Bougainvillea advice

[jgmansell]

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HI all,
I have had this as a specimen for some time and thought it would be good bonsai material, so removed it from the pot it has been in for several years, chopped it back to bare trunk and replanted it in this growing pot.
It has had good growth in couple of months since transplanting and I am looking for a bit of advice on where to go from here. I am fairly new to bonsai and have only a few trees in training pots at present so welcome any help. My question is, when should I start cutting back the branches? Do I wait until they reach the required thickness, or start cutting back now?
Many thanks to all those who regularly share their knowledge.

[Brad75]

Hi there,

You can cut back and train bougy's any time during spring and summer. Just remember that you have to wait a while for new growth the come through after a clip and this will inturn affect your feeding regime. As an afterthought you could try growing this one by the Grow and Clip method. This allows for shaping whilst always maintaining growth.

Good Luck,

Brad75.

[jgmansell]

Thanks Brad,
I will have a go at cutting the branches back to encourage more branching.

[Ash]

Hi - on the other hand - a bougainvillea will sprout well off old wood - so it is quite safe to let the branches grow grow grow to thicken them and strengthen the tree then cut them back later. Looks like you have good shape and branch placement on the way and a branch down low in that magical 'sacrifice branch' position that will make the base strong and tapered. I wouldn't rush this one - it has the makings of a nice tree. Ash

[matlea]

Good beginnings. If wiring young branches do it before watering as they will be more flexible but still be careful. Older branches are harder to bend so either do it while thinner/ younger or develop by clip and grow method.

[jgmansell]

Thanks again guys for the advice, I notice that this morning it has started to put out flowers, so I might wait a while before cutting back.