Boxwood Bonsai--Questions asked, Feedback requested

[kornfeld]

Hi all,

I'm still relatively new to bonsai. I've bought several potted boxwoods from a local nursery because they're cheap and abundant, so they were good for practicing trimming and wiring (and snapping and accidentally killing). They were all really ugly to begin with, and I'm inexperienced, so they were ugly when I finished.

Anyhow, I finally came across a boxwood that actually looked like it had potential, so here are three pictures of how it progressed

Before any pruning:



After some pruning:



How it looks now (more or less):



I've since moved the peak of the tree over a bit so that it's more in line with the base of the trunk. I also removed that random twig sticking out from the top right. It all still needs some work, and it it's far form perfect, but I'm pretty pleased with how it looks so far considering I'm still really new to this.

So, two questions:

1. Does anyone see anything major I should change, or see anything that I should have done differently?

2. The bottom left branch is a beast, and the bottom right branch is tiny. Any ideas on what I should do here? Is there a way to shave the big branch down a bit so that it's closer to the size of the little one? Should I just remove one of those branches? I think I'm going to remove a good amount of the foliage from the big branch, and let the little branch grow wild to see if it'll fatten up, but everything I've read says that boxwoods grow sloooooooowly.

Thanks for the feedback and help!

 

[DesertPanda]

Suggestion

I have worked with boxwoods some and agree that trying to get them to grow (at least gain girth) can take a long time. Looking at the picture, you have some very sturdy branches on the left hand side. While it may seem a bit radical, might I suggest a windswept approach. This would eliminate the majority of the branches on the right side (they all seem somewhat tiny, I assume the left side faced sun) and give you some room for fairly dynamic movement. If you angle the whole thing when you replant, it should give the right amount of “sway” or slant.

 

[rockm]

It's too tall. The trunk is nice, but there's too much of it.

I'd investigate pulling up one of those laterally-wired left hand branches about a third of the way up the trunk to being a new apex...

 

[kornfeld]

It's too tall. The trunk is nice, but there's too much of it.

I'd investigate pulling up one of those laterally-wired left hand branches about a third of the way up the trunk to being a new apex...

I had a similar thought at the beginning, but didn't want to commit to it. There is really only one forward branch at this point, and it's a little over half way up. It would be a candidate for making a new apex, but it's higher than what you mentioned. Something to consider...

 

[kornfeld]

I have worked with boxwoods some and agree that trying to get them to grow (at least gain girth) can take a long time. Looking at the picture, you have some very sturdy branches on the left hand side. While it may seem a bit radical, might I suggest a windswept approach. This would eliminate the majority of the branches on the right side (they all seem somewhat tiny, I assume the left side faced sun) and give you some room for fairly dynamic movement. If you angle the whole thing when you replant, it should give the right amount of “sway” or slant.

Huh, I hadn't even bothered to notice that all of the branches up that side were a little bigger. I'll have to photoshop up a windswept version to see what it ends up looking like.

 

[DesertPanda]

If you are going to pull up one of the left hand branches, try and find one that is still fairly green or wait until you have a new one sprout from the main trunk. Moving hardened boxwood branches can be a bear.

 

[Smoke]

Welcome,
Best looking pine tree I have seen here.

Thanks for sharing

 

[PaulH]

Boxwoods work best, in my opinion, as Oak style trees. I don't agree that this tree is too tall if you allow new shoots to grow out to a foot or so in length and then wire movement into them. Oak branches tend to start out growing upward from the trunk and then sweep downward as they become longer and heavier, It is easy to emulate this with boxwoods. Remember that shoots must be wired when they are still flexible. Once they become woody they are almost impossible to bend artistically without breaking them.

Here's a good example of an oak style boxwood:

 

[kornfeld]

Boxwoods work best, in my opinion, as Oak style trees. I don't agree that this tree is too tall if you allow new shoots to grow out to a foot or so in length and then wire movement into them. Oak branches tend to start out growing upward from the trunk and then sweep downward as they become longer and heavier, It is easy to emulate this with boxwoods. Remember that shoots must be wired when they are still flexible. Once they become woody they are almost impossible to bend artistically without breaking them.

Here's a good example of an oak style boxwood:
View attachment 26633

Beautiful tree...that'd be an interesting option. I think some of the branches on my tree could be put into the beginnings of that up-then-down-swoop shape. The only branch visible from the front that this wouldn't work with is the bottom right one. It's way too thick to bend.

 

[kornfeld]

Welcome,
Best looking pine tree I have seen here.

Thanks for sharing

Eek...is this a jab about the tree turning out pine shaped?

 

[PaulH]

Beautiful tree...that'd be an interesting option. I think some of the branches on my tree could be put into the beginnings of that up-then-down-swoop shape. The only branch visible from the front that this wouldn't work with is the bottom right one. It's way too thick to bend.

That first branch could be cut back to the first shoot and regrown in a better shape with better taper. This technique could be used on all branches as the tree develops.

 

[Smoke]

Eek...is this a jab about the tree turning out pine shaped?

What do you think? I am just making an assesment on what has been presented. Based on the tree you have presented and the one shown as a modified Oak style, which tree looks more like a pine tree?

Bonsai as an art is about making ones dreams come true. You are the designer, the inspirerer, the tree is your canvas. What you do with it is a reflection of your feelings and dreams and your skills as an artist. Don't turn your back on how your tree is right now.

Embrace the pine tree and work towrds your true feelings in the years to come.

There are no right or wrong answers.

Again....welcome and I will watch your tree progress as you share it here.

 

[Poink88]

If you are going to pull up one of the left hand branches, try and find one that is still fairly green or wait until you have a new one sprout from the main trunk. Moving hardened boxwood branches can be a bear.

It can be done though. Look at these closely and see how much some of the branches are bent. The ones on the back are basically "relocated" from left to right. The branch at the left with guy wire & turnbuckle is 1".

For reference, base is at least 4" and nebari is 8". Container is 12" x 15"

After collection January 19, 2012

As of Oct4, 2012 (8.5 months later)

 

[kornfeld]

What do you think?

Well, I think this is my first honest try at shaping a tree, and I think it's a $35 boxwood I bought from the back of a nursery.

I am just making an assesment on what has been presented. Based on the tree you have presented and the one shown as a modified Oak style, which tree looks more like a pine tree?

Bonsai as an art is about making ones dreams come true. You are the designer, the inspirerer, the tree is your canvas. What you do with it is a reflection of your feelings and dreams and your skills as an artist. Don't turn your back on how your tree is right now.

Embrace the pine tree and work towrds your true feelings in the years to come.

There are no right or wrong answers.

Again....welcome and I will watch your tree progress as you share it here.

How would you have gone about shaping it? Any suggestions on what I could do differently with it? Thanks for the help.

 

[kornfeld]

That first branch could be cut back to the first shoot and regrown in a better shape with better taper. This technique could be used on all branches as the tree develops.

This is an interesting idea, the first shoot is pretty close to the trunk. When it grows out, will the branch look odd with a giant fat base? Or will it eventually blend in over time?

Is it possible to slice the bottom half of a branch off to make it smaller? (Or slice the back half, or slice any part off to effectively shrink the diameter?)

 

[Smoke]

How would you have gone about shaping it? Any suggestions on what I could do differently with it? Thanks for the help.

In hindsight. This is a photoshop of just reducing it's size and no wire and no pruning. Just leaving it the way it was and cut down looks more like the spreading oak style than it does now.

I have no problem with what you have done here. It is a very nice tree just the way it is. Over time it will fill in and not seem so pointy. It will get better.

My point is...stick to what you have done and work with it. Don't second guess your work.

 

[mat]

For what it's worth - I don't see any harm in making one species look like a big, mature, different species. You've done a pretty good job making this look like a "pine" (as Al has pointed out) by selecting branches and creating an upright bonsai. Pruning, chasing the foliage back, maybe hard pruning for taper here&there might help the overall image. It's never going to be a masterpiece. It could be a decent tree (in my opinion)

This plant is not going to look like that oak image, unless you put it in the ground for a couple of decades. I find that sometimes you need to go where the tree takes you.

Windswept is hard style to pull off...

 

[Smoke]

I disagree.

Time cures even the most ugly tree.

Problem is.....sometimes it takes more time than one mans lifetime.......

 

[kornfeld]

In hindsight. This is a photoshop of just reducing it's size and no wire and no pruning. Just leaving it the way it was and cut down looks more like the spreading oak style than it does now.

I have no problem with what you have done here. It is a very nice tree just the way it is. Over time it will fill in and not seem so pointy. It will get better.

My point is...stick to what you have done and work with it. Don't second guess your work.

Oh cool, I wouldn't have thought to chop it that low, but I like that look. There were a few others at the nursery I went to that might lend themselves really well to this look.

And I think you're right that it might be best to just run with it as is. I'm happy with how it looks, and I suppose that's the main point!

 

[kornfeld]

It can be done though. Look at these closely and see how much some of the branches are bent. The ones on the back are basically "relocated" from left to right. The branch at the left with guy wire & turnbuckle is 1".

For reference, base is at least 4" and nebari is 8". Container is 12" x 15"

That thing is a brute! I'm glad you included the dimensions. My lowest branch is nowhere near that big, so I suppose it could be bent slowly as well.