Japanese Boxwood #3 - the Cemetary Boxwood

This medium-sized Japanese Boxwood (Buxus microphylla) started off its life with me in September 2004 when I bought it at our annual Austin Bonsai Society auction.  A member had collected it in 2001 from an old cemetery in San Antonio (they were re-doing their landscaping) and donated it to the sale.  Seeing age in the trunk, I snapped it up - it must be mine!

Here is one of its first photos.  As you can probably tell, it looks like the previous owner had wanted a windswept shaped tree.  What you can't see is a nice hollow in the trunk at the right.  Looking at this photo now, it sure doesn't look like much!

 

 

 

March 2005 now, and the Boxwood is beginning to fill out.  I may have given it a light trim here and there, but I probably just left it alone for the previous year.  Looking back when I first got it, it seemed a little thin and not very robust.  This wooden pot is a problem though - completely falling apart! 

 

Taken out of its wooden pot, the roots are good - no large "stilt" roots to deal with and an abundance of fine feeder roots.  Just what you want in a Boxwood.

I potted it in a larger but flatter container, a thin can box, to allow the roots to spread laterally.  Also, at this point, I wasn't feeling the lean the tree had, it always looked as if it were about to fall over.  Examining what I liked about the Boxwood, it didn't seem to "want" to be a windswept.  So upright it went.

 

March 2006.  It had grown out last year and just got its new haircut.  The tree seems to have a lot more structure and definition in the branches, they're beginning to come along.  The trunk is braced with wire for support, but the main branch on the right is also being pulled down horizontally.

June 2007, just after its yearly "big trim" after the strong Spring growth had hardened off.  The crown now is starting to look much more tree-like, and the branches have a good airy feel to them.  It hasn't had a lot of detail wiring just yet, mostly just a little directional wire. 

 

February 2008.  I'm enjoying this tree, but something's not right.  I like it more upright like this, but now it's too upright.  The trunk seems stiff, and suddenly boring looking.  I'd always looked at the tree from this front, but.....

 

Turning it around suddenly I found  - there's my tree!  I think I may have even said this out loud.  Epiphanies are fun when they hit!  All of a sudden the straight boring section of the trunk that was bothering me was gone and there was this gentle but dynamic movement, making it much more exciting.  Of course I had worked on the other side for so long, I couldn't just cut the back side away, so...

 

Airlayer opportunity!  The upper section of trunk on this side is still quite old and has had a number of years of shaping, so it would have been wasteful to chop and throw away.  Better to turn it into another potential Bonsai.

 

June 2009.  I probably didn't need to let the airlayer go for this long, but I figured it would be better to have a really good root ball when removed.  All the while, I let the tree fill out and grow to strengthen the entire tree.  I wanted it happy and very healthy.

 

 

 The airlayer was sawn off and potted, the entire tree trimmed back, and this is the new silhouette.  I like how it kind of bows forward, like an elderly person.  With the branches opened up this way, there is actually a lot more opportunity for styling and growth.

 

August 2009: another "aha" moment.  Turning the viewing angle slightly gives movement to the middle of the trunk and allows us to see that wonderful hollow that has been hiding all this time on the side.  All of this goes to show that you really have to look at your trees, pay attention to them, and you'll find things that have been hiding in plain sight for years.

 

February 2010 and it gets its first Bonsai pot.  It's a bit of a clunky rectangle pot for this delicate flowing tree, but it fits the rootball, so horticulture over artistry here.  Plus it's nice to be out of those red plastic shoes!  The branches have also continued to fill in. 

 

March 2012.  Examining it, I found that I really wanted to see MORE of that hollow area in the trunk, so another little angle change was in order for the next repotting.  If you have something in a tree that is unique, especially if it's the reason you bought it.. highlight that feature!  All these changes show that Bonsai is a living art that continues to evolve, even in our own backyards!

 

In the two years it has been in this last pot, the rootball has done well.  Look at that brick of roots that came out of the pot!

 

Combed out and lightly rinsed off.  Some surface crossing roots were removed and others were angled differently.  This is an important step everyone should remember to take when it's repotting season.  You may not see the effect for a few years, but when those roots mature, isn't it always better if they're arranged well?

 

Its first nice Bonsai pot - a Tokoname pot by Sankou.  I picked this up at one of our fantastic State conventions.  You never know what's going to show up.  It has a hand-drawn signature on the bottom:

 

 

And I think it fits the tree well, being understated, feminine-feeling, and gentle.  Also the pot is small but fits the rootball and lets the tree do the talking, not the pot.

 

2012, here it is after being trimmed and having a bit of wire to shape errant strands. 

 

This year it was shown at the LSBF state Convention held in New Braunfels.  In one of the Exhibit critiques led by Colin Lewis, he said he really liked the natural feel to this tree, and the nice bit of wild that it has.  But he said that he felt it was actually under-potted.  He said that this is a strange thing to say here in Tx, as most people over-pot to counteract the heat, and this is the first time he has had to bring up under-potting a tree in Texas.  Horticulturally, it seems happy in here to me, but Colin has given me thought to keep my eyes open for another pot that may be more suitable.

 

 

 

 

A few thoughts on Boxwoods:

To get good ramification, do NOT constantly "pinch" a Boxwood!!  You will soon have nothing but a dead boxwood. Instead, allow the lush Spring growth to elongate and harden off.  It only makes about 10 sets of leaves on each new branch during this time, which seems like a lot when you're looking at a mass of green obliterating your carefully planned style.  But if you allow these to "set" and then take them down to the 1st or 2nd new set of leaves after they've hardened, you'll allow the tree a rest and give it time to store some of the energy of that growth spurt.  In the South, Boxwoods will then resume growing slowly throughout the year and this can be lightly pruned as needed.  Always allow some new leaves to remain.  This means that you'll have to cut back on branches to shorten them back to a line occasionally.  But do not keep a Boxwood too tightly trimmed at all times.  Even if you don't see the effect this year, in the next few you'll see a decline, and branches will die back with nothing to be done.

One last rant about pruning a Boxwood Bonsai: don't just take scissors and cut across as if it is a hedge.  Doing this you'll damage leaves that remain on the tree for years and leave stubs and all sorts of mess.  Trim them carefully just above a set of leaves as you would with any opposite-leafed broadleaf tree.  Just because it's a Boxwood, doesn't mean you have to treat it like topiary!

I love this species for Bonsai, and think it is actually one of the best for any level.  It has shiny glossy leaves, cream-colored bark that can be either corky or plated depending on it's growing conditions, flowers in the Spring-time giving a spicy aroma to the yard, followed by the green fruit that ripen to a chocolate brown & opens releasing the seeds.  Boxwood can live a very long time, rivaling most trees, and they're mostly tolerant of many of our abuses.  Why more people don't embrace this plant as Bonsai I don't understand.  Every day there are hedge plants that are pulled out, heading for the local dump.  They've been grown and pruned for decades - the pre-Bonsai work has already been done!  So keep your eyes open, and ask friends and neighbors to be on the look out too.  You never know what you may find.