AusBonsai

Hi all

I have a reasonably large bougainvillea in the garden that needs a trim as it's bulk rubbish time where I am in Perth. Anyway I was thinking of taking a few cuttings for use as bonsai material. One of the branches I want to remove is about 1.5 inches thick and I was hoping to use some of this for the cuttings. Does anyone have any advise about getting the cuttings to take? Should I leave a certain amount of leaves on? Also, what about just a bare piece of branch...will that take?

Thanks in advance.

Bougies should strike pretty easy. Normally some leaves can help it root but only if you can keep humidity high enough to stop the leaves drying out.
Bare wood should also strike and may be easier if you don't have special cutting environment.

I would make fresh cuts at the base of each piece then dip in rooting 'hormone', insert into coarse sand or propagating mix then cover the whole thing in plastic bag to maintain humidity, and wait for roots out the bottom of the pot.

Thanks Shibui

I'll give it a go....nothing ventured, nothing gained as the saying goes. Is there any difference between the cutting hormone powder and the gel?

Also, can I cut the thorns off without doing any harm to the cutting?

I use the gel with Bougies. I cut the thorns right back too. 100% success rate so far

Well....I took a bunch of cuttings over the weekend, so fingers crossed some of them take. I took both hardwood cuttings from the "trunk", along with some smaller cuttings I thought might make good candidates for cascade/semi-cascade style. I ended up using a cutting gel, Yates hardwood one I think...it's a red gel. I'll try to post a photo tomorrow if I get the chance.

That's the one I use JPG. Good luck!

A couple of photos for those interested....the larger cuttings are about 30-40mm diameter. How long does it usually take to start to see roots?

JPG, I'm in Nth Qld and have done this many times but mostly with cuttings two and three time bigger than what you are posting here.
The photos aren't great (no criticism intended) so it's difficult to decipher what is what but I have had way more success with removing ALL foliage and not having any of your green shoots at all. My trees have shot back in around 6 weeks but the older ones even up to eight but 100% success tells me I'm doing something right.
This is not advice, simply my story of what I do.
Looking good, good luck
Watty

Greetings,
Always take bougy cuttings. Be careful as they can be doing so well you think you need a new pot and there a just a few roots, almost nothing. Cut off thorns will not grow back.
Happy bonsai,
Bruce.

Never throw away hardwood cuttings that you think are dead without scraping to see if they are green. I have had 100mm dia plus cuttings send out new shoots after neatly a year I always leave a few leaves on but it is not necessary. I now strike all my bougy cuttings in a pot of 10mm concrete blend with a bit of Seamungus thrown on top. I have a better success rate than in potting mix. I also seal the top with the bitumen sealer and then later on I used a coloured acrylic tree wound sealant once I have carved the top.

Apologies if I should have started my own thread but as my first bonsai project I'm also growing (hoping to grow) several Bougy's from thick hardwood cuttings. As I've followed the advice in this thread so far I thought I'd piggy back my question in here too:

At the moment I have one large cutting (3 inch diam at base) and two smaller cuttings (3/4 inch base). They were cut today, defoliated and supported in potting mix with Yates plant cutting powder applied to each base. Wounds have been sealed with plain candle wax. All finished with a solid watering and placed in full shade.

My question is should I apply seasol? Or is that sort of thing for plants with an existing root structure?
If I should apply seasol, dosing advice would be appreciated.

I used store bought potting mix but I notice the advice here is to go with propagating mix. Is the difference a big issue?
Like should I pick some up and transfer them into a propagating mix ASAP?

Why don't you try some different mediums ? I now use 5mm deco with great success. I find a free draining medium works much better.

I have no idea what that is, could you elaborate please?

JPG any luck with the cuttings pictured above. Would be keen to see pics of any growth over spring?

I use the red hardwood gel and put them in whatever soil mix I use for my bonsai at the time. I've had great success rates so am sticking to what I know works. Having said that, why not experiment with a few other mediums?