Entry #29
Judge #1: Excellent start, great future drawing
Judge #3: Good potential and choice of Bouganvilla cultivar.
Paper Flower (Bougainvillea sp)
Zambia
40 cm (15.7")
Before
I was given this bougainvillea by a friend, who dug it out from a farm. I have no information on the variety, since I got it recently and it has not flowered. At list now has few leaves so I can tell it is a bougie.
He did not use any cutting instrument and just broke the branches carelessly, and short. As a result some of the branches have several deep cracks up to the base. I trimmed what I could but some I just left cracked hoping they will some how heal, since they were just too short and at good positions.. I tied them with wire hoping they will create callus, heal and not dry.
I put the tree in the shade to recover after planting it, and never noticed that there is a mould growing on/under the branches. I have since shifted it on the sun, but I have not seen any growth, which makes me somewhat worried.
My first priority will be to develop a good root system and make the plant grow vigorously. Our winter is starting just now so not much will be done at the moment in terms of styling, in spring depending on the condition of the plant I will re pot it.
The plant needs drastic trimming and re growing new branches , the nebari needs attention, if there is any at all, but all that will be attended to during repotting.
One Quarter Progression
Initially the tree was left to grow and recover from the transplanting shock, in the same soil it was brought. Not much progress was there due to the fact that our winter ended in August.
The next step was to remove some unwanted branches and cover them with African cut paste, (lump of clay) that works very well for me on large cuts, compared to the Japanese cut paste I have used.
The branches that had deep cuts were also cut very short. Small stumps were left so that the tree can backbud. The ctumps will be carved later after the branches have established well.
Half Way
Initially the tree was left to grow and recover from the transplanting shock, in the same soil it was brought. Not much progress was there due to the fact that our winter ended in August.
The next step was to remove some unwanted branches and cover them with African cut paste, (lump of clay) that works very well for me on large cuts, compared to the Japanese cut paste I have used.
After the tree has recovered it was repotted in summer, in better soil, since I was afraid the soil it was in could cause root and trunk rot. Bougainvillea prefers to have warm weather when repotted. At the same time all large branches were reduced drastically, in order to create movement and taper.
During the repot I discovered that there were only 3 large roots going vertically. I reduced them within reason and decided after the tree recovers to ground layer it.
Since I did not want to stress the tree with so many procedures, I decided to use a less invasive technique, than ring barking, and I drilled holes around the diameter of the trunk and applied root hormone and tooth picks. The section was covered with bonsai mix.
The large branches that were cut, back budded very well, and as a result shoots were selected for continuation of the primary branches and some left to heal the cut surfaces. Ones the new branches are established well and lignified, I shall carve the end sections of the large branches to make them more aesthetically pleasing.
Three Quarter Progression
The tree has progressed very well and I had to remove flowers every week so that all growth is channeled to developing the branches.
Ones the new branches showed signs of lignifying they were wired into position and allowed to grow. Also some sacrifice branches will be used to allow them to thicken in proportion to the lower section and the branch.
I need a lower right branch and for that, I have prepared a large cutting that I airlayered and plan to graft on the right the way my Oyakata Urushibata from Taisho en thought me to, By drilling a hole in the trunk and inserting the branch so the cambium of the two matches, while the branch is still supported by its own roots.
Lets hope it will work, since I have never seen it done on a bougie, and bougie is infamous for it rotting abilities, and slow healing of wounds. In any case I have planted it in a very large container to promote grows which will assist with this technique.
Unfortunately this technique requires vigorous growth, and will be done September 2014. I dont want to stress the tree this time, since already too much has been done to it and further invasive procedures can weaken it. I think also the roots it has at this point will not promote the growth required for this technique.
Final
The tree has grown very well after the repot. The ground layer looks very promising, and some roots are developing..
The tree was allowed to grow. The branches need to be thickened, and for that reason they were only wired but not cut back. Internodes on this variety of bougie are couple of mm apart, and back budding is very strong. Some buds had to be rubbed off.
All flowers were removed, in order to allow the tree to concentrate on growth. Some leaves at the base of the branches were also removed to assist with the wiring.
Second round of wiring was done few days ago to avoid the wires biting in.
The movement to the branches and wiring was applied only on the first 5 cm from their beginning since they will be cut back hard. So the long extensions pointing somewhat upwards should be ignored.
leader at the top was also left to grow and fatten.
Top branches in the apex were cut back, to avoid them over thickening.
Future of the tree:
I need one branch on the right as second primary branch. I am still investigating the possibility of grafting a huge branch on the right, but just in case that will be inadvisable, I wired a long branch from the left and left it to thicken(lignify) near where it needs to be approach grafted. I had bad experience with approach grafting too young branches, and learned to let them lignify first.
I need to find out from people who have done grafting on bougies or try it on an expendable tree first, since I would not like to leave a huge , gaping hole, just in case the branch does not take.
Fusing the small branch with approach grafting will not be a problem Branches naturally fuse on bougies. As long as the branch is lignified first before approach grafted, chances are very high. Considering the fact that bougies have very brittle branches ones lignified, this branch had to be wired into exact position while very young and soft.
I need to heal lots of wounds and that is not an easy task with bougies. But I would prefer to accomplish that since they have very soft easy to rot wood.
For that I would need to promote vigorous growth, and only cut back the branches ones they have thickened enough.
Apex and branches ramification needs to be done also.
Ones the leader is cut back I know I will get lots of back budding bellow on the trunk, especially if I defoliate at the same time. That will be done as soon as spring starts to get maximum back budding.
Techniques .used:
Clip and grow, wiring, carving, ground layering, sealing of wounds and in the future grafting.
Thanks to the organizers and judges, and success to the rest of the competitors.