fmcgowan

I have a small boxwood, less than 1 foot tall, that seems like it
could be used as a starter plant for my first attempt at a bonsai. Is
this a good choice? Has a good trunk with character. Advice welcome.

jklewis

like it

bonsai. Is

welcome.


Boxwood is a popular choice for bonsai. Have at it. You might
even post a pic on the gallery.

Jim Lewis - jklewis@nettally.com - Tallahassee, FL - Bonsaiests
are like genealogists: We know our roots!.

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iasnob

In a message dated 4/2/2004 4:40:36 PM Eastern Standard Time,
fmcgowan@WEBTV.NET writes:
I have a small boxwood, less than 1 foot tall, that seems like it
could be used as a starter plant for my first attempt at a bonsai. Is
this a good choice? Has a good trunk with character. Advice welcome.
Friend:

Engaging Buxus is an exercise in extreme patience. After 16 years of working
with a collected specimen, I am now ready to present to enthusiasts for
viewing. );-) Given its extremely slow growth rate, be certain to remove only what
is required to achieve your design objective.

Buxus prefers a fast-draining soil if grown in the northeastern US. As you
progress into warmer regions, the organic component will need to be increased
to prevent abrupt soil dessication.

Superfeeding (frequent feeding) is recommended to ensure that each growing
season delivers maximal foliar ac***ulations. If you are working with Buxus
microphylla var. japonica, expect no more than 1 inch of new growth per year. If
you are working iwth Buxus microphylla 'Kingsville Dwarf'--the slow growing
form selected by Henry Holman--expect 1/2 inch per year.

While Buxus is a rewarding specimen, I believe it challenges the talent of
both the beginner and expert as a specimen whose calculated development can
yield remarkable results.

Cordially,

Michael Persiano
members.aol.com/iasnob

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fmcgowan

Thanks for the advice. I have the patience and will give it a try. I
have no problem with slow growth, as I always enjoy the journey and
often find it more rewarding than the destination.

gopherhill

Michael

I would like to see you Buxus. I have a number of common box, I suppose
Buxus microphylla. That I have been working with for 15 years or more and I am
not sure they are yet presentable.

I do put them in the lobby at work from time to time, but that is not a
critical audience.

Billy on the Florida Space Coast
BSF Annual Convention May 28 - 31, 2004 Radisson Hotel, Cape Canaveral,
Florida
Sponsored by The Bonsai Society of Brevard and the Treasure Coast Bonsai
Society
http://www.bonsaisocietyofbrevard.org/2004/2004.html

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kits

I have two urbanly collected Buxus sempervirens or
English Boxwood in my collection. I collected them
from the front yard of my house. They did take a
while to develop, but they have been rewarding to
watch. This is hedge material, it can be pruned to
within an inch of its life and recover. It can sprout
new branches from old wood. I like it as a bonsai
material.

My club, Kusamura Bonsai in Palo Alto, CA has an
annual show. We create sale trees to sell and pay
show expenses. This year we have a couple of young
landscapers in our club. They had a client that
wanted to get rid of some boxwood. So the night
before a planting party, they dug them up. Nice 1 to
1.5 inch trunks with excellent nebari. I had the
opportunity to work with several of these. They shaped
up quickly and will be wonderful trees in about 5
years or more.

These trees and consignment trees from private
collections will be on sale at our annual show held
April 23 & 24th at De Anza College in Cupertino
California. We will be across the street from the
Cupertino Cherry Blosson Festival. So you can get two
events in on outing.

Demonstrations will be held at 1:30 pm each day with a
benefit drawing for the demo tree and other plants
afterwards. Our demonstrators include Sandy Planting,
who, as a nursery man's daughter has been working with
green material since childhood. She has a vast
knowledge of how things grow and adds this knowledge
to her excellence in the art of bonsai.

She will share the stage with Lonnie McCormick on
Sturday and Jim Ransahoff on Sunday. Lonnie has done
regular and extensive studies with his bonsai
achieving some excellnet results, especially with
collected material. Jim Ransohoff is another club
veteran who has been a landscape architect as well as
having an excellent bonsai collection. He has a
donated planting in the collection at Lake Merit in
Oalkand.

I don't thing these demonstrators would be offended if
I say they have over 150 years of experience between
them.

I hope to see some of you at the show as I am the show
chair this year.

Kitsune Miko aka Sandy Vrooman
(which is another long story for another time)

=====
"Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princes(ses) who are only waiting
to see us act just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that
frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that needs our
love." -- Rainer Maria Rilke

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kits

Francine,

This approach should show you some great beauty as you
take this journey. As bonsai are living plants (or
beings) we gain more from traveling with them a their
pace instead of draging them along at our speed. With
care, the will be here longer than us humans.

Kitsune Miko

=====
"Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princes(ses) who are only waiting
to see us act just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that
frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that needs our
love." -- Rainer Maria Rilke

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++++Sponsored, in part, by John Quinn++++ ************************************************** ******************************

+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail BONSAI-REQUEST@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM +++++

iasnob

In a message dated 4/3/2004 9:15:35 AM Eastern Standard Time,
GOPHERHILL@AOL.COM writes:
I would like to see yout Buxus. I have a number of common box, I suppose
Buxus microphylla. That I have been working with for 15 years or more and I
am
not sure they are yet presentable.
Soon . . . );-) I need to complete the carving refinement and some
additional wiring. I will then get a photo up on the site.

I appreciate the interest.

Cordially,

Michael Persiano
members.aol.com/iasnob

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ccowing

I have a few years' experience with Kingsville boxwoods, and find them a wondeful
variety to work with. In my climate (Orange County, NY, Zone 5b/6a) they won't quite
make it outdoors all winter, so I bring them in around Thanksgiving. They stay under
fluorescent lights during the winter in a cooler part of the house, and have done
fine.

I don't have much experience with other varieties of boxwood, but I suspect that this
is the only variety that can come indoors for the winter.

During the growing season outdoors my boxwoods stay in partial sun, resulting in nice,
tight foliage. Despite the slow growth I have found they are remarkably quick in
growing foliage. In the span of three years I have developed an example that has
nicely formed foliage pads and doesn't have the "pom-pom" look that is difficult to
avoid. With developing the foliage pads it is important to pinch new growth.

With fertilizing I fertilize fairly heavily during the outdoor season, and not as much
when they're indoors. I'm finding that indoors with a lot of fertilizer the leaves
may tend to be larger.

I have another two which I'm developing, one is repotted into a bonsai pot now, and in
a few days I'll do the other. The foliage pads need some refinement but they're
coming along. These two trees I've had only since late summer last year, and during
the winter have progressed well since their initial styling.

I have found that a good way to achieve ramification is to prune just like a maple,
since boxwoods grow with opposite buds. I cut off the central shoot and leave the
side shoots.

keep
\ /cut
\/___ keep
keep
/
_________/ ____ cut
\
\keep

Craig Cowing
NY
Zone 5b/6a Sunset 37

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