AusBonsai

Hi all,
I'm about to work on a Bougy I dug up 3 years ago. It has recovered well & tonight I'll start work on it
It has a base of approx. 120mm diameter & splits in to 3 main trunks about 90mm above the base. I'm thinking of selecting just one main trunk & removing or carving the other 2. Just wondering how hard the wood is, is it likely to rot? I'm undecided on removing the trunks completely or creating some deadwood with them.
Any advice greatly appreciated.
Mal.

G'day Mal,
Bougies do have a very soft wood.
You will have to treat it regularly and it will rot

It is easy to carve but can clog up some attachments as it's like fibrous pulp. I always use a latex tree wound sealant and paint the whole area and just over the bark. You can't just seal the edges as the wood sucks up moisture.

I treat all Exposed wood on Bougy with Earls wood hardener

fixes the problem and only need reapplying every 2 - 3 years.

Ken

Thanks for the advice, it gives me something to arm myself with tonight.
Cheers
Mal.

Just a quick photo of the bougy I'm working on tonight.

Well, after a couple of hours, I've arrived at this preliminary design, a semi-cascade. This is so far removed from my initial idea that I really don't know how I ended up with this! The design is far from set in concrete & may change considerably over the coming months. The carving & wiring is only rough at the moment until I decide which way to go with it.

Nice work.

I wouldn't have picked that tree out of where you started but the tree has come out into a nice design.

Wow well done!

Hi Mal sorry for the late reply. Below are some pictures of my Boug, it has been carved for over 3yrs now and have never had issues with rot I treat it yearly with lime sulfur and ensure the tree doesn't stay too wet. I also carve figs with great success, treating them with a combo of lime sulfur and Earls.

Thanks for the comments guys & thanks for the pics Shannon. That's a really nice Bougy you have there.
I have been thinking about applying lime sulphur & then some wood hardener to preserve the deadwood. I'll let it dry out for a while, do some more carving & then treat it. That's if I decide to stick with this design.