Worth considering...Pink Pearl Bougainvillea

[Cadillactaste]

I am surprised...upon looking at the Bougainvillea...I preferred the pink and white over the solid colored tree I seen and fell in love with in Honduras.

I also am curious if ones think this has good bones for a not even wet behind the ear Bonsai lover...

 

[Cadillactaste]

Embarrassed to say...I could see people putting this in their watch...and was so scared to lose it...that I purchased it. Sure hope I made the right decision...just know I wouldn't have slept tonight had I lost it to someone else.

 

[jk_lewis]

I've certainly seen worse candidates for bonsai. Its trunk is a bit thin, but if you keep it in a bigger-than-normal pot for a few years while you work on the top that should fix itself.

 

[Cadillactaste]

I've certainly seen worse candidates for bonsai. Its trunk is a bit thin, but if you keep it in a bigger-than-normal pot for a few years while you work on the top that should fix itself.

I also read to pinch the blooms off and it causes the tree to get thicker. Not sure just the branches or...the entire tree now that I think about it.

When should I transplant to a larger pot?

 

[Cadillactaste]

I've certainly seen worse candidates for bonsai. Its trunk is a bit thin, but if you keep it in a bigger-than-normal pot for a few years while you work on the top that should fix itself.

I also read to pinch the blooms off and it causes the tree to get thicker. Not sure just the branches or...the entire tree now that I think about it.

When should I transplant to a larger pot? The seller said to go with a 3 1/2 inch tray or bigger...so what size pot do you suggest? I have never worked with bonsai...and plan to pick up some books at the library tomorrow. To figure out what to do. Not sure is this considered more leaning than a semi cascade?

Had I more experience...I would have went this route...but no way would I want to ruin good potential. And I do love the bloom. Think I could coax the one I got into a semi cascade?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/111160184357?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

 

[Cadillactaste]

Feels like Christmas! My Bougainvillea is out for delivery today!!! Estimated for Monday...I am PUMPED! Though...these I've read are root sensitive. Which I need to learn more about. But will sadly not be home most likely when arrives. But my boys will be...so it will be left.

 

[Cadillactaste]

I've certainly seen worse candidates for bonsai. Its trunk is a bit thin, but if you keep it in a bigger-than-normal pot for a few years while you work on the top that should fix itself.

Well...the pot didn't fare well. The Shohin bonsai is thankfully seemingly okay. The seller is sending me out a pot the same size...but maybe a good time to get that larger pot you mentioned. Though...I've read the bougainvillea likes tight spaces for its roots. But that maybe not while attempting to thicken it up. It really is a cute tiny bonsai...not complaining...that it is tinier than I envisioned makes the bonsai not seem as skinny. A good finger thickness in diameter at the trunk.

That said...the pot is roughly 3 1/2 inches...so what size would you think I need to go up to? I keep reading these bougainvillea's like their roots tight to preform well. But...I imagine to get it to do something other than it is used it doing...the larger pot accomplishes that.

Considering tilting it sideways when potted...to try and make it a semi cascade. If I can find a good angle on it to do so.

 

[jk_lewis]

Well, you don't want a BIG pot. That will hold too much water, even with a drainage hole. I'd suggest something half again a large as whatever it came in. You should be able to put it into a larger pot at any time since you won't be damaging any roots.

Bougainvillea like their soil to be dry. I don't know if they want their roots to be constrained.

You shouldn't be surprised if it doesn't bloom for a season.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Appreciate the advice...now I know what to shoot for in a pot. I can go online shopping.

 

[jkd2572]

They will grow like crazy in a big pot. I have learned in ones I just have in hanging baskets in my yard is they like to be root bound to bloom. I have planted them in large pots and while they grew like weeds they never bloomed. Before I learned they like to be root bound to bloom and planted two years in a row a 1 gallon nursery plant in a 55 gallon pot. They would grow 15 feet in one summer. They had thorns two inches long. They where a scary beasts. You can grow them out fast if you want to. If I lived in a tropical environment they would have been awesome once they got root bound. Unfortunately I can't over winter them.

 

[Cadillactaste]

They will grow like crazy in a big pot. I have learned in ones I just have in hanging baskets in my yard is they like to be root bound to bloom. I have planted them in large pots and while they grew like weeds they never bloomed. Before I learned they like to be root bound to bloom and planted two years in a row a 1 gallon nursery plant in a 55 gallon pot. They would grow 15 feet in one summer. They had thorns two inches long. They where a scary beasts. You can grow them out fast if you want to. If I lived in a tropical environment they would have been awesome once they got root bound. Unfortunately I can't over winter them.

That is food for thought...because I need to know more before this Bougainville decides to do just that...I wouldn't mind it thicker...but...I don't know what I want out of the tree to know what to do with it when it does this. Work on the top branches...but...I am torn as to what I will need to do when it does start to grow branches... this pot here is a tad larger than the 3 1/2 square it is currently in. I had actually thought to go with a lighter beige since the tree is a pink pearl Bougwinvillea...thinking it would compliment the lighter tones when in bloom. But...doing a google image search. I prefer the darker pots on the trees. Since this doesn't come with a tray...should I make my humidity tray larger or approximately the same size?
Approximate dimensions: 6" x 4 1/2" x 2 1/2"
Color: Aztec Orange
Materials: high fired clay

 

[Cadillactaste]

Though...upon googling I read one should choose the opposite color on the color wheel to really appreciate the color of a plant...that being said. If I went that route...I would have to go with something like this.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Did I read this right? If so...I need more of a cascading pot...that is more tall than wide...correct? (To thicken up the trunk)
The photo the bonsai was in a small pot...so maybe it is a wide pot I need? No clue...off to try and figure it out in a google search.
What to do With it After You Get it:
If you have purchased a nursery specimen with a thin trunk, then fatten it up in the ground. When grown in the ground in places with mild climates, Bougainvillea grows very fast, and only needs a few years to build a very thick trunk. While it is possible to grow Bougainvillea in tubs also, you will not get the same results as putting one in the ground. Thickening a Bougainvillea trunk depends on its ability to send lateral roots for long distances, and it cannot do this in a tub. Wherever you cultivate your Bougainvillea, give it lots of organic fertilizer high in nitrogen. Bougainvilleas burn through a lot of nitrogen to produce their leaves, and they produce a lot of leafy growth when they are growing fast.

http://kuromatsubonsai.com/tropical-bonsai/bougainvillea-bonsai/

 

[Cadillactaste]

your little tree will need strong lateral (sideways-growing)

Read more: http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/3475/#ixzz2eP0b0zPG

Alright...so they are sideways growing roots...so the wider pot is okay then. The teal color pot is pretty...but...doesn't go with the color in my sunroom. Though...come warm weather...it would be a pretty additional color outdoors.

 

[Poink88]

Pot shape depends on the style you are going for.

Cascade and semi-cascade usually have deep pots. The rest are mostly wider and shallow.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Pot shape depends on the style you are going for.

Cascade and semi-cascade usually have deep pots. The rest are mostly wider and shallow.

I'm not sure what the bonsai is even considered...slant...or semi cascade. Right now...I just want to thicken the trunk...and work to develop what is currently going on with it.

 

[Poink88]

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A semi-cascade is a bonsai style in which the major cascading feature extends below the top rim of the pot but does not extend below the bottom of the pot.

If your tree does not have a MAJOR cascading feature below the rim of the pot, it is a slant.

 

[Cadillactaste]

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A semi-cascade is a bonsai style in which the major cascading feature extends below the top rim of the pot but does not extend below the bottom of the pot.

If your tree does not have a MAJOR cascading feature below the rim of the pot, it is a slant.

Thanks! I guess we'll keep it as such. It would work best when it must be kept indoors as such. I was curious if I tilted the soil in the re-potting stage if I could turn it into a semi cascade...but...being realistic...and looking around my room...I don't have room for that in the sunroom. I have a tropical braided hibiscus indoors. That...is recovering from the tornado back in July. It dropped most its leaves from being tossed across the deck. But...has gathered leaves back nicely. It takes a good portion of room. (We have had it for many...many years now so I am relieved it seems to be recovering) And with the furniture placed as so...a slant bonsai can stay on my pub table against the window...and still have room for our chairs. Also...the Bougainvillea we seen in Honduras was slanting. Thanks for helping me with that one...