Boxwood score!

[BonjourBonsai]

A nice neighbor dug up some old boxwoods and gave them away.
I think the big one has lots of potential. I don't yet see the path with the smaller one.

They each have a decent amount of roots with them. What's the best way to care for them over the winter? Should i pot them in a nursery can or put them in the ground?

 

[Forsoothe!]

I'd pot them to contain root growth within the profile of the pot, and then sink the pot for as long as it takes for the canopy to look like it has recovered, probably two years. These are well worth being careful.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

These are well worth being careful.

Agreed!
When you say "sink the pot" do you mean sink the pot into the ground by digging a hole and burying it up to the rim of the pot? Is that to protect the roots from freezing?
Thanks

 

[Forsoothe!]

Agreed!
When you say "sink the pot" do you mean sink the pot into the ground by digging a hole and burying it up to the rim of the pot? Is that to protect the roots from freezing?
Thanks

It protects it from wild swings in temperature. Depending upon local conditions your ground may freeze, but stay frozen at 30°F while the air temps cycle back and forth from 40° to 20° day to night to day. The tops of woody plants can take it fine if not too dry, but that's hard on the roots. Sinking the pot up to rim and mulching with leaves up to the lowest branch is the best there is. The mulch will settle a couple inches and there will be less and sometimes no freezing of soil, again depending upon local conditions.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

I got it potted in a specially constructed 2x4 training pot with a screen bottom. I've got lots of stub pieces left over from another project. I am digging this trunk!

 

[BonjourBonsai]

The trunk

 

[BonjourBonsai]

Both have survived so far. Only a few leaves dropped and the others look just as green as when i picked them up.

The weather has been very mild. Hopefully that had helped them transition.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

Update on the bigger one. It sent out new growth over the summer which I take as a good sign. Some of the leaves have dropped and some are turning slightly yellow. Lack of water? Heat stress (we had a very long and dry spell in August)? Something else I am missing?

Thanks as always.

 

[Forsoothe!]

Boxwood leaves last more than one, but less than some number of years depending upon conditions. You don't know how old the leaves that are turning yellow are, so don't worry about them, just pay attention to what conditions you give them. Do you have a plan for styling the canopy? You need to so you can favor one part over another to keep the branches healthy that you ultimately want to keep, and close in to the trunk.

 

[WNC Bonsai]

I dug 2 from my yard last Sept and potted one in a large nursery pot and the other in a wooden grow box. I knocked pff most of the native soil and planted them in a mix of pumce, haydite, and pine bark in about equal amounts. They spent the winter on the shady side of a shed in the back yard since they had been growing on the north side of my house the last 30-40 years. This summer I have kept them in morning sun afternoon shade and they are doing fine. Next year I plan to move them to bonsai pots once I get my potter wife to make them.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

Boxwood leaves last more than one, but less than some number of years depending upon conditions. You don't know how old the leaves that are turning yellow are, so don't worry about them, just pay attention to what conditions you give them. Do you have a plan for styling the canopy? You need to so you can favor one part over another to keep the branches healthy that you ultimately want to keep, and close in to the trunk.

Thanks.

I've been letting it recuperate this year but you're right - I need a styling plan. Decisions, decisions... I have never made a sketch other than doodles on my phone but I think this tree is worthy of some paper and graphite.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

Question: live leaves must be connected to the roots by a continuous strip of bark right?

There are so many different strips of this tree that are dead it's hard to tell which are live and which can be carved.

The part inside the red appears to be dead.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

This tree has been looking unhealthy. I looked closer at the leaves today and I'm thinking this might boxwood blight. Any one concur?

 

[cbroad]

Check first if it has leaf miner. I've seen a lot of damage around here lately in my area.

If you can, get a good close up picture of the underside of the leaves with those splotches on them.

 

[Eckhoffw]

I’d just spay em. If you can nail down the culprit, you can get specific, but I’d hit it with a 3 in one for now.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

Some more photos. It doesn't send like an insect

 

[cbroad]

Do those spots look like blisters? Still a little hard to see.

If it's leaf miner, you can split the leaf open with your fingers and see the yellowish-orange grubs inside.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

Pretty sure it's not leaf miners, I haven't seen any damage like that. I found this website which makes me think it's blight:

Boxwood: Identify and Manage Common Problems | University of Maryland Extension

In Maryland gardens and landscapes, boxwood leafminer, Volutella blight, and winter injury are among the most common problems people experience with their boxwood plants. Use this resource to diagnose, manage, and prevent these common problems.

extension.umd.edu

 

[Prickly_pair]

Pretty sure it's not leaf miners, I haven't seen any damage like that. I found this website which makes me think it's blight:

Boxwood: Identify and Manage Common Problems | University of Maryland Extension

In Maryland gardens and landscapes, boxwood leafminer, Volutella blight, and winter injury are among the most common problems people experience with their boxwood plants. Use this resource to diagnose, manage, and prevent these common problems.

extension.umd.edu

It's possibly cold damage or nutrient deficiency. If it was blight I would expect to see other symptoms i.e. the small white spores on the underside of the leaves and blackening of twigs. Cleanliness is the key to halting blight as the spores are transferred from infected (dropped) leaves to fresh growth via rain water and therefore dead leaves should be removed from the soil surface ASAP. In the UK there is a serious problem with blight which is decimating many older landscape trees.

 

[rockm]

This tree has been looking unhealthy. I looked closer at the leaves today and I'm thinking this might boxwood blight. Any one concur?

Not blight, probably bronzing because of the cold snap back in Dec. Blight would produce whitish dead spots on leaves and spotty dead areas on sections of the tree. Bronzing is normal for some boxwood. They typically green up as spring progresses.

This is in the article you posted:

• "Winter injury may be confused with the early stages of the fungal diseases Phytophthora root rot or Volutella blight."

Boxwood Bronzing Blues

Even boxwoods get the winter blues, bronzing blues, that is. Boxwoods (Buxus spp.) are broadleaf evergreen plants that boldly retain their foliage in the...

hgic.clemson.edu

Boxwood – Winter Discoloration | Walter Reeves: The Georgia Gardener

Q: Every year, my boxwoods change from a nice green color to a purple-bronze color in the winter. Is there any way to prevent this? A: Boxwoods are beautiful shrubs, but the bronzy discoloration you describe is common. Usually it has something to do with the shrub's root system. Boxwoods have a...

www.walterreeves.com