I recently bought a Bougainvillea at a local nursery. Even though the trunk is a bit small,I liked the structure and it was the largest at the nursery. I hve since styled the tree. I should have taken a picture before, but forgot to and only got one after. I will try and post the picture here. My problem now is when and how to repot. I have read that the best time to repot Bougainvillea is at the height of summer, so I have that going for me. I have also read that you should only cut back about ¼ of the roots when you depot. Therein lies the problem. This Bogi is rootbound in a 2 gal nursery pot. How do. Go about trimming the roots for a Bonsai pot?

First of all.. Think why you would want to reduce the rootball.
IF you are happy with the size of the trunk, go for it. However, if you would like a bigger trunk, rather pot it in a larger pot.

Reducing the rootbal.. You do it in phases if health requires it. You prepare for several scenarios. If you can safely cut back to fit into a small pot, do so. Otherwise, ensure you have different sizes of pots available so you can repot in a mid-sized pot too.

Bonsai is a marathon, not a sprint. So do not hurry at the start, but take a slow, steady pace. In the end, that will win the race.

Thanks for the reply. Thinking about it last night that was the conclustion that I came to as well. Myy question now is, if the goal is to reduce the root ball, how often do I repot? Let's say I repot now, removing ¼ of the roots, how long should I wait before reducing them again? Should it be a yearly effort, slowly reducing the pot size each year?

Impossible to tell. Usually when you have some diea of what you are diong (Getting someone from a club to help you is usefull), you decide where you can trimm the roots back to. Very much depended on the state of the roots, the coutry you are in and the species you are working, all three, in combination to eachother.

I hear that in Zambia they can succesfully root 20cm thik cuttingw (!) of Bougainvillea. I have a hard time getting a .5cm cutting to root. So it all depends on how well the species handles in your local situation.

Well, I'm in North Alabama where we have very hot and humid weather in the summer (currently 98)and wet and mild in the winter. Typically we get short periods in the high 20's °F but it has been known to go down to 10° F. I will be keeping my bogie either in the house or in the basement while it is below 50.

I don't really have much to choose from in the way of pots. Nobody locally sells bonsai pots so I will have to see what I can do about progressively smaller pots. First off is to find out how root bound it is and put it in some better soil.

REHolt wrote:

This Bogi is rootbound in a 2 gal nursery pot. How do. Go about trimming the roots for a Bonsai pot?

Hi there,

Most certainly you do not need a bonsai pot right now, you just need a bigger one. A regular nursery pot will do the job just right. And when the time comes and this tree would be well developed then you should select the right bonsai pot for it, with features that might enhance the tree´s aesthetics... But well, that is for another topic

Alain

When I do start thinking about putting my Bougainvillea in a pot, how do I go about reducing the root ball and how do I select a pot? What are the criteria for a bogi pot? I know that with trees it's based on a ration to overall bight and such, but with a bogi it seems it would be different.

REHolt wrote:

When I do start thinking about putting my Bougainvillea in a pot, how do I go about reducing the root ball and how do I select a pot? What are the criteria for a bogi pot? I know that with trees it's based on a ration to overall bight and such, but with a bogi it seems it would be different.

As for repotting and rootprunning I think you should consider these links:

bonsai4me.com/Basics/BasicsWhen%20to%20R...%20your%20Bonsai.htm
bonsai4me.com/Basics/Basics_Repotting1.html
bonsai4me.com/Basics/Basics_Repotting2.html
bonsai4me.com/Basics/Basicsrepotting3barerooting.htm

As for the "right" pot selection, this one:

bonsai4me.com/AdvTech/ATChoosing%20the%2...%20your%20Bonsai.htm

Hope it helps,

Alain