Help about caring a Buxus bonsai...

Dr.Bonsai

Hi SmaUG

You'll find a species guide for Buxus (boxwood) here from BCI. There are several species of Buxus commonly used for bonsai, and their characteristics vary somewhat.

In our mild climate, we keep boxwood bonsai outdoors year round, moving the tree into part shade in the heat of summer. There isn't really any watering schedule, per se, but water when the tree requires it. You can get a feel for the moisture content of the soil by sticking a fingertip into it, or you can keep a piece of broken chopstick in the soil to use as a dipstick. If the stick is wet, the soil is still damp. You want to water very thoroughly before the soil dries, but not allow it to remain soggy.

Boxwood root systems are very fibrous and well adapted to container growth. You may fertilize every week or two during the growing season with a low-strength solution of water soluble fertilzer like Miracle-Gro. (Use the Miracid type if your soil or water tends toward alkaline. A proper pH will help ensure that trace minerals remain available for the plant's use)

You can maintain the profile of your tree by pinching out the growing tips while the growth is still tender. If you pinch too soon, the leaves will tear rather than pluck. Pinching promotes density, so you will need to go back in with a small shear and thin the growth somewhat. This helps light penetrate to the interior of the tree. To keep your tree from looking too bushy, you'll want to remove growth that appears from branch forks, reducing each branch node to just two branches.

The wood of Boxwood is very, very hard, so it's more common to shape young growth with light wire and a fair amount of clip & grow techniques. You may notice when your boxwood blooms. The flowers on many shrubs often go unnoticed, but will signal a convenient time to do your repotting.

If you have an opportunity, please send or attach a photo. We'd love to see how it's coming along.

Happy Growing!

Dr.Bonsai