Question
I recently purchased a young bougainvillea plant which I wanted to turn into a bonsai. Unfortunately my kitten knocked it over and almost completely snapped the trunk. I attempted to join the two parts of the trunk together using plastic tape. The trunk has held together pretty well but will it heal i.e.the trun tissue will graft together or will the plant die? Would I have better luck attempting to propagate the plant by using the snapped trunk as a cutting? If so how should I go about doing this? Thanks

Answer
Anisa, as long as it isn't completely severed, there is a chance of it mending, but slight, as far as propagating cut off several tip cuttings (about 3 inches), strip the leaves except for about 2 or 3 and root them in water; you should have roots in about 3-5 weeks, make sure you change the water frequently and keep the cutting in a cool, dark area. Nick