Trunk thickness on bougainvillea

Joe Dupre'

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I received a rooted bougainvillea cutting from one of the members of my club this summer. The trunk is a little better than pencil thickness. Question: Will the trunk thicken faster if I let it grow freely (what I've been doing) or is it better to prune it regularly?
 
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Let it grow.

Feed like hell.
Pinch it when you see new growth emerge.
Back buds will pop.
Let it grow freely without pinching.
 
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pinching is counterproductive to letting it grow.

Continuous pinching, yes.

Pinching to produce multiple branches near the base while the cutting is small will help thicken the base faster. You can either grow one 8ft whip or grow many 8ft whips, which do you think would produce faster results?
 

JoeR

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Continuous pinching, yes.

Pinching to produce multiple branches near the base while the cutting is small will help thicken the base faster. You can either grow one 8ft whip or grow many 8ft whips, which do you think would produce faster results?
Good point. I had a trident maple that grew only one 5 foot tall shoot and there was very minimal improvement in trunk thickness. It has no branches, just the main trunk.
 

Anthony

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Joe,

depends on what you want. On our side just let it grow, then when you hit the size trunk you want or
better still, just under the size, cut back hard.

I would suggest at least 3 to 5 victims, not 1.
Good Day
Anthony

* IBC member's page has a few shots of Bougainvilleas with TRUNKS - I think one is from Florida.
Take a look if you can, and maybe talk to the Floridian.
Title has Bougainvillea in it, might be on the front page still.
 

sorce

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GrimLore

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Continuous pinching, yes.

Pinching to produce multiple branches near the base while the cutting is small will help thicken the base faster. You can either grow one 8ft whip or grow many 8ft whips, which do you think would produce faster results?

This one was allowed to grow wildly in a hanging basket for one season. We needed to tie it upward and together to get it inside being over 4 feet wide. We promptly cut it all back to 8 - 9 inches and 4 weeks later it is budding nicely indoors. Cutting back produces leaf far faster then cuttings which take 8 - 10 weeks. I agree with you 100 percent on this one - I am certain it will now grow and thicken far faster if kept cut back and pinched...

Before cut -

IMG_0715.JPG

Four weeks later indoors -

IMG_0801.JPG

Grimmy
 

Joe Dupre'

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Sorce, I'm going for a shohin. I figure a base at about 1"+ in diameter and shohin height......informal upright. I have a couple of rooted cuttings from this tree that I will experiment with. All three trees are in good potting soil. Would it be wise to repot them into bonsai soil now or wait until spring?

Nice growth on that bougie, Grimmy. Thanks for the replies.
 
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Nay Nay.



I guess I can't exactly play Satan's advocate...

Thinking....

Lol...it depends on the situation.
It Must.

Each scenario produces 2 completely different results.
Totally different tools.

What type of tree are we building?

Sorce

So, in this case, there is only one question and one scenario and one specific situation; thickening a pencil thick bougainvillea cutting as fast as possible.

Its not that difficult to grasp.

Bougainvillea grow like vines.

They grow very long without thickening much. And we know that the leader branch controls trunk thickening. So, if you cut the leader before the trunk is the size you want, you have to wait for the leader to catch up to the trunk again and start over. And we also know that sacrifice branches help thicken.

Start feeding your tree heavily right now. Once you see about 4 internodes of growth, pinch back to 2 internodes. Pinching it will force backbuds on a healthy plant. The backbuds will produce branches near the base which is the optimal location for a sacrifice branch to thicken the trunk. Once you have your sacrifice branches ready to go, don't pinch again. Just feed like hell, wire movement and feed like hell.

Contrastingly, if you let it grow untouched with no low branches, you will end up making a huge cut that will never heal and it will result in the center of the tree rotting out.

Keep in mind, bougies do not heal for shit. You should not make cuts that are >2". This is why you want the sacrifice branches to thicken the base.

In my photo, this is about 4-5 months of growth with low nitrogen fertilizer and no pinching. Notice the branches are like 3 feet long and slightly thicker (maybe 1.5x) than a pencil?
 

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armetisius

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Nay Nay. . . I guess I can't exactly play Satan's advocate... Sorce

Advocate? you? no way.
Drinking buddy maybe
but advocacy is so time consuming.

No you can't.
Because that's my title.

Since we have two living [still have difficulty wrapping my head around that] and one sitting Pope;
the position shouldn't even exist at the moment.

This one was allowed to grow wildly in a hanging basket for one season. Grimmy

Dang Grimmy; it did agree with the relocation very well.
First I have seen of it since packing it. Cool little tree
{Going sometime this week to check on how some of the
1 & 3 gl. they had have developed. Don't worry we'll talk
before I go. Or while I am there.}
 

sorce

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slightly thicker (maybe 1.5x) than a pencil?

So those 8 8ft whips aren't gonna cause the big holes I was imagining when removed?

And that big Chop scar ain't gonna heal either.......I figured so.

Thanks feller....

Glad you're back! This place lacks a good bunch of Crazy without you!

Sorce
 
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So those 8 8ft whips aren't gonna cause the big holes I was imagining when removed?

And that big Chop scar ain't gonna heal either.......I figured so.


Sorce

Without using multiple sacrifice branches, you will have to grow one single leader to the desired girth before cutting. This would result in a large chop, that will not heal, and eventual rot.

Using sacrifice branches, you are creating the same amount of growth without growing one cumbersome branch. You can remove the sacrifice branches and heal those cuts with minimal effort.
 

GrimLore

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Dang Grimmy; it did agree with the relocation very well.

Nine days after the last picture in post #10. I will have to get it on the table and cut it back again in 3 -4 days. It looks as if it might be weekly for the remainder of the Winter :eek:

IMG_0862.JPG

Grimmy
 
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