[Arid_gardener] Question from Home-Hort WWW page

[tlhighfill at hotmail.com]

Tracy Highfill
85255
tlhighfill at hotmail.com

I have 4 bougainvillea that are 7 years old and over 10 feet tall. They froze this winter and are regrowing from the base. A couple have leaves coming out of the main trunks, but only about halfway up (at about 3 feet). I cut all the tops/small branches away, and just left the framework (5 feet tall), because the trunks are so think and beautiful. I couldn't bear to cut such thick, wonderful trunks! My question is this: if the new growth never comes from the top of the trunks, should I cut them back to the union of the highest new growth? Or can I leave the trunks as a "trellis" to support the new stuff? Will the trunks rot at the top and carry this rot into the heart of the plant, much as a branch stub on a tree will do?