Practical methods for fast shaping of bougainvillea cuttings, so the cuttings no longer turn into firewood sticks

Bougainvillea cuttings are the most commonly used means of rapid propagation. But 'if after all your hard work taking cuttings, what you end up with is a pile of firewood sticks, how would you feel? Is cutting propagation really that difficult? You can take a look at my cutting method, to let bougainvillea take shape quickly and bloom beautifully.

First: choose a bougainvillea with many branches and vigorous growth as the cutting subject (I chose a branch about the thickness of a thumb, with a main stem length of about 20 cm), and keep the number and length of branches according to personal preference, as shown in the picture: the upper cut is a flat cut and sealed with wax, and the lower cut is made with a diagonal cut at a chosen node.

Second: choose any one of rooting water or vitality essence, willow juice, aspirin, sugar water, etc. and soak for a few hours, or use nothing at all. For the specific concentration ratio and soaking time, please refer to the posts of authoritative people, hehe, there are many in the forum!

Third: cut a piece of floral foam of the corresponding size, insert the branch and soak it thoroughly in the rooting water just used. The role of the floral foam is actually not to help rooting, but to reduce damage to the roots when potting up, which will be introduced later.

Fourth: find a drink bottle of the corresponding size, cut it open, punch holes in the bottom and lay down foam, then lay a layer of cutting medium (it must be sterilized); here I used coconut coir. Then put in the branch and cover it completely with the medium. What is emphasized here is that no matter what medium you use, it must meet the following conditions: sterile (sterilized), no fertility (plain soil), breathable, water-retentive... I personally think this is the key step for survival. I chose coconut coir, scalded with boiling water and cooled until half dry (too wet easily causes rot).

Fifth: next it is simple, put a bag over it, you can punch holes or completely seal it, as long as you ventilate properly (open the bag), ensuring high humidity for the branch without making it moldy. There are no rigid rules for the specific time and interval for opening the bag; it varies with the environment, medium, cutting subject, etc. This depends on experience! Hehe.

Sixth: next is also very crucial. Generally, soil temperature 1 to 2 degrees higher than air temperature is the ideal state. Under such conditions, the plant first grows roots and then sprouts. On the contrary, if the air temperature is higher than the soil temperature, then the plant will half the time sprout first and then grow roots, which is dangerous and very likely to cause false survival. Many people are secretly pleased a few days after inserting the cutting because it sprouts quickly, hehe, be careful. How do you make the soil temperature slightly higher than the air temperature? Think of ways yourself, for example, using the principle of white reflecting light and black absorbing light, or a pet heating pad, or sawdust at the bottom fermenting to produce heat, etc. In short, ensure the substrate is slightly moist and the cutting branch has high humidity; generally there will be no problem with survival. This is how it looks at 22 days; note the role of the floral foam!

Seventh: time to pot up. I think as long as roots have formed, pot up as early as possible, using the protective effect of the floral foam on the roots. Once you find roots growing out through the floral foam, hurry and pot it up to harden the seedling, hehe, pot it up together with the floral foam, and it will not affect the plant's future growth at all. This is the picture from cutting the branch to potting up, only 22 days, and the columnar shape is still satisfactory.

Picture one week after potting up, that is, the 30th day of cutting. The small branches grow very quickly, and it can be seen that the root system is also growing continuously, so it can be cared for normally! This one is planned to be used as rootstock for grafting in autumn. If there are no accidents, it should be ready!

Many days have passed again, and I changed to a gallon pot (1 gallon). I feel that for bougainvillea, neither a small plant in a large pot nor a large plant in a small pot is suitable. I like to gradually change the flowerpot as the plant grows.