Dwarf Yaupon Holly #10 - stop chewing my tree!

One of my favorite species for Bonsai is the Dwarf Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria 'nana').  There are many variety names from Stokes, Schilling, Bordeaux, Micron, and more, but the key element in their use for Bonsai is a strong branching habit, and a trunk that seems to thicken faster than the wild native tree.  They're used extensively in landscaping in the South where winter freezes are mild. 

So many people have touted what a tough plant they are, that it is often called a "bulletproof" plant that anyone can grow and resists all pests.  Dwarf Yaupons are not difficult, but if they are allowed to dry out or get waterlogged for too long, they'll lose branches in a seemingly random way.  This can be frustrating after spending years putting those branches exactly where we want them, so watch that water!  Also for pests, I've found that they resist most everything.. with one exception: the Tobacco Hornworm.  It seems like every year at this time in the summer, I'll be watering my trees and notice that one of the Bonsai looks a little more "bald" than I last saw it.  This little shohin-sized Dwarf Yaupon caught my eye the other day.  Spot the Hornworm?

 

 

Let's take a closer look.  They will usually hang on the undersides of branches, and being the same color as the leaves, are easy to miss unless you are looking for them. Why Tobacco Hornworms chew these plants but leave all the others alone is a mystery to me. 

They are actually beautifully colored creatures and eventually turn into an interesting large Sphinx Moth (also known as a Hummingbird Moth).  The first time I saw one on a Dwarf Yaupon Bonsai years ago, I thought I'd leave it, and allow it to defoliate the tree, thinking that the caterpillar would be helping me out.  Oh no.  Not only do they eat the leaves, but they will chew back the buds at the base of the leaves as well, and will do this at every spot on the tree.  That Bonsai died as a result.  Lesson learned and I'll never let one of these run loose on one of my Bonsai.  But because I have no ill will toward them, I'll turn them loose on a shrub in the yard instead.  Being a vegetarian myself, I can't manage to kill any of them.

 

 

 

Here is a bit of a history on this little Bonsai featured here.

August 2005 seems to be the earliest photograph, although I think I bought it in 2004.  It still has $5.90 price on the side.  It had been cut back once and then allowed to extend again. 

After trimmed back to shape.

2006 September.

And after another pruning.

2009 February.  I have no idea why I had kept it in that plastic pot so long, but it's time to get it out of there.

The rootball out of the pot.  Circling knot of roots, soil that was mostly washed away..

Here I took a garden hose and washed all the old mucky soil from the roots.  The potting mix had totally broken down at this point and needed a complete removal.  Now.. where to start on that snarl-ball of roots?

 

This is the part of the show where we are very happy that Dwarf Yaupons can take Bonsai abuse and come back swinging!  Don't try this with just any tree!  All the large, stiff roots are cut back to finer, softer roots that fit the tree.  Also I took off the entire left side of the tree, opting for a much smaller design with better taper. 

 

 

Tilting the trunk to the left and planting it (in a mixing bowl with large drainholes drilled in the bottom) and it looks like a whole new plant. 

2009 September.  This little tree seemed to really like having some room for its roots and grew well this year.

After.  Cut back once again, and the front changed to the other side to make the curves less severe and to hide the big pruning scar.

 

  

2010 July.  It has grown out and been trimmed a couple of times. 

  

2010 November, the shape is filling out. 

  

2012 March.  Each branchlet is turning into a foliage cloud as it ramifies.  Any "crotch", crossing, inside, or other branches not helping the look of the tree are removed every few months, and the good branches are wired to give a little movement and direct them in the proper place. 

It's time for new shoes!  Out the Bonsai comes from that mixing bowl.  The roots were cleaned of the old soil, and carefully cut back to a flat plane - removing all that grew straight down and shortening all the rest..

This turquoise glazed, oval Chinese pot fit the shape and style of the tree.  A color this bright may not look great on a large Bonsai, but in Shohin sized trees, playing around with jewel tones can be unexpected and refreshing. 

2012 August.  Some branches are lowered, others are raised.  The curves in the trunk actually have a great three dimensional twist to them that looks better in person that in a picture.

2013 July. And here we are as of the other day after I cut back some of the longer branches to restore the profile.  I hope that the caterpillar damage doesn't set things back too far.  I can only wait to see if there are buds to take over or if those chewed branches have to start all over again.

Since Dwarf Yaupons can be found in landscapes and collected, some really interesting specimens can be found!  Some of those will be featured here later.  This post, though, shows that even a nursery container plant can have potential if you don't give up.



Bonsai pest control

Squirrels eating your fertilizer pellets, digging holes in the soil and chewing on the bark?  I've found a terrific sentry to watch over my little trees.  That is, when she's not laying upside down in a shady corner, fast asleep!

Japanese Boxwood #18 - too tall: thread graft reduction

Boxwoods (Buxus microphylla) are one of those terrific slow growing shrubs that people think they can just plant out and forget about.  They always look glossy green, grow in nice small tufts and seem to take forever to change.  BUT if left alone, they will turn to very large shrubs and even small trees. 

A friend and fellow Austin Bonsai member had this line of shrubs beside his driveway which were not only taller than a person at this point, but were growing out into the pavement making it harder to park.  I'd say the shrubs were all more than 6 feet tall, and were probably at least the same width.  He generously opened his yard for several of us to collect.

2006 March.  The "before" shot.  Lots of green out on the tips, healthy shrubs.  Probably around 30 years old.

 

 

 

The soil was very thick and full of stones, hard to dig through.  We used rock bars, saws, flooding with water, and just about every other trick to get these out of the ground. 

It's out and now I can inspect the trunk better.  I like the silky twisting branches.  This particular one has almost a lack of bark.  Age and elements have worn it smooth.

Laying it out though, the full height of it is startling.  Some of the stretch-wrap tape that I used to tie the branches (or trunks) together can be seen.  There was no way to get in between these plants otherwise.

The heavy clay soil didn't need to go home with me, so it was washed off into the hole, cleaning the roots.

 

 

Roots are washed some, now the top needs reduction. When cutting back Boxwoods here in Central Texas (and I've heard it can be different in other parts of the country), you must leave green leaves out on the end of all the tips to ensure survival of the branch.  I've tested this theory, and ended up with both dead branches and dead trees when I've cut back past the foliage, leaving only stumps.  Unfortunately at this dig, the nearest green tips are still waaaaaaay out there!

Once back home, and propped up on a neutral background, the problem is even more stark.  The height has been reduced, but it's still almost 5 feet tall.

 

Roots are washed off now really well, getting all the old soil out, plus all the trapped stones.  This cuts the weight in half! 

The top of the nebari (root spread) was uncovered, and one last photo was taken before planting it.

Here it is in a pot (a large cat litter pan).  Ridiculously tall and prone to knocking over, this is one silly looking pre-bonsai.

2007 February.  I really should have taken another before shot, but after tiring of how it was difficult to move and always was growing into its neighbor's space, several branches were removed.  Others were gradually chased back as I found another green bud that opened for me.  By 2007, I decided I had to do something radical to get the size down to a better proportion.  The solution - I thread grafted branches in lower down the trunk.  In fact, I made 12 thread grafts on this Boxwood at this time.

Here is a close up of one area to see the brand new branches.  But wait - how do you get the branches with leaves through a hole in the trunk if you can't defoliate them?  Well I worked something out.

step 1: A bare trunk area that needs a future branch

step 2: find a shoot that when bent to the right area, will be long enough to go through the trunk.

step 3: strip off the leaves on the area that will be inside the trunk once it is threaded though.  Also cut off every other leaf on the ones that remain so they alternate.

step 4: wrap the shoot in non-sticky green plant tape starting at the base.  Use a bit of tape to secure the end so it doesn't unravel.

step 5: Wrap it tightly like a cocoon and put a tiny piece of tape on the end to keep this side from unraveling.  Along with the branch inside, it is helpful if you wrap a length of thin wire which will help in the next step.

step 6: Carefully drill hole through the trunk with a slow speed, being careful not to burn the edges of the cambium (living tissue), and paying attention to the angle that the branch will exit the trunk.  Feed the tape through the hole (pulling the wire that is inside the "cocoon" makes this so much easier) and pull the branch through.

step 7: Unwrap the boxwood burrito you had made and unfurl the leaves.  There may be creases in the leaves, but as long as they aren't broken off, they'll continue to function and feed the branch.

step 8: seal both the entry and exit wounds with putty or another kind of wound sealer.  I also put a piece of a chopstick in the hole to help take up some of the space and to push the new branch to the top of the hole where it should graft quicker.  Now, just leave it alone to grow and put on tissue to fuse.

2008 February.  All shoots were allowed to grow last year unhindered.  Some of the grafts have taken, so a few of the high branches can be reduced now.

Ah, that's better!  Now it's much easier to carry around!  More reductions for the future, but that's it for today.  Leave these alone now to grow, grow, grow.

2009 January.  All the new branches have filled in and more grafts are beginning to take.

Here is an example.  The "entrance" side of the thread graft is beginning to die back while the "exit" side is bulging and grafting to the trunk. 

Another shot.. even if it looks like it must have taken, leave the back of the thread graft shoot until it dies back naturally.  If it is cut too early before it has truly bonded, years of growth are lost and the whole process has to be repeated.

While those are working, I put in more thread grafts.  Constant improvement should be a goal with Bonsai.

2009 January. After evaluating the health of the grafts, I took off the remaining height.  Finally it is down to Bonsai proportions!

2009 September.  All shoots were allowed to grow to strengthen.

Then the whole bunch are cut back and wired (most for the first time) to give movement.  The stub cuts are carved to give taper to the ends.

2010 March. The silhouette is beginning to fill out now.  The soil at this time is 4 years old and breaking down.  It is in bad need of repotting.

Out of the pot, the roots look healthy.

They are washed, removing all the fines that have built up.  There is even some original soil found in the center that is also cleaned away.

And it is put into its first Bonsai pot, a large mica pot with fresh open soil to encourage root health.  This photo was taken at night, giving me funny colors!

 

 

2011 March.  The foliage has thickened and grown well.  Up until this point, I've been working towards building up the foliage mass.  Now it's time to reduce it.  If I don't selectively reduce the branches and leaves, the inner shoots will begin to die and I'll be left with a shell of green with only bare wood inside, much like it was when it was collected.   

Thinned and wired out.  John Naka, considered to be the father of American Bonsai, was known to say "design your trees to allow space for the birds to fly through".  You need the open space to define the shape as much as the clouds of branches.

2011 December.  Long branches are being controlled to create fine branching.  Winter is a good time to evaluate our trees, even evergreens like Boxwoods.

The shape is going in the right direction, but there is an unsightly area where the large branches were reduced and tapered to the new lead branch.  Boxwood aren't known for healing over large wounds, though some of these have begun to callous pretty well:

A solution may be in a tape-wrap technique.  To speed healing, the same non-sticky green tape can be tightly wrapped around a wound.  Where the callous tissue wants to bulge and bubble up, the pressure from the tape encourages it to make a thin layer towards the center and knit together.  I have done this successfully with Maples and other plants, and thought.. why not try it with a Boxwood?  So the ends were wrapped up.

2004 March.  Foliage filling in.

And then thinned.  This time when looking at it, I thought - why not use sacrifice branches to speed the healing of the wounds too?  This is where a branch is selected to run wild to feed the area directly behind it.  After a while it is cut off (thus the term "sacrifice").  This is a technique to enlarge a branch, but also to heal wounds faster.  I chose small branches all above a major wound and tried to choose ones that wouldn't be a problem if removed later.  These were marked with surveyor's tape.

2013 June.  The whole tree is filling out evenly.  I guess that means that strong areas and weak areas have been evened out.

Everything again was thinned and cleaned out.  Overly long shoots were removed.  Places where 3 shoots emerged from one point were reduced back to 2 (to avoid the dreaded "chicken foot" look).  Also old leaves were pulled from woody branches which helps in the look of maturity.  Sacrifice shoots were left long, though on some, the lower leaves were pulled off so they don't interfere with surrounding branches.

 

 I have another plan for this tree that involves turning it to another angle, but it would mean that I would probably have to remove one or two trunks.  It's something I'm mulling over, not deciding anything right now.  Bonsai = living art, the tree changes, and so do we.  That's part of the fun!

 

I hope this franken-tree story has been interesting.  Even "impossible" material can be successfully worked if given enough time and energy.