New Bougainvillea!

Hey everyone,

I picked this up for $20 at the local nursery. It was $70, but it was on the clearance table. I'm not sure where to go with it right now. It is severely root bound, but now is not the time to deal with that. I have no clue what color the flowers are, so hopefully we will be able to see soon. Any advice where to go? The branches are too thick to wire, will I have to cut them back somewhat to allow more sprouts so that I can wire them? I'm not too keen on the color/pot in general. Here is the tree:

Back?:


Front?:


I'm fine with the size of the trunk. I'm just looking for some good advice. Then again, after seeing the size of everyone elses Bougies, I'm feeling a bit unsure Thanks!

Hi Ryan,
your right about cutting back & hope it gives you some shoots below ti give it a bit curve,don't worry much comparing your boigs to others,what matters most is it'll be your creation,can't advice you regarding repoting cause we here are tropical & are allow to do it,give the plant health first,design later.i know one thing for sure..Bougs like it dry & it'll give you flowers,
enjoy & regards,
Alex

Can you give us some idea of dimensions here please Ryan. I'm seeing this as about 12"-14" in height with a trunk diameter roughly the size of a thumb, but I may be well off the mark there.

On a general point, can anyone tell me the best/quickest way to thicken a bougie's trunk? I have a suspicion you're going to tell me that is considerably determined by the temperature of its growing environment.

Funny how people see differently. I see an 8-10 inch tree with a pencil-thin trunk. But, considering the original price . . .

But this is the absolute wrong time of year to do anything -- repeat, anything -- to a bougainvillea unless you live between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.

To fatten a trunk, you need to plant in a wide, shallow tray and feed the dickens out of it for a year or two. If Fiona's measurements are true, the tray might be 12-15 inches square and 3 inches deep. If I'm closer, it might be 8-10 inches and two inches deep. They wire to shape quickly (over the summer), but if you are fattening at the same time, keep a close eye on any wire on the trunk.

They'd rather be dry than wet.

Thank you all!

Oops, sorry about the dimensions problem. This tree is about 17" tall and has about a 3/4" trunk. I see a cascade too, but I like it in the informal upright position. It is kept in a bright windowsill, with my other tropicals.

Jim, I read Bougies can be worked on any time of the year.

Jim, I read Bougies can be worked on any time of the year.

Well, you just read that they shouldn't. Who'd ya believe?

Whether you can "work on" a given species of tree at any given time depends on your experience and ability and the environment in which it is kept. I'll just say that a "bright windowsill" is not the ideal environment for a Bougainvillea.