Boxwood issues

A couple months back I wanted to experiment after taking a local bonsai class. The teacher really stressed planting into inorganic substrate. I went and bought a boxwood and some shale to give it a shot. I chopped the plant up, without knowing what I was doing, and replanted into the shale and perlite with a bit of lava rock I had laying around.

Over the next few weeks I was extremely surprised at how well it took. Back budding quite well and looking great. I enjoyed how easily it was to water the inorganic substrate and it took much less focus compared the rest of my plants on the porch. Even in the brutal heat of Texas August.

I had been feeding the boxwood Jack's 20-20-20 once a week at about 2 teaspoons/gallon. It seemed to be doing great up until today. I'm not sure if maybe with the new growth I am underfeeding now or maybe overfeeding and it finally caught up to it. I don't feel like it is overwater since it's in inorganic substrate.

Any info would help as I am a few months green to the art of bonsai. So future pruning tips would be appreciated also since I probably chopped the hell out of it. This boxwood started out as an experiment, but I really started enjoying the growth on it. Now I don't want to lose it.

Thanks,
Jeff

The foliage doesn't look too bad, maybe getting a little too much sun/staying a little dry. How often are you watering?

And how much direct sun does it get, from what time to what time is it getting that sun?

So, this person that gave the class was okay with you repotting a boxwood in midsummer in Dallas Texas? I have many boxwoods and would not have recommended repotting that time of year. That being said, the pruning and repotting has caused an initial growth spurt so to speak. At this point, I would just continue with watering and stop feeding. You are probably going to experience some dieback and maybe lose the whole shrub.

When I had my boxwoods in inorganic substrate, my foliage look very similar this time of year, the foliage was kind of washed out looking and actually some of the foliage was chartreuse. I was auto-watering everyday too... I had the same variety in potting soil (all just being grown out) and the ones in soil were a deep green. All of my pre-bonsai are back in soil...

I water it every day and the substrate is still damp when I water again. The person that gave the class did not tell me to repot it. They were speaking in general, not to the plant I repotted. I simply wanted to experiment on a cheap boxwood I found. I did this before I knew about when a good time to repot is.

It gets direct sun at the worst time of day but that is the only good sun my patio gets for the day. It seemed to do great in that sun even through the hottest parts of the summer. Now it's a bit cooler and the sun is not as harsh.

@jazzaero
How long is it getting that sun though? Keep in mind things like the pot material, the substrate, what the plant is sitting on (ground, wooden bench, concrete...) Terra cotta, and (basically) rocks can hold a lot of heat... With my boxwood, I wondered if it was being cooked because I knew it had water everyday and the problem wasn't fertilizer, when I would get home from work in the evening, the top few inches were dry. Just some things to think about when you're troubleshooting.

The new growth is starting to droop just a tiny bit and the old growth is turning a lighter green/yellow from the center out it seems.

cbroad said:

from what time to what time is it getting that sun?

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cbroad said:

How long is it getting that sun though?

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Maybe I will take it out the direct sun for a while and see how that goes it seems cooler outside and the sun doesn't seem as hot as compared to earlier in the summer but you do make a good point.

It is getting direct sun from about 3pm to maybe 6 or 7.

Yeah I would definitely take it out of direct sun, hopefully the leaves will stop flagging and everything will be fine. The new growth starting to flag could be a sign something's going with the roots or just heat stress. Like Vin said, don't fertilize anymore and just keep it watered

Sounds underwatering is a strong possibility.

Mine stay soaked wet in any soil with little problems.

Sorce

Ok thanks everyone. I'll pull it out of the sun and hold off on ferts this week and see how it goes. Definitely appreciate the information.

Vin said:

So, this person that gave the class was okay with you repotting a boxwood in midsummer in Dallas Texas? I have many boxwoods and would not have recommended repotting that time of year. That being said, the pruning and repotting has caused an initial growth spurt so to speak. At this point, I would just continue with watering and stop feeding. You are probably going to experience some dieback and maybe lose the whole shrub.

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I completely agree about not re-potting in mid-summer, but why do you expect it to die back now? It's been two months and it's not dead - I could see it sitting and sulking for a while longer, but it doesn't look like it's ready to die to me.

I've seen similarly abused boxwoods sit and sulk for a good long time, but eventually start growing again. Am I not seeing something here? Are you basing that on the fact that only parts of it have re-grown since pruning?

music~maker said:

I completely agree about not re-potting in mid-summer, but why do you expect it to die back now? It's been two months and it's not dead - I could see it sitting and sulking for a while longer, but it doesn't look like it's ready to die to me.

I've seen similarly abused boxwoods sit and sulk for a good long time, but eventually start growing again. Am I not seeing something here? Are you basing that on the fact that only parts of it have re-grown since pruning?

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That's just how they roll. I believe these two branches will almost certainly die but I hope I'm wrong. I cannot base it on fact but I've seen it with mine many times before. Others here refuse to grow them in pots because they just up and die for no apparent reason even after they've been established for several years. I lost one this year that has been in a pot for four years and growing strong. On the other hand I have a Korean Boxwood that shouldn't be alive but it still keeps kicking along.

Vin said:

That's just how they roll. I believe these two branches will almost certainly die but I hope I'm wrong. I cannot base it on fact but I've seen it with mine many times before. Others here refuse to grow them in pots because they just up and die for no apparent reason even after they've been established for several years. I lost one this year that has been in a pot for four years and growing strong. On the other hand I have a Korean Boxwood that shouldn't be alive but it still keeps kicking along.

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My primary experience with them is korean boxwood, and those have seemed to be extremely tough trees so far. I got one in June that was packed in clay, and I bare-rooted it by soaking it in a bucket of water and gently removing all the clay. I wasn't sure how it would react, but it's been fine. It hasn't grown much this year, but it's held steady ever since re-potting, and I have no reason to think it's going to have any issues. But I didn't prune it at all this season, and I tend to not take off more than about 30% or so when I do prune them. I have another one that I've beaten up a few times over the years, and that thing hasn't ever flinched.

Vin said:

That's just how they roll. I believe these two branches will almost certainly die but I hope I'm wrong. I cannot base it on fact but I've seen it with mine many times before. Others here refuse to grow them in pots because they just up and die for no apparent reason even after they've been established for several years. I lost one this year that has been in a pot for four years and growing strong. On the other hand I have a Korean Boxwood that shouldn't be alive but it still keeps kicking along.

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It helps to upload the image when you quote it...

music~maker said:

My primary experience with them is korean boxwood, and those have seemed to be extremely tough trees so far. I got one in June that was packed in clay, and I bare-rooted it by soaking it in a bucket of water and gently removing all the clay. I wasn't sure how it would react, but it's been fine. It hasn't grown much this year, but it's held steady ever since re-potting, and I have no reason to think it's going to have any issues. But I didn't prune it at all this season, and I tend to not take off more than about 30% or so when I do prune them. I have another one that I've beaten up a few times over the years, and that thing hasn't ever flinched.

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Hey I'm with you. I have one that is 16 years old and still doing fine. I often refer to this guy which had been growing in pot for 20 plus years when I purchased it from a nursery owner. I pruned it back a little too much (around 30%) and it responded by dying a month later.

Vin said:

Hey I'm with you. I have one that is 16 years old and still doing fine. I often refer to this guy which had been growing in pot for 20 plus years when I purchased it from a nursery owner. I pruned it back a little too much (around 30%) and it responded by dying a month later.

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Huh. What time of year did you prune it? At face value, that doesn't seem like it would be enough pruning to kill it. What were the roots like?