Entry: Bougainvillea Spectabilis – Bougainvillea – USA
ofBonsai Magazine
Before
This is a huge Bougainvillea, it is 50 inches tall, and was purchased from a local landscaper who took it from a new construction project where they didn’t want it. Cost $25 usd. I liked the fact that it had multiple trunk lines and I thought one of them might be interesting and from there a tree might be built.
One Quarter Progression
I decided to cut this wild “Potensai” back very hard, bare root, and hope there are many new buds just waiting to sprout. The field soil was very heavy. The original entire planting including trunk and soil weighed in at over a hundred pounds. New substrate (soil) was worked in with an emphasis on low weight aggregates.
Half Way Progression
There is always a tense moment where one wonders…Will this tree survive the work that has been done to it! Experience helps to calm the nerves, and having done this to many such trees I had great confidence in the future of this bougy. Sure enough, it budded strongly. It loves it new substrate and is getting stronger every day. Strong fertilizer has been given and has done a wonderful job of speeding along shoot elongation.
Three Quarter Progression
Each Day as I water this tree, I think about the design. I have a clear picture in my mind of its future. The branching is extending perfectly and there is many shoots to work with. I tip back the very strongest shoots and trim off the flowers for now to continue the strength going to side branches and overall vigor. You will just have to now wait and see what becomes of the big Bougainvillea! Good luck to all Contestants and good growing to all Bonsai friends worldwide!
Final
Well that went fast. Seems like the year just zipped by and here we are at the end of the contest and beginning of a new year. Every spring brings a great new hope for bonsai lovers all over the world.
This big bougy, was very much fun to style. This tree is popular in my area, used as landscape trees. What I see are old specimens that grow up up up then weep down in a waterfall of bright colored bracts (flowers). That is what I was aiming for in this tree. The added benefit of a few winter flowers just peeking out was a great surprise. I waited to the last minute to to photograph, hoping as many flowers as possible !
Thanks for the inspiration to do this, I would not have tried such an aggressive program with this very old stock without the push of the contest. I am very happy with the results.
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[tab title=”Judge #1″]
Scores:
Selection: 4
Design: 4
Technique: 5
Final Outcome: 5
Documentation: 10
Originality: 6
Total: 34
Decent result with very poor material, it will be difficult to make this look more credible
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[tab title=”Judge #2″]
Scores:
Selection: 3
Design: 4
Technique: 7
Final Outcome: 7
Documentation: 5
Originality: 5
Total: 31
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[tab title=”Judge #3″]
Scores:
Selection: 5
Design: 5
Technique: 6
Final Outcome: 6
Documentation: 6
Originality: 6
Total: 34
Too long and too straight
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