New Red Bougainvillea

Ironbeaver

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Picked this guy up the other night. Going to make lots of cuttings until I can get rid of the steel arch it's wrapped around. Might be able to get something out of it in a year or two.
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Currently planted in fluffy peat crap. Probably a big twisty tap root. Will these bud from a thick enough root cutting or do they need surface trunk/vine?
 

c54fun

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Awesome. Love bougainvilleas. Have 3 reds, purple and a yellow. I believe you can run these over with a truck rip the roots off and put it back in soil and it will grow.
 

GrimLore

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Picked this guy up the other night. Going to make lots of cuttings until I can get rid of the steel arch it's wrapped around. Might be able to get something out of it in a year or two. Currently planted in fluffy peat crap. Probably a big twisty tap root. Will these bud from a thick enough root cutting or do they need surface trunk/vine?

They don't like the roots messed with and prefer to be root bound. Most recommend you slip pot them up only 1 size larger until root bound and established. That can take a year or two but its worth the time. Ours is doing fine in the "fluffy crap" as received. Currently it is on the dining room table waiting for me to install another light in the plant room.
They propagate from tip cuttings. Never heard of root cuttings as an option.
What temperature do you plan to winter it at? Not much info out there on the subject :rolleyes:

Grimmy
 

Starfox

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I have had new shoots come up from well below the ground after cutting back to the roots. They just keep on living no matter what you throw at them.
 

j evans

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I have one that I haven't worked on much. I usually just put it in the garage in the winter. Doesn't do great but it makes through. As said above I think that they are really tough and easy to grow. Looks like a great start, good luck!
 

Ironbeaver

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This is my first red one, I've had a pink pixie (and it's offspring cuttings) for 2 years now, and I picked up a purple vera at the beginning of summer. They seem to do well in my solarium under grow lights. When I re-potted and chopped the purple back, I didn't save the thicker taproot sections I removed, so I might try it this time as they seem to have interesting movement. The roots don't like to be disturbed in the sense that they break away if you even look at them for too long. I just tend to cut away the bulk and then go easy for a few weeks until the strong growth picks up again. I may leave the root work until spring, but i will be chopping back all that growth.
 

GrimLore

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but i will be chopping back all that growth.

Do you wait until the blooms fade? Reason I ask is this one needs a heavy pruning before it goes in the plant room. It is a multiple trunk and grew in a hanging basket. We had to tie it upright to get it in the doorway with those 3 foot branches :eek:

Reason I ask is the Wife said it is best to wait until it drops the flora from what she reads elsewhere.

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Grimmy
 

Ironbeaver

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I haven't heard about waiting for blooming to finish. The blooms on mine are starting to drop off on their own, so I'm just going to hack away. My room stays pretty warm (around 80 F I think) so recovery should go fairly well.
 

Starfox

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Do you wait until the blooms fade? Reason I ask is this one needs a heavy pruning before it goes in the plant room. It is a multiple trunk and grew in a hanging basket. We had to tie it upright to get it in the doorway with those 3 foot branches :eek:

Reason I ask is the Wife said it is best to wait until it drops the flora from what she reads elsewhere.

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Grimmy

I am going to do just this, granted our winters are not as severe but I'm taking my lead from the locals who start cutting back now up until December when the blooms fade.
That said last year was weird and they bloomed all year but I will chop mine back in a month or so, whether that is right or wrong I don't know but I'm going to do it and can let you know how it goes.

Plus my wife won't let me while it is in flower anyway :D
 
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GrimLore

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Plus my wife won't let me while it is in flower anyway :D

I just looked at it closely and this is the first season we have had it. It seems it is at the end of the second flush but now I see MORE bracts :rolleyes: I might chop them off before she sees them for that reason you stated :p

Grimmy
 
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LanceMac10

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Same up here. Get some shots when my neighbor gets home. He got another one, (purple) this weekend at Bonsai West' open house.
 
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