large bougainvillea cuttings
Posted: February 7th, 2025, 1:50 pm
I was volunteered to remove a couple of bougainvillea's by my wife a few months back so I dutifully complied and as anybody involved in Bonsai would do I took a few pieces for cuttings. Not the small easy to handle ones I thought I would try some bigger ones. Not that I particularly wanted them more to see if I could get them to strike.
They were taken from sections a couple of feet above the roots as the base of the trees were growing in between two courses of blocks that made up a boundary wall between two commercial properties about 5 feet above round level. Not the smartest place to grow them. As you could imagine they had and continued to be a problem. They had previously fractured the main water supply to one of the building as there was an old repair to the 20mm copper pipe. Should have been removed then and was threatening a repeat performance as the trunk kept expanding.
The two cuttings 200mm and 150 mm were bare sections of trunk placed in a mix of coarse sand and potting mix in a Styrofoam box with a large plastic bag covering to keep in the humidity. Shoots started to emerge after two weeks and within three months had to be removed as the growth was pushing through the bag. I had opened sections to allow the growth out but as the wet season was in full swing and no drainage in the box, I had now choice but to pot them up.
Not planning the whole exorcize I had no pots so put them bot into the only thing that was available. I will let them grow and decided if they a worth the continuing on with in the future. It was more a see what happens spontaneous thing ( you know how it happens) Rather than a plan, sometimes I just can't help myself.
But if anyone has the opportunity and wants to give it a go with good material it is pretty easy if I could do it so give it a go!
They were taken from sections a couple of feet above the roots as the base of the trees were growing in between two courses of blocks that made up a boundary wall between two commercial properties about 5 feet above round level. Not the smartest place to grow them. As you could imagine they had and continued to be a problem. They had previously fractured the main water supply to one of the building as there was an old repair to the 20mm copper pipe. Should have been removed then and was threatening a repeat performance as the trunk kept expanding.
The two cuttings 200mm and 150 mm were bare sections of trunk placed in a mix of coarse sand and potting mix in a Styrofoam box with a large plastic bag covering to keep in the humidity. Shoots started to emerge after two weeks and within three months had to be removed as the growth was pushing through the bag. I had opened sections to allow the growth out but as the wet season was in full swing and no drainage in the box, I had now choice but to pot them up.
Not planning the whole exorcize I had no pots so put them bot into the only thing that was available. I will let them grow and decided if they a worth the continuing on with in the future. It was more a see what happens spontaneous thing ( you know how it happens) Rather than a plan, sometimes I just can't help myself.
But if anyone has the opportunity and wants to give it a go with good material it is pretty easy if I could do it so give it a go!