Probably the first part of the process is to put in a sturdy stake and tie your 'main stem' to it using plant ties that you can easily loosen as the plant develops its trunk. Decide how tall you want the trunk to be. It is easiest to prune or train the plant when the new shoots are very young; just gently rub them off. Season by season pinch back the flowering part of the plant so it doesn't develop long and groping stems. (Similar to what you would do to get a good flower crop from Fuchsias.) Each year tie in the central stem that's forming your trunk, raise the crown a little by pruning off the lower branches to leave at least a third of the plant as leaves, stems and flowering wood. Protect it all from strong winds. Remember to check the ties each six months to be sure that they are not starting to cut into the developing trunk. As the plant gets higher allow the side branches which will form your spreading display to develop. Information on developing Wisteria, climbing roses, honeysuckle as a standard with a spread flowering system is likely to give you more detail you can use specifically for your plant.

Bougie's need as much sun as you can give them. They bloom on new growth so I prune mine back in the middle of December. They get brought in the garage on nights that the temps fall lower than 45. I live in northeast FL thats why I prune them in December. I prune the stems back about 6 inches cause they can put on alot of growth here especially if I feed them regularly. Mine bloom in spring and fall. Hope this helps.

I have no experience with bourgainvillea because it's not hardy here . But I have five crossvines and all but one have bloomed for me. They bloomed in May and finished blooming in June and for the past two summers they rebloomed in August. I love them they are very pretty and almost evergreen in winter they are not as top heavy as trumpet vine or coral honeysuckle.Hope that helps. Sarah

Here's what I've learned about growing bougainvillea : ( I live in Central Texas, outside Austin, so we get hard freezes here) 1. Bougies bloom best in sun and love, love being pot bound and what encourages their colorful brackets is actually stress from not enough water. If you water too much you'll get lots of green leaves but no colorfull brackets. 2. Try hibiscus fertilizer - high in potash, rather than a high nitrogen fertilizer. I use about a TBS once a month from Spring through early Fall here and then stop so the bougies can rest and go dormant. If you don't like using fertilizers then you can use a TBS Epsom Salts once a month in their growing season. Bougies love it. 3. Bougies bloom on new wood. So, you can prune off 2/3rds of your old wood so you have blooms in the coming season. Remember, Bougies bloom profusely and then take a little rest even in the growing season and if you want those brackets again, then the plant actually needs to stress a bit with less water to produce them. 4. I plant mine in very large pots, use mulch as a protective topper all seasons, and prune back in Spring because I leave mine outside. The dead wood protects the plants. I found that if you live in an area that gets hard freezes, consider pruning in spring as the temps warm. In summer, after a bloom cycle, you can pinch that new growth back to shape them and it seems to also encourage more brackets too. If you take yours in during the winter, like I did when I lived in Minnesota, then you might consider pruning your bougie in late Fall. Hope this helps shed light. Happy gardening!