Old oak style Boxwood

Weaponman

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Old Oak style boxwood. I am trying to get some styling advice on this old oak style boxwood I’ve had for a few years. I’m wondering if I should remove the middle trunk and just keep it to two main trunks.
 

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WavyGaby

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I would be inclined to day yes, too. However, if you are going for the really natural look, the Walter Pall look, then you might leave it. I swear I saw an oak just like this in my neighborhood the other day. It had the giant middle shoot, and a left and right branch just like yours. The middle shoot was bigger than the other branches I believe. I'll see if I can find it again and take a photo.
 

penumbra

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I would be inclined to day yes, too. However, if you are going for the really natural look, the Walter Pall look, then you might leave it. I swear I saw an oak just like this in my neighborhood the other day. It had the giant middle shoot, and a left and right branch just like yours. The middle shoot was bigger than the other branches I believe. I'll see if I can find it again and take a photo.
I agree with this but the design options are a lot greater with that trunk gone. This is my motive for wanting it gone. I see something else in there that will take yeas to develop.
 

Weaponman

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I agree with this but the design options are a lot greater with that trunk gone. This is my motive for wanting it gone. I see something else in there that will take yeas to develop.
Yeah, I’ll probably remove it. The biggest issue I see is that typically the central leader should be the dominant one. However, in this case, it’s much smaller and subordinate to the other two, which creates an imbalanced look.
 

BobbyLane

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I wouldnt remove the middle. also the central trunk doesnt need to be the dominant one in an asymmetrical design. you could use one of the thicker ones as highest point of canopy.
I wouldnt remove the central one because it has some movement and splits in a good place, if it was ugly with no movement i may consider removing.
you also create a large gap.
 

Weaponman

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I was thinking it already wants to be a symmetrical design. If asymmetrical, then I need to reduce the side so my largest leader becomes the dominant one and high point, no?
 

Tieball

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I’d keep the middle branch. I wouldn’t like the slingshot two-branching left without it. That middle gap would bug me. I’m not really sure what I’d do with the tree though. I’m rambling. Examining the tree in person, like you are doing, will provide a better solution.
 

BobbyLane

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I was thinking it already wants to be a symmetrical design. If asymmetrical, then I need to reduce the side so my largest leader becomes the dominant one and high point, no?
could do.
have you tried using a piece of tissue to remove the trunk, or reduce the height of others? This is what I do... gives you an idea of how things can look rather than having peeps guess for you😊
 

misfit11

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I would not remove the branch. As others have said, you will be left with a slingshot and a large gap. To develop the oak-feel, you need these multiple secondary trunks.

What I would do, though, is cut back hard on all of these "trunks", to chase back the foliage and get some backbudding closer inside. The primary branches have very straight lines and I think the tree will look more powerful with a smaller silhouette given the size of the base.
Screenshot_20230304-112659~3.png

Where I drew the green line is where I think your tree is. The red lines are possible chop points.

I know this seems drastic, but this will result in a much nicer tree down the road. Just a suggestion.

Cory
 

BobbyLane

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I would not remove the branch. As others have said, you will be left with a slingshot and a large gap. To develop the oak-feel, you need these multiple secondary trunks.

What I would do, though, is cut back hard on all of these "trunks", to chase back the foliage and get some backbudding closer inside. The primary branches have very straight lines and I think the tree will look more powerful with a smaller silhouette given the size of the base.
View attachment 475261

Where I drew the green line is where I think your tree is. The red lines are possible chop points.

I know this seems drastic, but this will result in a much nicer tree down the road. Just a suggestion.

Cory
Thats a good start, I would want to go even harder but Ive no idea how this species reacts or back buds.
 

Weaponman

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I would not remove the branch. As others have said, you will be left with a slingshot and a large gap. To develop the oak-feel, you need these multiple secondary trunks.

What I would do, though, is cut back hard on all of these "trunks", to chase back the foliage and get some backbudding closer inside. The primary branches have very straight lines and I think the tree will look more powerful with a smaller silhouette given the size of the base.
View attachment 475261

Where I drew the green line is where I think your tree is. The red lines are possible chop points.

I know this seems drastic, but this will result in a much nicer tree down the road. Just a suggestion.

Cory
Ok, leaving it. The red lines are pretty much where I did the first major pruning like 5 years ago. Boxwood will backbud fairly well on old wood but I think a few leaves need to be left on the branch. Will prune back again to get more growth inside. Thanks for the input
 

misfit11

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Boxwoods can backbud on old wood but most people believe you need to leave some green on them to keep the sap flowing to that particular branch. I tend to believe this is true, at least, in my experience.

Here's a link to a thread documenting a bunch of Boxwoods I collected from an old hedge at our previous house. I cut them back pretty ruthlessly but I tried to leave some green on them.

Thread 'Collected Boxwoods' https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/collected-boxwoods.5017/

Here's my Oak Style Box I've been working on for about 11 years or so.

Screenshot_20230304-184355~2.png
 

BrianBay9

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Much better. You've still got two long, straight, vertical segments there in the middle. If you get back budding low on those, I'd cut those back later.
 

misfit11

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Well done. Like Brian said, when/if you get backbudding, you can cut back further. This can end up being a nice tree.

Over this next season, feed it well with a balanced fertilizer. Make it happy and it will backbud more readily.
 
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