Hello,

I've been interested in bonsai for a while. I have a small collection of trees that I found at nurseries. This bougainvillea I started from cutting. I thickened up the trunk by planting it in the garden. I moved houses a while ago and my wife bought this pot for it. I know it not the right size though, but I don't really have the heart to tell her that.

So the plan is to report into lava rock + perlite + peat moss.

I'm really asking how to improve the tree. There is a split close to the base of the trunk. Would it be a good idea to split it into 2 different bonsai?

I'm just a little lost of how to start.

Thank you.

some pictures with the text would be helpful

ok now they have appeared

Ohw.. Dificult material to be honest.
WIth bougies the problem is that large cuts pretty much never heal over again. So you will keep a cut which is prone to rotting. So you would have to find a way to work with both trunks. I do not really see a direction to make this into a good bonsai.

To be honest.. I alos have a bougie, and I have decided it will probably never be a good tree. So I just let it do its thing. I wire young sprouts in spring when still green, and cut them back at about 5cm. THen I let everything go till the plant moves indoors. Next year same thing. THis way it slowly builds something of a cnaopy.

I see, thank you. I have two bougies with this problem, so I guess neither will make great trees

Nakamura wrote: I see, thank you. I have two bougies with this problem, so I guess neither will make great trees

I would not say that. Just because I do not see the road, that does not mean you cannot have a vision that makes these great! It was more a "Afraid I cannot help you, but still wanted to let you know people are reading".

Nakamura wrote: I see, thank you. I have two bougies with this problem, so I guess neither will make great trees

There is a bonsai nunnery in Hong Kong. Most of the trees are what they call Buddhist Pine, but most of the rest are bougainvillea, all sizes and shapes. We were there in flowering season and I thought they looked great. Of course, the flowers hid any problems with the trunks so I might not have noticed unhealed scars. Most were typical bonsai size, but there were a few huge ones. I don't know how you would repot them without a crane.