. To answer your question, I'm not confident enough to dig it out of the ground in fall to put into a pot and expect it to live.
 

Starfox

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I have been looking into it a bit more and a lot of the advice in regards to heavy pruning and transplanting bougainvillea seems to suggest that late fall or early spring is the best time to attack it after it has bloomed.
The trellis it is on is falling so that can't stay, maybe I should prune it back pretty harshly so I can remove the trellis and transplant it in the spring?
 

Cadillactaste

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Tropical...I personally I would think highest success rate would be in your spring when they are pushing growth the strongest. I have had ones tell me though they don't go dormant they slow down. They do well with cuttings and growing their own roots from that. So possibly consider some smaller bonsai as well. Mame/shohin might make a few from a cutting or two. Going into fall...as a northerner...I myself cringe but...don't know your climate either. Depending on your wish of success rate would be the line of action. I also have a wisteria in ground...growing out. They do thicken more that way...you can shape and let back bud and develop there to a degree. I've even got wire on mine in ground...letting the earth do what no pot is capable of doing. Your call on that one. Take a few cuttings to play around with...let some mature more in ground if you can. While giving them a gentle guidance on the direction you see for them. Up to you really.
 

Starfox

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We are in zone 10b so whilst it isn't quite tropical the bougies really don't have much time to go dormant but no doubt they slow down for a month or two, at the moment they are a splendid sight all around still in bloom this late in the year.
I think the advice to leave them in ground until spring is the way to go, I do have the two smaller ones as well so I have a couple of choices to play with.
I wouldn't mind some cuttings from a purple or orange plant or maybe I can find a bit more mature ones in a garden center somewhere.

The older one will need a big prune back though when the leaves drop which will give it some time to recover over winter before spring, even if that is not the best idea I really need that space but it's probably better than pulling it out.
 
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