Baseball Boxwood Broom

sorce

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This one is oddly special to me.
You see, there's this little woodsy area behind the H.S. (Morton like the Arboretum) that I always pass. Lot of good looking stumps on the fenceline, I've always wanted to go in.

Well about 3 weeks or so ago, I got the chance. We had a baseball practice there. Interesting narrow woodscape. The Tree year old and I went on a journey through. Some killer old yew inside, that were likely landscape plants this forest grew around. Some oak, ash, and a thicket of old Bucky.

While nothing was collectable at the time, I found this old unpotted nursery boxwood in the dump. With the roots exposed and just to the point of no moisture, it was still a bit green, so I brought it home and reduced some of the heavy top.

It got to budding and growing soon after. I figured today it begins. Some carving to do.

I hope the before and afters make ME like it!
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Lean away.

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Lean towards.

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My dreaded one sided Nebari.

More soon.
Sorce
 

sorce

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Lean left
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Lean right.
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Front?
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More.

Sorce
 

sorce

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Top.
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It's got a long way to go. But I'm happy it's set on A path.

I intend to carve it some eventually.
To get rid of the bulge and maybe for a detail.

Thoughts?

Thanks.

Sorce
 
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Cypress187

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Yes. Leaning it forward will bring the back root even higher, so I'm kinda stuck with it. For now.Sorce
You should put this threat in the unconventional section maybe, wuhaha.. ;):p
 

sorce

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You should put this threat in the unconventional section maybe, wuhaha.. ;):p

Or the Another dead Sorce tree forum!

I'm going for a broom, and, just in case I gotta sweep it under the rug!...
Lol

Sorce
 

Alain

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I love the bark :)

And the voice of your helper on the video! ;)
 
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wait a year so it is clear where the box wants to live. Let the roots fixate first. when carving doesn't matter but we tend to do it in fall after pruning and before wiring.
 

music~maker

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Box grows and heals pretty slowly. If you haven't carved it yet, I'd just let this bush back up and develop a bit of a callous around the cut before deciding how you want to carve it. You need to let it grow out anyway to develop those branches.

The bark on box is thin so it shouldn't bulk up around the cut too much - it'll just become a more interesting feature that you can crave later if you want.

You've got the beginning of a good frame and nebari. A few seasons of fairly unrestricted growth should set this on an interesting path.

I usually let mine have its first flush of growth, and once it hardens off in early summer, I keep the most vigorous branches in check and it back buds like crazy. 3-5 years of this and you should have some decent major branches in place.

Haven't carved one, but I'd guess spring or early summer since that's when I chop at them. They seem to respond reasonably well to fairly hard pruning around that time.

Pro tip: guy wires are better than regular wire for box once branches are more developed. Regular wiring risks damaging the bark, so I avoid it when I can.

It's great you already have some roots growing - they can take forever to develop of you don't already have them.
 

sorce

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haven't carved it yet,

Thanks for dropping in!

Yes. No carving yet.

Little upset to have found a branch with the yellowing sides of leaves.
This one was going perfect. I thought I had it figured out!
Oh well, it's only one branch!

I agree on the guy wires, I like to use coated low voltage thermostat wire, loose, to wire young branches. On these, Barberry, and the other brittle ones.

I think I'm gonna wait to carve it until I get it a lot healthier.

Super amazed with the growth so far!

Sorce
 

sorce

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It sucks to remove some of the nicest looking bark I have!
But I prepped this for, "mass reduction", at the top.
I'm gonna take it down kind of flushish to see what happens.
Maybe carve deep, maybe connect that other hole in the trunk, maybe something else.

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Dilemma is, this is directly opposite that.
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I like this as a front for the lean, forward right, good bark, widest base. But that high root.
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See that wee lil one leaf branchlet down there? It survived winter!

PPB all year from here.

Sorce
 
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Its a boxwood, let it fill the container, then cut the high root. No problem.
 

Wilson

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Nice! I would totally go with a hollow for that big cut, save that bark you like so much! I always see those great old deciduous with big hollows, always make me wonder whats hiding in them! I just got back from the woods where we saw one that had a hollow so large you could climb in, I will bring a camera next time. Keep up the good work man!
 

sorce

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This thing is growing well.

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Though it leans away a bit....this is the widest base...
But the bark sucks....
But the high root is on the other side....

F.

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Auto focus...20160510_185921.jpg

I switched my phone cam to manual focus and got some better pics of these guys.
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Sorce
 
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armetisius

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It sucks to remove some of the nicest looking bark I have!
But I prepped this for, "mass reduction", at the top. . . I like this as a front for the lean, forward right, good bark, widest base. But that high root. Sorce

Source,
Take some of that wire and tie off that root. Slow wither to it
with much more "natural" look when done,
 
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I would say this tree looks "tacky" and makes me want to throw up looking at for too long... and if any tree needed a picture of Weird Al to describe it... it would be this one!

But, that wouldn't really help you, figure out what to do with it... and I frankly don't go around insulting other's work...

I suggest you walk through the tree starting at the very base of the trunk and roots, and make a check list of what you like and do not like, what you can fix and what you cannot... With the intention of obviously showing what you like about the piece of material... and let this guide you as a path forward with the tree.

Right off the bat... the base in the last set of pics has the best front. From there it leans to the left and slightly backwards... this means direction of the tree will be to the left, at least at this point.

You then come upon the grouping of branches going out in every direction. At this point, you will need to decide if you keep and continue the left direction movement? If so, branching on right will need to be shortened seeing the dominate energy of the tree would be to the left, and a path forward of how to establish a leader that rerurns the apex in a forward direction needs to be worked out. Should this leader originate from above the deadwood? Or, should it come off of the left branch?

My own personal suggestion is that in all actuality I think it would be better to accentuate the lean a little further to the left in the next planting... Wire roots on the left side of the base of the trunk upward so as to not be buried. Then wire the branching on the left slightly up and shorten them once they have reached a desired thickness. Eliminate the two branches coming off above the deadwood... keep the back one. Then wire up and bring forward the branch on the right to establish the new continuation of the trunk, and resolve your backward lean delima.

Nothing else... this would at least allow for good wire practice. Just glad you didn't hang fishing line weights on the tree as your protégé who came before you did and also competed for the most post at this site. Good Luck!
 

sorce

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for too long

Thanks Sawgrass!

I never meant to insult you.
I just feel no matter what I say it insults you!

Love you man!
I'm not gonna be a dick anymore....I'll just keep trying to understand how you tick!

Thanks for the info!
I already read it twice!
And I see (I believe) what you mean, as in, I wandered in my head passed all your trees again...and I think I'm seeing what you're seeing!

Sorce
 
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