One of the most reliable ways of propagating Bougainvillea is by layering. Choose a young, sappy growth and bend it down to ground level. Remove any leaves at this point because you are going to bury it in the soil. You may need to weight it down with a heavy stone to prevent it springing out. After 6-8 weeks the "layer" will have formed roots. At this stage you can snip it off from the main plant and pot it up or replant. You may be able to take more than one layer from a single plant. The only problem with layering bougainvillea is that, because of the size of the plant, sometimes the point of contact with the ground needs to be at some distance from the parent.

I've had good success with layering on rosemary so will try it with my bougainvillea. It's in a pot as it wouldn't survive outdoors in the winter.

Thank you.

Hi, I have started many boug plants from clippings. I use to follow all the special ways to do it, never worked. I take the clippings when I trim it and stick about 12 clippings in each pot usually about 4 pots with miracle grow flower and garden soil. Then I water daily and here is the hard part, I wait. I wait sometimes for up to a month before I see any growth. Not all take but I get at least 3 per pot. I do that with hibiscus and others too. I don't even take off the leaves, ouch. Just make sure when you use the clipping it is not a newer weak branch, has to be the woody part. To help you can split the end and dip in honey or root hormone growth. I use honey when I have it.