Kingsville Boxwood

David Chauvin

Hello Everyone,

I bought this little kingsville boxwood (5" from soil) two years ago, gave it a first crude styling and pretty much forgot about until this past weekend when it was drastically reduced and wired in the "live oak" form. A lot of foliage and root refinement are in the future and it should be shifted to the right in the pot, but I think it's a good start. What do you think?

David

Attached Images

post kingsville boxwood 032803.jpg (42.5 KB, 289 views)

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LivingArt

I like it a lot. It already looks like a real tree. I could imagine a tire swing on it.

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Leesa

David - very nice! I am wondering - do you pinch back to a couple of leaves to maintain shape on these? I understand they grow VERY slowly.

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Respectfully, Lee Sanner

David Chauvin

Leesa,

This is my only kingsville, so my firsthand knowledge is limited, but here goes. Yes, they are extremely slow growing. I have pruned using scissors to cut off the larger leaves and do directional clip & grow pruning. I keep cutting back the tips (apical growth) to force back budding with smaller leaves. Anything growing straight up out of the pad's profile is pruned to one or two leaves and anything growing from the bottom of a branch (pad) is removed. The canopy will probably fill in with tiny leaves by the end of the growing season, but the trunk will never grow appreciably, especially in a bonsai pot.

Best Rgards,

David

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"With the death of the Shamen, artists are the last interpreters of the Divine." Joseph Campbell

Craig Cowing

David:
Marvelous tree. I love the lower trunk. I have found that the biggest challenge with mine is keeping the branches clean where I don't want leaves. As you know, this variety will sprout leaves everywhere.

Craig Cowing
NY
Zone 5b/6a

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FredL

David, beautiful tree! I have never seen this style before and was skeptical that anything outside of the Japanese "stylebook" could possibly have any real merit. Well, it appears I may have to make at least one modest adjustment to my thinking!

Best regards, Fred

David Chauvin

Fred,

Here in the deep south, live oaks are held in reverence. The first person to create a convincing live oak bonsai in the spreading form will be elevated to sainthood. Because of it's extremely slow growth and large leaves, it hasn't (to my knowledge) been successfully done. Until then, lots of efforts are being made with other species, particularly boxwood to attempt capture the mystique of the live oak. I've also seen some junipers done in this form that were very nice. Walter posted some of Joe Day's large boxwoods in different live oak forms that are wonderful.

The photo below was taken years ago at Oak Alley plantation and shows one form of live oak.

David

Attached Images

oak alley.jpg (57.4 KB, 197 views)

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K.A. Rutledge

You've got a winner there, David. It is hard to find KB with that significant a trunk. Excellent styling effort. My eye is drawn, however, just a bit to the straight branch on the right. If it had a bit of movement (like the rest of the tree) it would really bring the whole thing together. This may, however, be an illusion created by the camera and the wire. I can't really tell.

I love it.

Kind regards,
Andy Rutledge
zone 8, Texas
http://www.bunjindesign.com/bonsai/

David Chauvin

Andy,

Now that you've pointed that out, it's all I see. Thanks a lot :-). But seriously, that's what I like about this forum, constructive criticism. I'll try to put some movement in that section of the branch. Or maybe it can be camoflaged with foliage. I'll take a closer look later.

Thanks,

David

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"With the death of the Shamen, artists are the last interpreters of the Divine." Joseph Campbell