JTGJr25

Here are a few shots of a box I just worked on. It was in my mom's flower box and she had become tired of it so she let me hack it up. The first pic is of the giant root ball that came with it after I removed it from the box. The second is the initial pruning and thinning of the branches. Third pic I decided to pull down the right hand branch with a guy wire, no guarantees it will stay but its worth a shot. I also cleaned up the cuts with my new knob cutter.


After styling, it stands at 4.5" tall, it has a 3/4" trunk caliper just above the roots, and a 2 inch root base. This should backbud nicely and depending on where the buds open, I may cut just a little more. For now I'm leaving it as is.

Next year, I'm not entirely sure yet, I will put this tree in a 5", round, green , unglazed, shallow bonsai pot. I believe this will be the first tree I will place in a true bonsai pot .

Any tips or suggestions are welcomed.

Tom

Bonsai Barry

Nice oak shape to the tree. Lowering the branch on the right really helped. It is hard to tell in the photo but are there some branches in the back so that it isn't two dimensional?

T.S.Wheeler

Your tree looks perfect for a broom style shohin, and with a nice nebari. Its looking good! I've got a number of tiny leafed boxwoods with which I need to do the same thing--hack them back hard. I like boxwoods; they tend to have the desirable habit of developing a good root flare.

Travis

JTGJr25

Barry, yes there are back branches. There were plenty of branches to choose from and when I thinned it out I made sure I left back branches there, its pretty well balanced. Actually, the tallest branch in the middle is more towards the back.

Thanks for the nice comments Travis. I've done one other boxwood and I was very surprised with the back budding so I figured I try another. The first one did not have an oak shape to it and I wanted one that did so, here it is. I'll give am update when it starts to grow.

Tom

JTGJr25

Heres an update. It's filling in nicely.


I hope you like it as much as I do.

Tom

LUA

Hi Tom

That is one cracking little tree you have there!!! That Nebari is something else!!!

Amazing how the branches have filled out in such a little time.

What a little gem!!

Ciao

__________________
Lua
_____________________________________________
I am not a bitch, I have just been in a really bad mood for the last 30 years!

JTGJr25

Thanks LUA. I have tried one other boxwood before and it filled out just the same so I new how this one would respond. I haven't done anything special, just a real good root prune and some new soil.

Tom

LUA

I love Boxwoods in general, I think the species is very suited to Bonsai (with the small leaves and all) and given the right circumstances they thrive beautifully.

If only I had a terrace (or a garden) and I could keep outdoor trees, I would immediately start to experiment with booxwoods.

Yours is a particularly good one...... with a perfectly well tapered trunk. Do you know how long your Mum had it in the flower box?

I look forward to following its future progress.

Ciao

__________________
Lua
_____________________________________________
I am not a bitch, I have just been in a really bad mood for the last 30 years!

JTGJr25

It was in the flower box for 3 years after being bought from a nursery. I checked it out and realized what a great tree it could be so I kinda made her give it to me. I agree that they are very well suited for bonsai and I believe more people should give them a try, they bud like crazy!

Tom

Ml_work

Tom,
I think your tree is doing good, I have been keeping up with it. I too like boxwood.

I have a few boxwood that I purchased last year. It was about 4 in the pot, I separated them into their own pots last year. They are growing slow, but are still alive! I am more excited about the 5 or 6 boxwoods that I have picked up from road side that people had dug up to redo yard. The have 3 -4 inch trunk at the base and I would guess 20+ years old. I have 2 in the ground, 3 in 1 gal pots with the soil I mixed up and 1 in a big pot with leftover potting soil. All are stating to show new growth. They may not turn out to be anything, but is fun planning.

Have A Great Day!
ML