Bougainvillea 21 Jewels

There are three main species of bougainvillea, the glabra,spectabilis and the peruviana and there are several crosses or hybrids
and the bougainvillea 21 Jewels is one of them here are some pics for your viewing;

This 21 jewels won a gold at the Nueva Ecija Bonsai Society competition last May 2009


This is how it looks 3 months later Bougainvilleas grows so fast


Here is a close look at its folliage


A closser view, you will note its leaves are half the size of a regular glabra and its about twice thicker, flowers are also thicker foliage
is much thicker than the regulars




another view of the flowers and foliage



here is a 21 jewels material



Other views











I planted it in a chinese pot



Another view

Hi Pabling,
Thank you for posting you fine bougainvillea.
What a great transformation.
In the early pictures, (having no experiance with this species), I was surprised to see the stump bare rooted, in fact to have very little root at all, is this common?
How long did the bougainvillea take to develop?
Congratulations on your gold.
very best regards,
jerry

Hi Jerry

Nice to hear from you again.
I was just comparing the hybrid 21 jewels with the regular bougs. The one that won gold is not mine, it belongs to a friend I was one of the judges during the competition so I got a picture of it. I just wanted to show how fast bougainvilleas grows, it could go wild in just three months.

Bougs are vines so it grows this fast. It does not actually need roots, it can be propagated by cuttings. The material is just one week old,in about three years, a material like this can transform into a beautiful bonsai.

Please say hi to our fellow dragons there, I miss you guys

Pabling

Great trunk you have to work with. Noticed some other material in background. The shape and size of leaf, as well as vertical growth pattern of stem makes 21 jewels look a lot like variety we call Pink Pixie bougainvillea(tight internodes). Dustin Mann

Do you want to tell me that they grow with only this few roots?

Hi Dustin

It could be the same please post some pics so we can compare. The materials you see at the background are bantigues (pemphis acidula) most 21 js have great trunks

pabling

Hi nik

You will notice in the last picture about 1/4 inch growth. Its been a week now since I planted this and the growth is now almost an inch. Yes indeed most tropical plants can grow even with few roots left.

I think this is the variety we call Pink Pixie here in the US. What do you think Rob???
Nice trunk! In one photo it looks very masculine! Chest legs and all! LOL!!!
I am jealous of your tropical climate. I grow some Bougies here in Massachusetts, but it takes much longer to develop!
Geof

HI Geof,
I didnt think anybody would notice that, its the sexiest material I ever had you say its masculine, others would think its feminine still its sexy.

So you also have this in US, here its a bit rare now. you can only find few in the northern part of the country, we consider this the best boug material for bonsai.

Pady,

I forgot to mention in my last reply, this is what people in the states refer to as 'pink pixie' bougainvillea. Because of the characteristics you mention, this has been a favorite of mine as well. The thick-rounded leaves and the small rosseted flowers make it an ideal candidate for bonsai cultivation, on another note, he branches on these tend to also be harder to bend than the other bougainvillea species.

Do you use mountain sand to cultivate these? Are your bantigue trees from Ilocos?



Kind regards,
Jose Luis

Jose Luis,

I use 1/4 to 3/4 inch size vulcanic cynder as base and course river sand for most of my trees specially those gathered from near the seashores like batigues, agoho, bantulinao,lemonsito etc..I observed that even inland species like the bougs grow well with this medium.

Do you have bantigue in your garden?

Bantigues only pass thru Ilocos, they come from an island in Cagayan

Cheers

Pady,

Yes, I do have bantigue/santigi trees in my collection. I use volcanic cynder mixed with oyster shell as the medium. I water with salt once a week and spray them in the afternoon with sea water.



Me after pruning the tree and in the process of shaping the branches.


Details of the tree

My bonsai master and friend Cheng Cheng Kung is very fond of this species. He call it Hai Mei (sea jasmine) or Hai Fu long (sea chrisanthemum). due to the fact that this tree requires specieal care,bonsai men in Taiwan are no longer promoting its cultivation.

Here's an example of Bantigue from Cheng Cheng Kung

Jose Luis

Very nice trunk movement indeed, very typical for bantigues ,I have also tried oyster shells mixed with coral stones and got good results.I spray salt water mixed with fish emulsion twice a week

Bantigue is still my favorite It is regarded as one of the best material for bonsai. the Bantigue of Bobby Gopiao won the grand prize for the 2007 contest of the WBFF.

Pabling

Pady,

I also use fish emulsion. Bobby Gopiao is my friend. While he was in the ABFF in Taiwan, i called Budi Sulistyo to let them know that Bobby had won the Grand Prize with his bantigue and Budi with his Tamarind. I think Bobby, Yumie and other bonsai friends will attend ASPAC in Taiwan. Will you go?

Kind regards,
Jose Luis

Thats right, Budi won second place with his tamarind, I have never seen a bonsai tamarind with so much fruits! Ogi also won honorable mention with his bantigue.

Where did you get your materials?

See you in Taiwan on October

Pabling

Pady,

Is bantulinao the same tree i know as kamagong? Diospyros phillipinensis or maba buxifolia?

Kind regards,
Jose Luis

Jose Luis

Its maba boxifolia, I think its a cousin of diosporos sp {kamagong} Bantolinao is found near bantigue, agoho, pyracanta, alagao or argao, lemonsito etc along the shores where they are bombarded by strong winds and typhoons,This is how they develop their magnificent trunks and natural sharis.they cannot grow their normal size so they make perfect candidates for bonsai materials.

Where did you get your bantigue? how many bantigues do you have?

Pabling

Pabling,

My bantigue, bantoliniao, agoho and lemoncito come from east Java. I have about 10 bantigue, three or four agohos, two lemoncitos and several others trees.

Kind regards,
Jose Luis