How to Hard Prune a Bougainvillea Hedge

Cut back a bougainvillea using the hard prune technique to shape the plant. When a bougainvillea becomes overgrown and leggy, cut the vines back into the shape you desire. It does not matter where on the vines you cut -- either before or after nodes works equally well. Discard the vines in a basket.

Hard prune a bougainvillea to control growth. When you wish to control the size of the plant, cut it back with pruning shears. Remove as much as half of the plant at one time to hard prune for size control.

Trim a potted bougainvillea hedge using the hard prune method before you move it indoors over the winter. Cut back as much as half the length of the vines and discard the plant material that you remove. Because a bougainvillea often responds to being moved indoors by losing leaves and blossoms, hard pruning before it is moved inside will reduce the mess the plant will make.