First Boxwood Working progress

Hump

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So I ran across a decent boxwood at a greenhouse we frequent the other day. Nebari isn't as good as id like, but who knows there may be a good one below the soil base. I unfortunately didn't get to take a photo (dumb) of it before I started working it, but here's a couple photos of it now. I didn't want to noob it and take too much off, but figured with the bones it had I would go for an oak style. Just for insight, it was pretty lush when I got it. Heres where I'm at with it now. Thinking maybe some wire and next take a look at the roots and repot. Any thoughts or ideas? 20200916_181032.jpg20200916_181029.jpg20200916_181027.jpg
 
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Forsoothe!

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I think you're going to be pretty happy with this because of the low ramification into major branches. This will make a very low tree. The branches will resist bending so guy wires left on for two years with vinyl hose protecting the branches will be a better method than wound with wire. If you remove the guy wires after one year the branches will often return to the old position over the next year. They're trained at the factory to do that.
 

sorce

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I think people underestimate a good "low".

For me, the finished outline can be within this white.

The problem with boxwood is, outside of California, if you hack them back to no green, they die. 🤔
(I think you just have to equally hack the roots.)

A safe plan would be this.

Capture+_2020-09-17-09-50-15~2.png

You may have time to make the green cuts this year, but slightly after growth begins in spring is good too.
You'd be doing this to pop buds where the Blue is.
And cutting just above the blue when those branches are strong.

This way you have trunk, and at 1/3rd the length, subtrunks, first branching 1/3 the size of the subtrunks.

An intense all around study to select where your cuts will actually be is in order. This is a great start.
Can be .. a great start.

Oh too, the bark in these is such that, you don't really want to find a lower Nebari. The whole base gets too ugly. Keep the trunk short, utilize the flare that's there, let it grow surface roots, it will.

Sorce
 

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Really great stuff sorce. Thanks for the draw up. Hence my next question, if I did do it now rather than early spring, do you think it's okay to work the roots now too?
 

sorce

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It depends on when your frost is coming I reckon.

If you have more "work" to do, give this a read.

They are highly predictable. Have predetermined silhouettes they must grow to before Dormancy. So late cuts means danger of frost damage because they WiLL grow to that silhouette.

I prefer cutting before growth In both spring and fall. As they are 2 seperated growth spurts.
I like to Repot closer to the summer Solstice, but you may be ok now down there.

Sorce
 

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Great read, I've gotten through the first 3 pages so far.

Sorce if I make those green cuts, I won't have any foliage left on the tree. Will this not kill it?
 

BrianBay9

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I would cut back hard, but not past the last green leaves. Boxwood often bud back when all green is cut off, but sometimes they just don't. You can cut back further after new shoots get going lower on the branches.
 

leatherback

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For me, the finished outline can be within this white.
Excctly what I was thinking. Well, nearly. I thought: Where the leaves start, is where the canopy will end.

The problem with boxwood is, outside of California, if you hack them back to no green, they die. 🤔
I get the feeling this also depends on variety. Have been doing some crazy chops here.
 

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Okay, so an update on this one. I didn't cut back as hard as I wanted to due to fear of cutting past green. However in Sept 2020 I cut back to basically an inch of green left and it has back budded nicely this past month.

My question now is, I want to work the branches and begin to bend them but I'm afraid to now that there are some leaves forming. I wish I would have done it before I cut back now lol. I bent one last year just to see how it took and it took fairly well. I bought some rafia, tape, and copper, now I'm just looking for some advice on if I should wait to bend the branches until later stages or do it now and hope not to stunt the back budding.

Thanks
 

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sorce

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That's some gangster ass budding!

You shouldn't even have to bend em much.

You can roll soft twigs behind buds to move them outward, and wrap something around the outside to pull them in.

Pointing them in the direction of open space should be enough for now.

Selecting which to keep is a bit of an endeavor, remembering they come left and right at one node, then up and down on the next.

This is a fabulous reaction to step one.

You shouldn't have any problems cutting it back further in the future. Which I still think you should, to keep each next segment a bit shorter than the previous.

Sorce
 

sorce

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Pointing them in the direction of open space sho

Important to remember if you will cut it back that this "open space" may not be "open" currently.

Sorce
 

leatherback

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I am not convinced copper and raffia is the way to go. I think for the best results you trim the plant back more and grow young branches into position. If I recall correctly, box has very brittle wood and raffia might not help that much.
 

sorce

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Aye. I think raffia would just mar the bark, hell, wire too!

My thing is, you want the trunk and branches to "match", so unless someone wired the trunks we buy, usually the branches look better with clip and grow, as the first parts were built.

Sorce
 

Forsoothe!

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I haven't read all this, but I can tell you that you ain't gonna bend any of these Boxwood branches. Period, full stop. Even just a little movement takes years and guy wires work best like here on this fig...
FGM 2019_1206EditBonsai0017x.JPG
This is still in this harness and the wire basket is an integral part of the system. You have to have something to hang on to. The branches have vinyl tubing on to spread the load of the wire. So, get used to the idea of chopping back to the point from which your new canopy will arise.
 

Hump

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So I was reading up on boxwoods bendability too, and found the same thing. They are brittle and dont bend well. HOWEVER, I tried last fall with one branch just to see how it faired, and it took well. Now it was a thinner branch, but most of the branches feel a bit pliable surprisingly. I was thinking I would try guy wires instead and ordered a pot with nubs off of superfly just for this. I'm not sure yet which way to go. @leatherback and @Forsoothe! are you suggesting to cut back branches and grow new leaders on them and position while young?

Picture of the branch I worked last year. I removed the wire early this spring. Still green and hasn't moved.
 

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penumbra

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I agree with most of what is posted here except the part about cutting back to the no leaf zone. I have never lost a boxwood by doing this and this was a common way for me to collect and grow boxwood on for decades. I have literally pulled and sometimes dug many boxwood seedlings (up to about a 1 inch caliper) and cut off all the green and re potted them. I have also cut every bit of green growth off large old boxwoods. They always re-sprouted ... hundreds of times.... and I'm not that lucky.
 

BrianBay9

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I agree with most of what is posted here except the part about cutting back to the no leaf zone. I have never lost a boxwood by doing this and this was a common way for me to collect and grow boxwood on for decades. I have literally pulled and sometimes dug many boxwood seedlings (up to about a 1 inch caliper) and cut off all the green and re potted them. I have also cut every bit of green growth off large old boxwoods. They always re-sprouted ... hundreds of times.... and I'm not that lucky.

I don't believe your results are typical. I'd rate cutting back past green as a 50/50 proposition. Perhaps I'm just that unlucky.
 
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