AusBonsai

Hi, I dont know if this is classified as native or exotic, but I figure that this is as good as anyplace to post this. In January last year, we had some fairly strong winds flying around my area causing havoc with my trees. A mate of a mate lost a bougainvillea from his front yard, did I want it? Yes please thank you very much!

Anyway I have some pics of its journey through life for this last year, and have some decisions to make as to its future. Also I figure everyone can tell me off for doing everything wrong up to this point. LOL. I didnt want to cut too much of the Branching out until I could see how it would recover, when reclaimed it only had 10cms of root off the bottom of what was a 4.5 mtr tree. The dates on the above pics are accurate, I dont have a more recent photo but it has stopped flowering now. So I think its due for a minor Adjustment.

Any thoughts or suggestions Gratefully accepted,
Ron

Wow, I can't believe how much it grew in 6 weeks... I have no comments as I am extremely new to Bonsai's.. i'm sure someone knowledgable will have. Thanks for sharing.

wow ron that is one hell of a good looking stump!!! i will attempt a virtual as soon as i have time.

What a score - excellent stump and it appears to have some nice choices of movement. Unfortunately Bouges don't heal large cuts very well and I think that you may have to do a bit of carving on this one to get taper.

Hector Johnson has a ripper one in training that has been carved, perhaps we can encourage him to post his here for some inspiration.

hey budda

before you do any branch selection, i urge you to go and see a lady called tess, about an hour north of brizzy(if she is still there). i can't remember exactly where, but she has some incredible bogo's...

i lost one of these as yamadori when i first came to tas, they do not respond as well down here as well as they used to in syd. thank yer lucky stars you're in qld with this one

it'll be a ripper

Budda, Can you take some more photos from different sides, I would like to see where the branches in the rear come from.

Jon

These are the pics taken in march last year when I figured it would live. LOL. I would love to use backdrops etc for all my photos, but if I wasnt so lazy I wouldnt look like buddha .
Ron

PS I talked to Tess in morayfield Northside Nursery while I was down visiting my sister, but FORGOT TO TAKE ENOUGH PHOTOS!!!

Im now compiling a brag list to take wherever I go.

Nice post (and tree) Ron!

Does anyone have any tips or advice on carving Boug's?

S.

AusBonsai wrote:Nice post (and tree) Ron!

Does anyone know if Bougies can be carved?

S.

They can be carved but the Wood is soft and will tend to rot. The carving must be done so no water will pool there adn then a wood preservative applied

ps this is not from my experience but what I have read elsewhere.

Ken

PPS. Ron I like the last view you posted. I think this one shows the best taper possibilities. Cut back and carve all the branch mass on what would become the outside of the bend. Would give an impressive informal upright with a strong Trunk

when i was at the aabc convention in surfers a few years back, there was a bloke carving a sizable bogo... pretty impressive really, he even stuck some fake flowers on it

so for sure you can carve them, with the proper precautions for rotting of course...

oh and i agree with ken on the front, although i'm not sure if you need to get rid of all the growth on the right side, i might try a virtual for you when i get home...

Yes, I agree with Ken as well for the easiest result but I can also see a fine semi cascade with a little perseverance.

Bougs do carve ok and heal better if you use a cut paste to cover the wound. I see most of the rear branches going (grind back to the trunk using an arbortec)
It will take a few years to be able to fully incline the tree to cascade but I have done it wiith one of mine.

Here is what I envisage. (excuse the poor paint job)
And here is one that might give better inspiration.
Which ever way you go Budda, make sure you give it a few years to fully recover from the transplant. I wouldn't be doing any major disturbance of the trunk for a couple of years at least - patience is a must for this almost irreplaceable material.

Jon

AusBonsai wrote:Nice post (and tree) Ron!

Does anyone know if Bougies can be carved?

S.

They can be carved, but the wood rots very easily and very quickly! After carving they should be treated with a mixture of Lime Sulphur and PVA glue, or something else with the same characteristics. That will keep it together and sealed but still requires continual upkeep/recoating. When you water a Boug, only water the soil, not the tree. I have to spray mine regularly with pesticide to keep those pesky little white ants out of them, they eat the Bougs like they where donuts!
Peter

here you go buddaboy

i like them in full flower, and blue goes with pink ok, so...
ps. this is from the front ken and i agreed on, although i do like jon's too

Guys, Thanks for your ideas. Jon while your concept is really striking, I doubt I have the required skill to transform her into a cascade.... mainly due to the size of the thing I might try to strike a few of the offcuts and see if I can cascade one of them. I had thought about an upright from the start due to the trunk size and the two main branches. I just wasnt sure how it would look. Aaron thank you for your interpretation, as it really was what I was looking for. I see I will have to sharpen up my photo editing skills and do this sort of projecting for more of my trees. I can see that I have a lot of years of work ahead of me on this one. Excellent! I will keep posting pics as I go along to keep you all in the loop.
Thanks,
Ron

PS any more Ideas are always gratefully accepted.

Great virtual Aaron (what program are you using). Ron, you can't go wrong adapting this design.

Jon