Variegated boxwood I bought in June 2019, kinda on a whim. Just a shrub in a big nursery can.
I hacked it back a bit to expose a triple trunk. Over the last couple years I've been reducing it slowly, letting it respond and then cutting again, rather than the drastic cuts usually done with boxwood.
My reasoning is that by cutting it incrementally, it would back bud in more places and I could choose future branches with more discretion and lose nothing to dieback. This is a bit of an experiment, and not the way that I see boxwoods treated as bonsai very often.
Also, even though the tree is quite strong with a huge root system, variegated trees and shrubs are less vigorous in general. I'm drawing on my experience with horticulture here, which consists of a bachelor's in environmental science with a focus on forest ecosystems and arboriculture, plus years spent as a landscape designer and installer, which is what I did with that degree out of college (the first time around, I went back for more degrees).
The tree has been heavily fertilized.
I used the nursery can to place guy wires and position branches. Picture from 2/3/2021.
I cleaned out the top inch or so of soil, in preparation for a ground layer. I want to make this into a clump. The inverse taper would likely be an eyesore for too long I think.
My plan is to ground layer it in May-June as close to the division as I can get.