Bougainvillea project 2019 (part I)

This Bougainvillea was a gift from a seller where I bought a pre-bonsai (Wisteria floribunda). Normally I don't keep sub-/tropical trees, but with this tree I thought, I could give it a try for once.

The photo on the right is the final result of the repot I've done on 06/07/2019(D/M/Y). After researching the species I learned that it's better to repot the tree in mid-summer, because they need the heat and humidity of summer to heal faster.

This tree has to be over twenty years old, the rough bark on the photo on the left is an indicator of old age. If you would buy a Bougainvillea in a nursery they are about three or four years old and have a pencil thick trunk. So I guess that this tree is a yamadori or a garden treasure. I like the trunk and its movement, but there's still a lot of work to do on branches and ramification. Also, old pruning wounds on the trunk which need to be carved out. Dead wood on a Bougainvillea is also possible. I know the Japanese guidelines don't allow that but I'm not Japanese. Dead wood on a Bougainvillea is hard and it becomes 'white' with age. Also if you look to the final result picture, you can see that years ago the trunk has been chopped flush, this needs to be fixed to but that's not for now.

On the right photo you can see that this Bougainvillea sat in bad bonsaisoil. This is the major reason why I chose to repot this tree right now. The upper layer is kanuma, which had been put there to make it look more attractive.

The first thought when I pulled my Bougaivillea out of its pot, was: "Ow crap" That was litterly the soil it was sitting in .. "crap" You can buy this soil as being bonsaisoil by DCM, this may be labelled as a wrong choice! This soil contains so much organic matter which stays wet, providing no drainage at all.

I combed out the roots or what was left of it. This is the result of bad bonsaisoil that doesn't drain at all, you'll get rootrot. By combing out the roots I noticed that this Bougainvillea is an airlayered tree or a cutting.

This is a close-up of the bad bonsaisoil,

containing organic materials and sand.

The pot on the photo becomes the Bougainvillea's new shoe. The maker is unknown, what I do know is that the pot is wood fired and it is an unglazed pot. This would be suitable for the Bougainvillea, the rough bark and the rough texture on the pot will pefectly match together. The green leaves will provide a subtle contrast. The flowers of the Bougainvillea will be a delightful extra.

Bougainvillea's must have a well drained bonsaisoil, so I have used 70% akadama and 30% kanuma. Why kanuma? Bougainvillea is a tropical plant that originates from South America. The soil where it lives in is light acid, so thats why I used kanuma.

My First Blog entry is born, I hope it was usefull. Updates will follow soon.