Question
HOW DO CAN I TRIM OUR MATURE BOUGAINVILLEA PLANT. IT BLOOMS AT LEAST TWICE A YEAR, BUT MY WIFE FEELS I NEED TO TALK TO AN EXPERT, GET THE RIGHT INFO TO DO THE JOB WITHOUT DAMAGING THE SEASONAL BLOOMS. THANK YOU.

Answer
Bougs do indeed need to be trimmed back periodically, but the quandary seems to be, when. so as not to trim off the terminal buds ,and ruin the colorful bracts that are the attraction of this plant; I trim mine in early Spring , severely, meaning I take of the top one third of the plant, leaving almost all stems and little leaves. What happens however, is this stimulates rapid new growth, and precludes having to trim again until the following Spring, leaving the entire rest of the year to bloom and color up.