Boxwood. Good for bonsai, or not.

Ralph

Is this whole "cat pee" thing an issue with certain varieties or sex of boxwood? I have not noticed this problem in my Japanese boxwood.

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jfecme

I dug one from a line of them in my yard that is over 35 years old. Instant bonsai!

Actually I trimmed it way back last year and it is recovering nicely. 5 live "trunks", one dead, about 24" tall, wingspread yet to be determined, nebari 5", main trunk about 3" above is 3".

A powerful and "masculine" looking tree.

Thiking about digging up the rest and putting them on eBay, (Ha!)

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mapheoo

hey sherwin nice job on your boxwoods they look really good. especially if your new to bonsai. nice work.

rockm

"Is this whole "cat pee" thing an issue with certain varieties or sex of boxwood? I have not noticed this problem in my Japanese boxwood."

It is usually associated with English boxwood (buxus sempervirens). It's the leaves, apparently, on older landscape shrubs and not associated with either sex. Japanese box, buxus microphylla isn't known for it.

If you walk around older houses and estates (like over 150 years old) with established box hedges, the smell is immediately noticeable. It can range for knock you down, to very mild.

rlist

[QUOTE=rockmJapanese box, buxus microphylla isn't known for it.
QUOTE]

Good to know. Might revise my vote...

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mike_p

I must confess to being surprised by the poll results so far. In my early bonsai days, it seems that boxwood wasn't very popular, but over the years it has gained quite a bit.
There are still those that won't use it, and there's one experienced bonsaiist in my club that actually seems to hate boxwood.
Can't please 'em all!

Mike

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jfecme

There are a couple of reasons folks don't like boxwood. One is they are not true "trees", but shrubs. But that begs the question about azaleas, rhodendron, serissa and a lot of other "bonsaied" material.

Second is they require an enormous amount of pruning and leaf trimming to maintain good shape, and if you've got a lot of trees and a meager ration of time they can be consuming.

But, given all that they can be made into beautiful examples of the art.

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lordy611

I think they are hard to beat in terms of getting a small tree to look like a large tree, especially Kingsvilles. Mine were raised with the idea of someday becoming potted and are nice and developed. This one is about 35 years but only about 4 months in a pot. It stands maybe 12" above the soil.

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Repotter

I have had a Japanese Box for over 18 years grown from a .99 cent plant.

It is now 12" tall and has a trunk 3/4 inch dia. with a great nebari and nicely fissured bark. One of my first ever attempts at bonsai. I have aquired others since then which have done well especially the Morris Midget.

They may need frequent pruning, but not as much as Chinese Elm.

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