Hi everyone tomorrow i am going to be repotting my
favorite bourganvillea. Its my first time repotting
it in 3 years. Last time it was repotted i did not
use a particularly free draining mix since i didn't
know as much. It was quite dense for a bonsai mix.
However the tree has thrived in it. Anyway i was
hoping some of you might have some tips for repotting
bourganvillea and soil mix's you use for yours. I
have many soil components on hand.

Multiple sizes of Akadama
Pine bark mulch
Spagnum Moss
Red Lava rock
Gravel/silica sand
Common garden soil
Kanuma
Oak Leaf Mold

Id appreciate any suggestions you all might have.

I live in zone 7 "new york city" i bring my tree in
over the winter when the temps start to fall below the
50's. It is at least a 30 year old tree however it
has not always been in my collection. It has many
raised roots and has a hollowed trunk. Id also like
to get any advice you all have on treating this
weathered wood. The hollowed trunk was treated 3
years ago with lime sulfer but the effect has worn
away since then.

Thanks
Ben Griffin

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Ben:
I use a mixture od 1/3 Pine Bark, 1/3 Haydite and 1/3 Chicken grit.
Looking at your list you could make a fairly loose mix by using 1/3
each: Red lava rock, gravil (depending on size), Pine Bark. Just
remember to wire your Bougainvillea into your pot until its roots settle
into this mix.

Good luck,

Carl L. Rosner - near Atlantic City zone 6/7
http://bmee.net/rosner
http://www.jamesbaird.com/cgi-bin/Ja...d=00000068 48


Ben Griffin wrote:

Hi everyone tomorrow i am going to be repotting my
favorite bourganvillea. Its my first time repotting
it in 3 years. Last time it was repotted i did not
use a particularly free draining mix since i didn't
know as much. It was quite dense for a bonsai mix.
However the tree has thrived in it. Anyway i was
hoping some of you might have some tips for repotting
bourganvillea and soil mix's you use for yours. I
have many soil components on hand.

Multiple sizes of Akadama
Pine bark mulch
Spagnum Moss
Red Lava rock
Gravel/silica sand
Common garden soil
Kanuma
Oak Leaf Mold

Id appreciate any suggestions you all might have.

I live in zone 7 "new york city" i bring my tree in
over the winter when the temps start to fall below the
50's. It is at least a 30 year old tree however it
has not always been in my collection. It has many
raised roots and has a hollowed trunk. Id also like
to get any advice you all have on treating this
weathered wood. The hollowed trunk was treated 3
years ago with lime sulfer but the effect has worn
away since then.

Thanks
Ben Griffin





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In a message dated 7/19/2003 7:43:25 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
writes:

f git rot is as penetrating as it claims to be
wouldn't it be very dangerous to the livewood under
the bark? If not do you dilute the product.


You only put this on dead wood. There is not anything alive under the
dead. You don't put it anywhere there is bark.

Seems what you all are saying for bourgie soil mix is
70% organic 30% inorganic or 70% pourus 30% non porous

I am not sure of percentages. And I am not clear what you mean by
pourus.

Billy on the Florida Space Coast

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Hi everyone tomorrow i am going to be repotting my
favorite bourganvillea.
snip

Multiple sizes of Akadama
Pine bark mulch
Spagnum Moss
Red Lava rock
Gravel/silica sand
Common garden soil
Kanuma
Oak Leaf Mold

Ben:
I use a mixture of 1/3 Pine Bark, 1/3 Haydite and 1/3 Chicken
grit.
Looking at your list you could make a fairly loose mix by
using 1/3
each: Red lava rock, gravel (depending on size), Pine Bark.
Just
remember to wire your Bougainvillea into your pot until its
roots settle
into this mix.

And I used last time 1/3 horse manure compost to 2/3 Mule Mix
(Turface). Of course, my largest bougainvillea (pink pixie) is
about 8 inches tall (and in full bloom now).

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - The phrase
'sustainable growth' is an oxymoron. - Stephen Viederman

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In a message dated 7/18/2003 11:49:24 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
writes:

I, as a long-time boat owner am very familiar with the virtues of Git Rot.

However, for marine use, one drills holes and injects it into the wood. For
bonsai do you do this, or just paint it on?


Well, normally dead wood on bougies, etc. has cracks and fissures and
you should get the material into them, but I wouldn't drill.
Billy on the Florida Space Coast

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Ben,
I have used Git Rot and placed it on living leaves and bark. The bark and
leaves showed no short or long term damage.
Amazing!
Jerry Meislik
Whitefish Montana USA
Zone 4-5
http://www.bonsaihunk.8m.com/
If git rot is as penetrating as it claims to be
wouldn't it be very dangerous to the livewood under
the bark? If not do you dilute the product.

Seems what you all are saying for bourgie soil mix is
70% organic 30% inorganic or 70% pourus 30% non porous

Ben

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So the repotting is done. The tree looks amazing in
its new pot, before it was in a ugly shiny black lotus
pot i hated. Sara Raynor made a amazing lava black
custom glazed oval for the tree. The repotting went
OK. The root system was very strange. The roots were
healthy and white i only found one semi exposed
rotting root which i cut off completely. The sides
were not too root bound which i was suprised by since
it actually hadn't been repotted for 4 years. The
bottom of the pot was lined with roots not as wound
around as are most root bound plants but totally
covering the bottom of the pot so that no soil was
visible. As i gently loosened them with a chopstick
they started immediately breaking off. I lost most
all of the bottom roots. Underneath them was a inch
thick layer of soil which left me a nice open cavity
after removing that soil underneath the tree there
were almost no roots in this soil area...... I was
able to keep most all of the white side feeder roots.
I didn't actually trim any roots on the tree since i
lost so many on the bottom. What i found strange was
that the roots did not grow down through the soil.
Rather they grew around the soil ball on the sides and
onto the bottom. I also thought it was very strange
that the bottom roots were sooooo fragile they fell
off when i tried to gently loosen them like a lizards
tail would if it was caught. Usually i loose a few
but overall i proabably lost about 40-60 percent of
the roots during the repotting. After the repotting i
cut off about 40 percent of the foilage. The pot is
larger by about 1-2 inches in diameter and slightly
deeper then the old pot. Yesterday while repotting i
noticed the leaves had become very very thin very
quickly. The repotting took about 1 hour from start 2
finish. That included 2... 20 minute root soak's. I
soaked it in thrive as i always do before repotting.
Then after repotting i soaked it in one of the "roots
2" products. I have it in a very shady location which
may get a tiny bit of dappled direct sun but will be
mostly indirect reflected shaded light. The leaves
were thick and felt good to me this morning unlike
during the repotting. I wired it in securely and put
a few balancing wires anchored to my stand while the
roots take. "crossing my fingers still" For the new
soil mix i ended up doing about 40 percent "akadama
various sizes, and red lava rock" 40 percent "pine
bark, oak leaf mold, spagnum moss, and garden soil",
and about 20 percent gravel. Its denser then my usual
mix however is still very open. Compared to its old
muddy mix it's a million times better. I will post
pics in the gallery once it has started growing again.


For those of you who have repotted bourganvillea's
before how long do you usually wait with them to move
them back to full sun. Do you wait till you see new
growth or longer. And how long do you usually wait
before applying fertilizer.

As far as treating the wood i did not do that yet. I
have heard that lime sulfer and other wood hardeners
work best when applied on a hot sunny day. Since i
have it in full shade now i thought it better to wait.
There were 2 spots on the hollowed out trunk which
seem a bit rotten to me. However im worried abou
applying lime sulfer or git rot to it since the live
vein runs underneath the aged somewhat rotten bark.
What do you all think would be the least dangerous
method of preserving this wood.

Thanks for all your suggestions
Ben

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In a message dated 7/20/2003 10:46:44 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
writes:

For those of you who have repotted bougainvillea's
before how long do you usually wait with them to move
them back to full sun. Do you wait till you see new
growth or longer. And how long do you usually wait
before applying fertilizer.

I wouldn't wait to put it in full sun or fertilize. I had a bougie (Pink
Pixie) in a large terra cotta pot to enlarge the trunk. A few weeks ago I
moved it to a 10 inch bulb pan. I removed all the foliage and most of the roots.
Applied Subdue granular and Osmocote 14-14-14 then placed on a bench in full
sun. It has begun to leaf out and is doing great.
I think bougies like a fairly organic soil and plant mine in Metro Mix 500.
However, for good health they should be transplanted at least once a year.
Billy on the Florida Space Coast

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