Dug my first Buxus. Now what?

[Pearcy001]

Seeking some guidance from the better informed than I if I could.
Last week I dug this buxus from my partners rental.

It was slightly neglected and is definitely going to be at a better home now (long as I don't kill it as quick as some ficus cuttings I recently took )
It was sitting about 1.2-1.5m tall and foliage was scarce (forgot to get an original photo). It was the first one I've done and thought it was best not to cut too much off in order for it to recover. I Invision something like this down the track.

I'm just wondering if I should have chopped it as I already have to recover before chopping again to the final size once it recovers, or if I should have just cut it straight to it in 1 shot removing all the foliage?
All help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Pearcy.

[Watto]

Very good stock and should in time make a great bonsai. I'm no expert on these but I have worked a couple over the years. I would let it rest now for at least 9 months and see where it throws new shoots. This will help in the decision making process of where to cut.
I like your thoughts on size and shape, so now it is just time.

[dansai]

How much root did you get? If plenty then it should be alright to support the foliage it has although a bit more of a trim wouldn't hurt. If you didn't get much root I'ld be cutting the top off about where the young shoots are just above your branches and trim back the other foliage.

As for your design it looks OK but its important to keep in mind things like taper and movement. At the moment there is virtually no taper up to the point you at looking at having your apex. The trunk also comes straight out of the ground. Unless you are going for a formal upright or sumo shohin you are probably best to plant it on an angle and use one of the low branches as a new leader. Maybe like one of the images below, although you will need to position the branches to compliment.

Buxus 1.jpg

Buxus 2.jpg

Also remember that branches need taper and movement to. Buxus bud back fairly well so you should be able to chop the branches back eliminating the long straight sections and wire a new shoot with movement. This will also give them taper.

Good luck.

[Pearcy001]

Thanks for the advice guys. Dansai I really like the way you were going in the second picture, I think I was just trying not to chop too much off in order to not start from scratch (goes to show you can't rush a bonsai ). You can't see in this picture but the roots flare down on the right it's just covered with dirt at the moment.

I like the idea of your second virt. Once the angle is changed I'd should end up with a smalled overall nebari but a much greater design.

One of my main concerns at the moment is the trees survival, should I be removing as much of the tree as possible so only a smaller area needs to recover? Or should I leave some leaves to help it and do a big chop in a few months once its health is stable? I've never really dug any stock before so unsure what is best for recovery. At the moment its in half shade/full sun, receiving a dosing of seasol once a fortnight (should it be more often when first transplanted?).

Cheers,
Pearcy.

[dansai]

I haven't had a lot of experience with Buxus, but I would reduce the top to the new shoots and reduce the branches a little so the tree doesn't have to work so hard to supply these areas and leave it until spring before cutting back further.

Those are some nice roots so the second pic should work well to show them off. Don't be in a rush to expose them again though. Also find out how much you can cut the roots back for next reporting. Roots, like trunks and branches also need taper.

And yes, Bonsai is a slow process. It is tempting to keep fiddling with your trees, but usually best to leave them alone to grow if you want them to develop well.

[kcpoole]

Nice score
Buxus are quite hardy and should recover well.

You can chop back to the long shoots on the main trunk now and as watto says. let recover till late spring.

Ken

[Pearcy001]

Thanks for the advise all she'll get a chop some time this arvo. I've never really been a massive fan of boxus bonsai's to be honest (IMO they never look the greatest), but as far as learning goes I can't wait. Plus there's nothing better than free!

Cheers,
Pearcy.

[Pearcy001]

So 3 months on and she's still alive. A few new shoots have been thrown out and its gotten me excited to be considering future styling options already. Their was alot more shoots coming through but were all rubbed off due to being above where I plan to do the major cut. At the moment I'm thinking I'll be removing both the existing branches and growing it from new, due to their length and lack of taper.


Their will be nothing done until spring to see what other new shoots get thrown out and for the vigour of the tree. In saying that, I was bored last night and drew up a couple of virts on my phone, to try get an idea of where this one will go. Comments welcome

Apologies for all the poor quality photos they were done on my phone. Each time I edit one the quality becomes worse, and again when uploaded (plus I was too impatient to wait until morning haha).
Cheers,
Pearcy.

[dansai]

Good to see it going well. I like the second virt.

[Pearcy001]

Yeah I probably agree maybe even the third. The buds currently popping will assure that virts 1 & 3 are possible, 2 is more wishful thinking.

[Jarad]

Yeah I probably agree maybe even the third. The buds currently popping will assure that virts 1 & 3 are possible, 2 is more wishful thinking.

Pearcy,

Go for virt 2 mate. Don't sell yourself short. You don't have to chop those branches off completely to get the taper you want. When it's safe for the tree, trim them up and wait for them to shoot again. Then trim to the shoot you wanna keep. Just like trunk chopping, but with the branches instead.

[matlea]

Agree, option 2. You can always restyle to the other options later on down the track if you change your mind.

[Pearcy001]

Yeah great point guys. Just as food for thought this was the original photo that I should have included. It seems like a little bit of a waste to cut off that right branch, but for the flow of the trunk I'm thinking it's necessary. After all it's a marathon not a sprint right?

Cheers,
Pearcy.

[Jarad]

I think you might actually have a great start for a shohin formal upright. The lowest branch on a tree has been there for the longest, so it is the thickest. I reckon that right branch is a good start.

I'm not very good on Photoshop or paint, so I'll pencil up what I'm thinking tomorrow.

How flexible are these trees? Can you flatten out the existing branches?

[Pearcy001]

Definitely not flexible haha. Unfortunately movement must be done early or not at all. If you are able to bend it, you're just going to hear a distinctive snap noise that I'm sure at least a couple of members on here will have heard once or twice. If I get some back budding on the right branch then I'll probably end up keeping it, but all I seem to be getting is buds on the main trunk. As far as bending goes, I can get movement into the foliage but that's it. I even tried use a trunk bender on the right branch and it didn't budge.