AusBonsai

Newbie again seeking your help.

I was given a neglected bougainvillea bonsai but I am happy with my gift because I believe it has a good frame/movement .




This plant has not been maintained for a long time. Several of its roots had penetrated the pot and were in the ground. There was such a thick one that I had to use a looper to cut it so I can remove the plant. I will examine its roots carefully when repotting but it appears that part of the nebari has decayed. There is also branch rot.

I have only been part of this art for about 2 months and have been trying to learn as much as I can to identify a good bonsai, and how to create and maintain one. While there may be several ways to reshape it and may be an easy fix, as a beginner this piece is a challenge to me. I really don't want to "mess" things up.

For instance, I could remove some branches such as the one that seems to be parallel to the trunk. Also, by tilting the plant I could achieve a semi-cascade look.



Any suggestions for improvement or cleaning up?

Please excuse the pics loaded. I do not know how to load directly on to Ausbonsai. While I found a link (with pictures) giving instructions, that link is old (2008) and I am unable to access the pictures. If anyone knows of a more current link, please indicate. Or, do the honours of providing an instructional guide

your right--excellent trunk movement and seems to have some good branching choices---- -'I would'----- lift from pot and wash the top inch of soil from the top and see what the base is doing down lower--perhaps shorten those long straight branches and deal with any giant roots at the bottom- replant a bit higher in same pot so there is some new soil surrounding the root ball-feed well - grow on for a season and see what develops

Thanks Tgward for your response. I have since removed the deadwood sections.



[url=https://flic.kr/p/2fAGkiR]

On further check the base is not rotten (still hard and has shoots) so the "look" may be because of age . I have also added some soil to the pot but did not want to disturb the roots as yet. You may have noticed that I have the pot elevated on one side. This is because there is a big branch that drags on the ground because it curves downward from the front of the pot to the back. I may have to change the pot to a higher one to accommodate that limb.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/24Z5wMr][url=https://flic.kr/p/24Z5wMr]

I wonder if that could be the main feature of this plant. Then again, would that make the plant too heavy on one side and tip over the pot?

Hi Hazel
That cascading main branch looks like it will make a very interesting trunk line.
It looks like it may work well as a semi or possibly a full cascade.
The weight on one side you can balance out with a deeper bonsai pot when repotting
Although Bougies are hardy they take a long time to heal large cuts and can rot if untreated.
I seal all cuts thicker than 1cm diameter and reseal regularly, especially larger cuts.
Look forward to seeing how you develop it.

Hi Hazel,

This looks like a wonderfully interesting tree and I look forward to seeing it progress.

The trees in this link may provide you some inspiration.

http://bonsaibark.com/2012/09/06/paying ... ld-friend/

Cheers,

Mark




Bonsai teaches me patience.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you MJL for that link. It was a good read and has been informative on many levels, for example, the ficus. I am also interested in rocks and I attempted one last weekend (perhaps if I had seen this link before, I would have changed my concept. ) Oh well, next time.