Bonsai Adventure | A Guide to Bonsai Tree Care and Techniques

Training Bougainvillea Bonsai Tree Branches

2016-12-01T01:36:00.002+08:00

Most of the people associate pruning with altering the structure of your bougainvillea bonsai tree to fit a different shape or style. However, this is not the case. Changing the structure of the tree is known as “Bonsai Tree Training”. This is a much better way to develop an alternate form for your tree. Pruning should be used to prevent diseases, prevent lopsidedness, and encourage healthier bonsai tree.

By means of tying down branches or propping them up from the ground, one can direct the growth of the bougainvillea tree to take whatever shape they want. This process is usually used in the early days of the tree to encourage it to develop fully. If you direct the tree and get it started off on the right foot, you’ll save yourself a lot of pruning time later.

Pruning is also used to maintain the proper shape for the bonsai tree. For example, if you have an abundance of branches on one particular side of the tree, then you will use pruning to get rid of the larger segments which weigh down the bonsai to one side. Think about it more in terms of maintaining rather than altering. While pruning is useful sometimes, but most of the time you can benefit from training your branches and grow a healthier and more efficient bonsai tree.

Usually, training occurs during the summer. Rather than just cut off all the branches that aren’t going in the right way, you try to redirect them. The mechanisms you use can be thought of as orthodontic braces for your flower tree. They pull or push the branches, like teeth, in whatever direction you want them to go. At the end of the day, they casually grow the way you want them to be.

It can be hard to decide how exactly to train and shape your tree. There are many different bonsai style and shapes to choose from. Some of the popular ones are formal upright bonsai style(chokkan), informal upright bonsai style(moyogi), slanting bonsai style(shakan), cascade bonsai style(kengai) and broom bonsai style(hokidachi). These bonsai styles are free to own imaginativeness and perception. The style really depends on your personal taste and originality.

To train a bougainvillea bonsai tree, you will need some sort of tools to push or pull a branch. Sometimes bougainvillea bonsai branches grows too close together and push each other out, so training them to grow apart from each other can prevent the need to prune them later. Most of the common tools you need are copper wires of different gauges, concave cutters, shears, bonsai turn table, and trunk benders. Alternately, if you want to keep two branches apart then you can use something like wooden wedge. Also, another alternative way of pulling a branch down is by using weights. There are many creative ways to train a bonsai branch. Successfully training your bonsai branches just takes a little ingenuity in deciding what to wrap things to and what to keep them apart.

Bougainvillea Flower

2014-02-06T02:03:00.000+08:00

True Bougainvillea Flower

Bougainvillea flower is often mistaken by many to be those colorful bracts. Those tiny trumpet-shaped, white or sometimes yellow-white are the true flowers of a bougainvillea plant. Those colorful bracts that surrounds those tiny flowers are the specialized leaves. Bracts are oftentimes different from foliage leaves and play a big role of inviting pollinators. Each array of bougainvillea flower are usually surrounded by three to six bracts. Bougainvillea flowers can also be used as dye.

Bougainvillea plant is a breed of thorny ornamental shrublike vines. The original bougainvillea plant is a native of South America from Brazil. The shrublike vine specie grow from 3 to 40 ft. in height. Bougainvillea plants are known to be ornamental plants and are popular in places with warm climates. The bracts has a variety of color among these are pink, red, orange, magenta, purple, white or yellow. Bougainvillea plants are rather pest-free but may also be affected with aphids and snails.

Bougainvillea Plant

2014-02-05T19:01:00.002+08:00

Bougainvillea Plant Care

Bougainvillea plant is one of the classiest vines you can grow.Bougainvillea plant are tough woody shrublike vines that climb up vigorously and grows numerous colorful flowers. Although bougainvillea plant is tropical it can also be grown in cold areas. Bougainvillea flower is very attractive yet exceptionally unusual.The colorful array that we usually notice are not actually the bougainvillea flower but the papery bracts that surrounds their tiny white or sometimes a yellow-white waxy flowers.

Bougainvillea plant should be planted in areas with lot of sunlight. Full sunlight is necessary for them to bloom. Sufficient watering is needed and keep the soil moist. Too much water may kill your bougainvillea plant for their roots are so sensitive and rot easily in soaking wet soil. Although bougainvillea plant is usually used in landscaping it is also a great flowering bonsai material. This bougainvillea shohin bonsai stands about 10 inches and is the upper part of this bougainvillea shohin bonsai propagation. I left this bougainvillea plant undisturbed for a year and use the technique called root escape method. This technique enables this bougainvillea plant to grow much faster. I'm already satisfied with the height and the trunk girth and I will be focusing now on ramification. I will be pruning this bougainvillea plant more often to encourage branching. You might want to see this bougainvillea progression pictures here.

An Update of My Bougainvillea Bonsai

2012-07-30T15:19:00.000+08:00

These are two of the bougainvillea bonsais that I am working with. They both come from a large wood cutting.

March 2012

July 2012
Just let this bonsai grew undisturbed for a couple of months

July 2012
After pruning (to grow more branches)

I'm really not into wiring bougainvillea bonsai branches especially this size for they are too brittle and easily breaks. I shaped my bougainvillea bonsai by combining the "clip and grow method" and by using an anchor to pull the branches down to desired position. As you can see on the picture below I used copper wire and tied it on another wire that is anchored on the pot. The branch on the lower part of the trunk is a sacrificial branch that would thicken and add taper to the trunk and would be cut down when it has serve its purpose. I grew this branch opposite my front view because by doing that any scar after pruning will be hidden.

March 2012

July 2012

Bougainvillea Bonsai - Root Escape Method

2012-07-27T00:00:00.000+08:00

This is just one of my bougainvilleas that needs pruning and an update of my bougainvillea bonsai clip and grow method. To acquire faster growth on the branch girth, I used a method called escape root method. This method is simply allowing the roots to escape the pot and find its way on the ground.

This is a great alternative than planting directly on the ground because you can manage it easily. I did this method because I already have the trunk girth developed, all I need is to grow more are the branches girth and in this escape method I will grow my bougainvillea branch a bit faster. As you can see on the picture within about four months it did grow the branches quite well. You can compare the difference here on my Progression Series Pictures. I should have not pruned this yet but I was just preventing the branches to break because typhoon season is coming shortly. The branches are getting too long and I would rather do trimming back the branches than to be sorry in the end when it breaks.

My bougainvillea bonsai after pruning.

Bougainvillea Shohin Bonsai Pruning

2012-07-25T08:28:00.000+08:00

It's been quite some time that I haven't posted on this blog because I just let my bougainvillea bonsai grow undisturbed for a couple of months. For now, I think they need a little bit of pruning. This is an update of my bougainvillea shohin bonsai.

For about 4 months, I just let this bougainvillea bonsai developed its branches and leaves. As you can see some of the leaves are a bit dry because of the very hot summer time we had. I should have watered it enough to prevent the leaves from drying out but rainy season is coming shortly and I know they will recover eventually. I also did some pruning to developed more branches. I found that clip and grow method works best especially for this type of plant for they are really very sensitive. As you can see on the picture I just leave a couple of millimeters from the node to the tip of the pruned portion of the branch so that the coming new shoot will have a room for growth.

My bougainvillea shohin bonsai after pruning.

Bougainvillea - Wiring or Clip and Grow Method

2012-03-16T02:42:00.003+08:00

There are different ways and techniques to train or shape bonsai branches. The most popular one is with the use of copper or aluminum wire. With this method you simply choose a branch you want to change the shape and direction then wrap the wire spirally around the branch at an edge of about 45 degree angle maintaining a consistent gap between wires and providing enough room for growth. Also take into consideration the thickness of the wire to be used. Thicker branch needs thicker wire. As a rule of thumb use a wire that is 1/3 the thickness of the branch. There is also a tool called trunk benders which you can use to shape or bend much thicker branches.

But for my Bougainvillea I seldom use wire to wrap around the branches because they are really brittle and soon die back if wrapped tightly. One method I use is to put a weight to pull down the branch at a desired angle. I just used stone for my weight which you can find anywhere at your backyard and it cost you nothing (LOL). I also used the clip and grow method to change the shape and direction of the branch. This method is very handy and produces a natural curve and bends. With this method of shaping your branches, you must start to work with a young shoot/branch that is still green and pliable. I find this technique easy, but of course you must take extra care when working on a young shoot.
This is my Bougainvillea Bonsai 1 on training. Growing the lower branches to increase more girth. I also changed the front of the Bonsai to reveal the section of the chopped trunk which will then be carved maybe next growing season to add an interesting look at the trunk and also to hide the flaw of the chopped portion.

Bougainvillea Bonsai 1 Progression Series
Taken on March 2012

OLDER POST ABOUT THIS SERIES:

Bougainvillea Bonsai 1 (where it started)

NEWER POST ABOUT THIS SERIES:

Bougainvillea Shohin Bonsai Propagation

2012-03-15T22:49:00.000+08:00

Just an update of my previous post (Future Plan) to get two shohin bonsai. The upper trunk of this specimen has a great potential to become another shohin bonsai because it has taper and a nice trunk movement. You can propagate bougainvillea through cuttings (soft or woody cuttings) and air layering. In my own opinion woody cutting at around 2 inches in diameter is the best, easy and the fastest way to propagate bougainvillea bonsai which can readily be use a shohin bonsai specimen.


The lower trunk approximately 6in. It started to grow new shoots after 2 weeks


The upper trunk at about 4in. Took off the old shoots and in a span of just two weeks new shoots and an adventitious roots emerged.

OLDER POST ABOUT THIS SERIES:

Deadwood Refinement

Air Layering and Thread Grafting - Bougainvillea Bonsai Cutting 7

2012-02-24T16:57:00.002+08:00

This was an update of Bougainvillea Cutting (7)

Feb 2012

This specimen was almost two months now after the cutting was made and she's growing nice and healthy. Also done pruning to promote new growths. The trunk doesn't look that appealing because it was long and slender and no taper at all. I will do an air layering to shorten the trunk and at the same time grow a sacrificial branch right above the air layered portion to thicken the base of the trunk by a technique called thread grafting.

First an air layering was made. Then followed by using a drill to make a hole in the trunk where the whip or a scion will be inserted.

This was the whip of the same specie that I will be using. I chose the longest branch and prune the leaves off and retain the bud on the tip of the branch.

Then insert the whip into the drilled hole taking extra care not to damage the bud.

OLDER POST ABOUT THIS SERIES:

Bougainvillea Cuttings

NEWER POST ABOUT THIS SERIES:

Air Layering | Bougainvillea Bonsai Cutting (2) Progression Series

2012-02-12T22:40:00.000+08:00

This was an update of my Bougainvillea cuttings.

I'm aiming to grow this as a mame bonsai at about 5" tall. The shoots are getting long now and it's a good sign that this little tree is healthy. The trunk is really not that nice at about 1" in diameter with no movement at all. It also looks slender relative its height. This tiny tree really has a long way to go and a lot of flaws to fixed. The trunk also needs taper to give an impression of an old tree. Maybe in the near future I'd like to grow a lower branch until it thickens up the base of the trunk by using a thread grafting technique and to be cut back when that branch has served its purpose. But for now this post will tackle about an air layering technique to shorten this tree. Air layering is a process of propagation where you will grow roots on a branch or trunk to grow it independently and also allowing the lower part which already has a root system to continue to grow.

THE PROCESS:

First decide on how tall you want the trunk to be. Be sure to use a clean cutting tool and and make two parallel clean cuts across the trunk.

Then make another cut perpendicular to the previous cut you've made. This will allow you to have an easy access in peeling off the bark deep enough to remove the cambium (dividing tissue between xylem and phloem) which is responsible for the growth of stems and roots. Be sure to peel off all the bark and cambium around the trunk.

Next prepare a clean plastic container and a rooting medium of your choice. Make a cut on the container so that it will fit the trunk. You can also use a sphagnum moss as a rooting medium and a plastic wrap to seal it. Be sure to check the moisture of the rooting medium and water if necessary.

Happy Bonsai growing to ALL!!!

OLDER POST ABOUT THIS SERIES:

Bougainvillea Cuttings

NEWER POST ABOUT THIS SERIES:

Future Plan - Propagation by Air Layering

2012-02-09T23:59:00.000+08:00

This was an update of Bougainvillea Pre-Bonsai 2 Deadwood Refinement

Just a bit weary about my plan to air layer this specimen. One of the main reason that I want to shorten it is because it's too long for my taste and it looks a bit slender with it's length. Another reason is that the advantage of getting 2 specimen as mame bonsai.

This is a computer generated image that I made as the final output for my plan. The output will be 6-7 in. tall and somehow look like this. Hope new shoots will grow on the appropriate place as planned.

I will post an update if I will pursue the plan. Hope to hear comments from you guys! Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

OLDER POSTS ABOUT THIS SERIES:

Deadwood Refinement

NEWER POST ABOUT THIS SERIES:

Propagation by cutting

Bonsai Deadwood Refinement

2012-02-09T20:41:00.000+08:00

This was an update of my Bougainvillea Pre-Bonsai 2 Progression Seires.

Back View

If you had read my previous post, this bougainvillea is severely damage and rotten specially on the lower part of the trunk maybe because it's always wet and because of the fungal infection that it had before I rescued it at my mother's backyard.


Close up view of the lower trunk

Front View

I decided to work on this specimen before the fungus comes back and attack again. On this post, I will share to you some things that I had done to prevent the problem that it had before and also some carving techniques that I use. As I am looking at this bougainvillea, the first thing that comes in my mind is to apply a fungicide like lime sulfur. It is a mixture of calcium and polysulfides which is used as pest control. This mixture will also greatly enhance the appearance and character of the natural shari (barkless part of the trunk).

This bougainvillea specimen also had several flaws that need to be fixed like the two large cuttings that I made on the upper part of the trunk.

I will also work on some minor carvings on the lower trunk and enhance it a bit more.

One thing to put in mind that before doing such major carvings on your tree, be sure that the tree is healthy enough to handle the stress or otherwise you might loose your specimen. Since the work that I will be performing is only minor enhancement just to give it some details and refinement on the natural texture of the shari, so I will be preparing the tools and go ahead as planned. And this tree is a perfect example for the project.

Brush and carving bits

Sanding Stones

Power Tool

So let's begin and get our hands dirty. These are some of the tools and accessory attachements that I will be using. I like to use these tools because it will only give a very minimal stress to the tree or non at all. Unlike those typical hand tools used by wood carvers it uses so much force to drive those mallet and chisels. By the time you are finished carving, the tree already experienced so much stress which might cause the tree to be unhealthy and you also have a great chance of loosing it. Make sure that you have the proper protective gear like a safety glass to protect your eyes from those flying bits and pieces of barks that might poke into your eyes.

First, I removed all the loosed barks by using a wire brush. Just give it a light and small strokes and be sure to run the brush in line with the grain to give it a natural look.

Then I started carving a part of the trunk that needs some refinements. There are really no secret rules or techniques on how to perform deadwood carvings on your tree. It is your own imagination that will tend to produce an interesting output. The important thing to know when performing deadwood carving is to have some understanding on how it decays on a natural environment. The best thing to do is to look for some trees around your place or even search on the internet for pictures of deadwood and try to mimic those. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Be creative, make your imagination run wild and the most important part is to have fun while doing it.

Again using the brush to blend all those details.

Giving it some more details and refinement.

These are the before and after images after the carving and the lime sulfur is applied. Added and mixed some color pigments with the lime sulfur. The typical effect of lime sulfur is bleaching the wood to produce a bony white color and so by adding color pigment you can produce a hue of color you want. You can also try adding coffee, tea, or acrylic paints that is water based. The lime sulfur is still wet though but you can already see a great difference.

And Wallah!!!! The final output.

I hope you enjoy the post. Happy Bonsai growing to ALL!!!

OLDER POST ABOUT THIS SERIES:

Bougainvillea Pre-Bonsai 2 (where it started)

NEWER POST ABOUT THIS SERIES:

Future Plan - Propagation by Air Layering

Bougainvillea Cuttings

2012-02-04T02:49:00.000+08:00

These are some of the Bougainvillea hardwood large cuttings that I made. Most of the cuttings are relatively big and woody at about 1 to 3 inches in diameter. Because of a limited space in our front yard, I'm aiming to grow and train all the cuttings as shohin and mame bonsai at around 6 to 10 inches tall. Some of the hardwood cuttings that I made specially the really big ones are not yet showing any signs of new growth. Most of these cuttings came from these parent bougainvillea (Bougainvillea Pre-Bonsai 1 and Multiple Trunk Style Bougainvillea) and they are a month old now and growing nice and healthy. I can say that I have a success rate of 70% with all the cuttings that I made.

Some useful tips:

Use a clean cutting tools.
Make the cut clean and parallel to the trunk.
Use some rooting hormone of your choice (optional)
Be sure not to plant your cuttings upside down.
After planting your cuttings to a suitable rooting media of your choice immediately water it and cover your cuttings with a plastic bag to retain moisture. Occasionally check and water if necessary.
Place your cuttings under a shaded area.
When new shoots arise, gradually open the plastic bag by making a small cut every other few days or so before you totally uncover it.
Wear appropriate gloves before working with your cuttings to avoid hurting yourself with those sharp thorns.

Cutting 1
approx. 1.5 in. trunk diameter / 3 in. tall

Cutting 2
approx. 1 in. trunk diameter / 8 in. tall

Cutting 3
approx. 1.5 in. trunk diameter / 4 in. tall

Cutting 4
approx. 1 in. trunk diameter / 3 in. tall

Cutting 5
approx. 1 in. trunk diameter / 2 in. tall

Cutting 6
approx. 3.5 in. trunk diameter / 8 in. tall

Cutting 7
approx. 2 in. trunk diameter / 7 in. tall

Cutting 8
approx. 3 in. trunk diameter / 2.5 in. tall

Cutting 9

approx. 1.5 in. trunk diameter / 4 in. tall


Cutting 10 Approx 3 in trunk diameter

Bougainvillea Pre-Bonsai (3) Progression Series

2012-02-04T02:15:00.000+08:00

This is one of the Bougainvillea specimen that I'm growing as multiple trunk style.

Jan 2012

Bougainvillea Pre-Bonsai (2) Progression Series

2012-02-03T04:59:00.000+08:00

As I was looking at my Mom's backyard, I saw this dying bougainvillea in a pot. The tree is heavily root bound and the lower trunk is already rotten. There were also lot of dead branches. She's not so much of a beauty but I thought I could take care of it and train it as another specimen for my bonsai adventure. Immediately re-potted it, pruned the dead twigs and branches, removed the fungus and the dead barks on the lower trunk. It's been a month now and she's starting to grow new shoots.

NEWER POST ABOUT THIS SERIES:

Deadwood Refinement

Bougainvillea Pre-Bonsai (1) Progression Series

2012-02-03T03:56:00.000+08:00

This was a 6 ft. tall bougainvillea before it was trunk chop right after new year of 2012 to be trained as bonsai. This was planted on the ground for almost 4 years. It has a trunk diameter of approximately 6 inches and the height now is about 10 inches after the trunk chop. Planted it on a 3 gallon garden pot to be trained as future bonsai. It's been a month now and it's growing new shoots. I know that this bougainvillea still have a long way to go before it reaches a bonsai pot and I'm really getting more excited to see the final bonsai tree.

I hope to hear comments, suggestions and even tips and techniques on how to grow a bougainvillea bonsai. Happy Bonsai growing to all!


January 2012

NEWER POST ABOUT THIS SERIES:

Bougainvillea - Wiring or Clip and Grow Method