What was I thinking? I'm still kind of a beginner at all this!

[DDOZ]

This turned out to be a much bigger project than I expected. For the past month, I've been trying to prune/trim out a large bougainvillea that has been growing in my front yard for 20 years. I've been successful getting rid of a lot of interior branches and it prompted new growth to appear down low on the trunks. My plan was to thin it all out enough so I could try to dig it out. So, today I dug it out of the ground and planted it in a pot. This is the first time I've tried digging an established tree/bush. This turned out to be a huge amount of work and dodging all the thorns wasn't easy (left my share of blood behind). In the ground, it looked like 6 different trunks (from 2" to 4" in diameter) with some major branches going the wrong ways in the middle of it all. Was thinking that after I got it out of the ground, maybe I could split the trunks/roots into may be 2 or 3 different trees. No such luck. Got about 3" down and all the trunks were massed together into one great big structure nearly 12" wide. So, I have something pretty big to deal with. Took about 2 hours of digging/cutting but finally got it out. Root structure seemed to look OK to me. Even getting most of the soil off the roots, it was still pretty heavy. Eventually, I got it into a wooden box pot I built and it's looking OK. However, it is still over 3' tall.

So, where do I go from here? Was thinking on leaving it in this new wood box maybe for year before I consider actual shaping and repotting. New growth on Bougainvillea goes very fast here in the California desert where I live. But I'm still pretty much a beginner regarding experience. Before you all say I should just trunk chop it and start growing new small branches, my "bonsai beginner" brain won't let me do that. I'm not looking for 20 year project with this plant. One observation so far - to start with, the second trunk from the left is pretty straight up with no curve for over a foot so I'm thinking I'll eventually get rid of it. Other than that, we'll just see where the new growth goes.

Attached are some pics I took

Thoughts and advice?

 

[Shibui]

There's certainly plenty of roots on your bougie. I have no doubt it can survive this transplant. Further is totally up to you.
We would normally let a transplanted tree be for at least 6 months, often a full year to grow new roots and regain the strength it lost along with all the roots and branches. Pushing plants faster can be detrimental, even kill a recently transplanted tree. Waiting a year may seem a long time for a newbie but, in the (bonsai) scheme of things it's just a blink of an eye.
That said, Bougies are VERY resilient and your climate suits then so it may be possible to reduce the wait a little. Be guided by the tree. Lost of vigorous new growth next Summer may mean you can do further work late Summer.

Your trauma in the digging process is pretty much par for the course. We all seem to have bonsai eyes way bigger than our capacity. Most collected trees turn out to be way bigger than estimated, way heavier than estimated and way more difficult (and painful) to dig than anticipated so you are not the first to find all that.
You may not have considered the future yet. This tree will need a large pot. That means expensive and heavy. You already know the weight of the stump. Now add ceramic pot, potting soil, water and more foliage. That's what you will need to move around when this bougie is finally potted up. Aspirations to show your new bonsai? Moving it and transport to the venue. Hope you have a truck? Even without moving to show, it will need occasional repotting which means moving it to your work area, lifting it out of the pot (thorns and all) and supporting the tree while changing soil, then replace in the pot, then back to it's permanent home. As a newbie you may not yet be aware that bonsai really ned to be rotated regularly to get equal sun on all sides of the tree, otherwise shaded branches tend to become weak and die. You'll need some way to turn that huge pot and weight every other week for best results.
Big bonsai are certainly spectacular but don't underestimate the ongoing work and expense involved.
Having said all that, Bougies do suit larger sized bonsai rather than really small.

As far as design goes, I think that's a bit premature. Some transplanted trees die back a little, some a lot so you may or may not have all the current trunks to work with when the time comes. By all means, dream of possible shapes and styles but leave any final decisions until you're sure the tree has survived transplant.

 

[DDOZ]

There's certainly plenty of roots on your bougie. I have no doubt it can survive this transplant. Further is totally up to you.
We would normally let a transplanted tree be for at least 6 months, often a full year to grow new roots and regain the strength it lost along with all the roots and branches. Pushing plants faster can be detrimental, even kill a recently transplanted tree. Waiting a year may seem a long time for a newbie but, in the (bonsai) scheme of things it's just a blink of an eye.
That said, Bougies are VERY resilient and your climate suits then so it may be possible to reduce the wait a little. Be guided by the tree. Lost of vigorous new growth next Summer may mean you can do further work late Summer.

Your trauma in the digging process is pretty much par for the course. We all seem to have bonsai eyes way bigger than our capacity. Most collected trees turn out to be way bigger than estimated, way heavier than estimated and way more difficult (and painful) to dig than anticipated so you are not the first to find all that.
You may not have considered the future yet. This tree will need a large pot. That means expensive and heavy. You already know the weight of the stump. Now add ceramic pot, potting soil, water and more foliage. That's what you will need to move around when this bougie is finally potted up. Aspirations to show your new bonsai? Moving it and transport to the venue. Hope you have a truck? Even without moving to show, it will need occasional repotting which means moving it to your work area, lifting it out of the pot (thorns and all) and supporting the tree while changing soil, then replace in the pot, then back to it's permanent home. As a newbie you may not yet be aware that bonsai really ned to be rotated regularly to get equal sun on all sides of the tree, otherwise shaded branches tend to become weak and die. You'll need some way to turn that huge pot and weight every other week for best results.
Big bonsai are certainly spectacular but don't underestimate the ongoing work and expense involved.
Having said all that, Bougies do suit larger sized bonsai rather than really small.

As far as design goes, I think that's a bit premature. Some transplanted trees die back a little, some a lot so you may or may not have all the current trunks to work with when the time comes. By all means, dream of possible shapes and styles but leave any final decisions until you're sure the tree has survived transplant.

Thanks so much - this is just the advice I was looking for. I've read a lot about Bonsai and watched a huge amount of Youtube videos, but you really need to experience the process before it all starts to set in.

 

[Jetson1950]

Just a thought about its recovery now that it’s out of the ground. I made the mistake of giving them a little more water than they were naturally getting and lost two to root rot. Bougainvillea are very susceptible to root rot is they get too much water. It may lose its leaves, but they will come back. Just don’t over water thinking that will help. New leaves will appear as it developed more roots.

 

[DDOZ]

Just a thought about its recovery now that it’s out of the ground. I made the mistake of giving them a little more water than they were naturally getting and lost two to root rot. Bougainvillea are very susceptible to root rot is they get too much water. It may lose its leaves, but they will come back. Just don’t over water thinking that will help. New leaves will appear as it developed more roots.

Thanks Jeston - I was not aware of this and will certainly take it into consideration. When they're in the ground here in the desert, they don't really ever get over watered, but I can see how that can happen as soon as it gets put in a pot.

 

[Jetson1950]

Thanks Jeston - I was not aware of this and will certainly take it into consideration. When they're in the ground here in the desert, they don't really ever get over watered, but I can see how that can happen as soon as it gets put in a pot.

Here are two that I put in bonsai training pots. It’s something to look for. The first photo shows a clean dry nebari area. That one is healthy. The second photo shows a constant wet nebari area. The second one is suffering from root rot and the wood is rotting. Once it’s started, you can’t stop it. You just have to let that one go unless it’s big enough to cut out all the rotting wood and have something viable left to work with.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Premature, however for simplicitys sake and maybe your sanity I can see a great tree if you just keep the main big trunk and cut the others off flush at their base. AFTER it recovers. This will also give you a slightly more compact tree and an easier repotting job in the future

 

[Dav4]

Yes, let the tree recover from collection. I've never worked bougies but would assume that if it pushes strongly next spring. chances are good it'll continue to grow. In the meantime, study the material for possible future styling, but don't grow attached to anything until you know what you'll have to work with post collection. Fwiw, I think this tree could be styled as a multi-trunk or even clump, but let's see what's still there next year.