Boxwood

Robert Kaminski

Hello all,
I was wondering if anyone has had success on training branches for this species? I know BOXWOOD has one of the hardest woods out there; however, I would like to train/move the secondary branches on my 3 gallon "WINTER GEM BOXWOOD".

These secondary branches are obviouly connected to the trunk and are about a 1/2 inch thick. I need to move a couple of branches about a 1/3 of an inch so they can grow at a slighly different angle for the "front" of the tree to work? Also, would the method of wiring the tree work or would a more drastic approach need to be taken since the wood is so hard?

In the past i've seen BOXWOOD mentioned before on this forum so anyone with experience on this species....your help would be greatly apprieciated. Thanks, Rob

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kvnharv29

A picture would help everybody tremendously.

Secondary branches shouldnt be connect to the trunk, they come off the primary branches.?

Sorry i wasnt helpful.

-Kevin

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Robert Kaminski

Oops! I meant primary branches. Sorry about the lack of a photo but i'm in the process of getting either a digital camera or scanner so right now i'm not able to provide that.

How about more of a general question: Are boxwoods able to be trained if the branches are that mature, or do they have a tendency to grow back to orignal postion like conifers? Rob

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grampz

Rob,

The boxwoods I have worked with are actually very easy to shape branches on but they do seem to take a bit longer than some of the other species to 'set' the branches...I have found some branches an inch or more thick may take a couple years or more to hold the position and bends you are trying to achieve...

In my experience I have found it best to plant the tree in a wood grow box and use guy wires on branches larger than pencil size...I have even used a 'turnbuckle' purchased at a hardware, in order to bend some really large branches...with this you can tighten it a bit more every couple weeks until you get the branch to the desired position, which, by the way I have found should be slightly past the position you wish to be the final placement...The boxwood always seems to relax back toward the original growth pattern somewhat...I also would suggest trying to anchor with guy wires in the opposite direction of the intended movement, to avoid strain on the root system of your tree...

I have never worked with the 'winter gem' variety...mostly with Korean, Japanese, and Kingsville, so possibly someone else can share their experience with this variety...

Regards
Behr