Old bougainvillea

[kad1979]

Hey all, been in bonsai not terribly long. Maybe a year and an half. I have a couple of smaller bouganvillea that have been doing well for over a year now.

BUT, I just stumbled across this gem and am looking for advice.

Growing zone 10a.

The previous owner had this plant was in a bonsai pot for the last two years but put it back in the ground two weeks ago.

Anyway, it had to come out of the ground obv for me to take it home…I know not ideal time of year. Large, healthy, shallow root mass that I left undisturbed.

Took her home, didn’t touch a thing other than put her in this pot, 3 quarter size size holes in the bottom (wish I had a couple more drilled). Put her in Wigerts course mix (that I had on hand for a repot of a bald cypress coming up). And she will soak in full Florida sun.

Any suggestions during these next few weeks while she gets acclimated? Or any suggestions at all? Want to get it right and leave her for at least a year untouched.

Just love at first sight but I feel like I’m in a bit over my head.

Sorry for the crappy photo backgrounds. Just wanted to get her in a pot and in her place as quickly as possible.

 

[LuZiKui]

As you probably know Bougainvillea are pretty resilient plants. As long as you had some healthy roots you should be good to go. I think one of the most important things is to make sure the tree isn't moving around in the pot as the roots get re-established so just be cognizant of that.

Also don't over-water it, but that shouldn't really be an issue with the coarse mix you are using.

Avoid extreme temperatures/wind while it's getting re-established. In 10a you should be fine but if you have a cold spell come through you should probably bring it in for the evening just to be safe. Once it gets established it's probably fine down close to freezing for brief periods.

Finally, if you want to be extra careful with it you can put it in an area that gets partial sun while it recovers. Maybe a couple of weeks. In my experience they'll drop leaves if they are unhappy so if it's looking good in a couple of weeks I'd put it in full sun and it should be good to go. Cool looking tree though, nice find!

 

[LuZiKui]

Also, just me, but I'd try to avoid directly watering the trunk of the tree (others might disagree with me on this). Bougainvillea is not a hard wood and the wood will rot/decay over time. Of course you can't do anything about it getting rained on but I would try not to soak the trunk every time you water since I think that will speed up the decay of the wood.

Lol, sorry one last thing. Since bougie is a vine it naturally wants to send out long shoots. Those shoots are what typically create thickening in the branches. So if you are trying to thicken your side branches you'll need to let those run.

 

[kad1979]

LuZiKui, thank you so much for the sage advice. It is incredibly appreciated!!

Yes, I am a little worried about the dead wood...I think it was in a place getting lots of water. But making sure it survives this transition is my main goal. I will certainly be working to let it dry out...we are in the dry season for at least a few more months here in SW FL.

I am smitten with it...I look forward to the years to come with it!

Now to tackle my large bald cypress repot (from training to bonasi) here soon. That one has me even more nervous. I have dealt with little trees but not these big specimens.