Pink pixie bougainvillea styling advice?

[luvinthemountains]

I have been learning to grow this bougie since first striking it as a cutting from a stick several years ago. I have finally nailed down that the best way for thickening the trunk extension is multiple cycles of growing canes and cutting them off, and I have made a lot of progress over the past couple of years. The original cut is now almost 50% closed!

Now I am a little stumped on styling. Any ideas where I could go without losing a lot of my progress so far?

 

[Cadillactaste]

A bougainvillea is a vine. So to get "taper" per say on branching. Don't expect it. I wired my own to match the trunk. Then from there once main structure set...I kept cutting back to get ramification. You can get it to get tons of tiny branching off of the longer stems. But there just isn't much here for structure yet. I wire movement into younger branches. But they need a bit of time to start to lignin, or they snap off. But waiting to long...they become brittle. I suggest you envision the triangle and build the structure around that shape.

I also found with my pink pixie...to allow the vines to run...it would produce secondary branching if you want to call it that. Off the long vine. Then wired it and eventually cut back.

 

[Cadillactaste]

You can see a little of the structure...in these ones. You wouldn't need to get as wild, with wiring...but I would add some movement. You don't want straight branching.

 

[luvinthemountains]

there just isn't much here for structure yet

So true. I have grown branches before, but as you mentioned could never get any taper. So a couple of years ago, I cut everything off and started over. The taper that I have circled here has been grown since then, via the method of letting canes extend until they are quite long and then hacking them back to just a few buds. I am confident that I can get this to ramify with time. I probably will go for a triangular outline as you suggest. The big thing I am hung up with design-wise is choosing a front and planting angle. I think this one might just be it, but will need to make a lot more progress on closing that main scar.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Honestly...2D you lose subtle movement you may see personally. So I trust your front you see as being the one.

But when working on a bougainvillea...I would be more apt to put some slight movement in the new structure. Then embrace the characteristics of a vine turned tree. It's not worth the painstaking cutting everything off for little gained over the years. To get a fully developed tree...you will rarely have the taper seen in other species.

 

[luvinthemountains]

Update

This was growing okay in early summer in DE-based soil. Then it was unpotted by a curious chicken, so I took the opportunity to bareroot it and plant it in lava and pumice. It grew much better after that. But then I put it into the grow tent and it doubled its foliage in a month!

 

[Carol 83]

Update

This was growing okay in early summer in DE-based soil. Then it was unpotted by a curious chicken, so I took the opportunity to bareroot it and plant it in lava and pumice. It grew much better after that. But then I put it into the grow tent and it doubled its foliage in a month!

View attachment 405867

Looks great. I don't like DE for bougies, it stays too wet, in my opinion.

 

[luvinthemountains]

Potted up and hard pruned a couple of weeks ago. This is its ugly duckling phase...needs to fill out especially on the right side.