Tropical Boxwood - Neea Buxifolia

JDubinski

Hey all,

I just got a tropical boxwood yesterday at my local nursery. Very nice looking tree with good potential. I was wondering if anyone could provide some tips on care. I did a little pruning today after looking at it for a while to clean up some of the tree. It is naturally growing in an informal upright style.

Anything special about this species? I put it in a grow pot to let the nebari mature and the canopy is very juvenile so it will be a while before anything major happens. Does it require more light than most trees? Watering and feeding needs? Any particular pruning needs?

Thanks,
Jeff

Advertisement

rockm

Your tree is a related to bougainvillea. It is not related to the temperate climate boxwood. You probably knew already that but it bears mentioning as care for a boxwood will kill this species.

Here' s the BCI sheet on it:

http://www.bonsai-bci.com/species/neea.html

And a pic of what can be done with them:
http://jimsmithbonsai.com/Plant%20I...IFOLIA%2026.htm

Repotter

As Rockm pointed out it is a different animal. "Buxifolia" means Box wood like foliage.

__________________
http://www.tellys.com

http://www.Fourseasonsbonsai.com
The original Four Seasons Bonsai Club of Michigan.
Our guest master in August is Pedro Morales.
Tellys Greenhouse, 3301 John R road, Troy Mi. 48083

Four Seasons Bonsai Club meetings monthly.
Troy, Michigan

"Anything is possible when you don't know what you are doing"................someone famous I think.

JDubinski

Thanks guys for the info. Rock, if I can get this little thing looking half as good as your tree you gave a link to I will be amazed. Since you started the training on that tree in 1990 and have an 18 year start on me, I guess we will have to wait to see what my little guy looks like in 2026.

I am posting a picture of it. It's not the best picture (camera phone), but will do okay. I gave it a prettier pot (not really shown in the picture) than the nursery pot and gave it some fertilizer. I keep it indoors where all of my trees (all tropicals) are kept humid and warm all year round. The pot is pretty much the same size as the nursery one, just different dimensions. I would guess that this tree is only a few years old.

I really like the movement it has in the trunk already. I'm not planning on doing anything with this little guy for at least a year until it grows more and fills out. I definitely want to keep it a shohin size though. It is 9.5 inches tall and has a 1.5 inch trunk at the base.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction with the care info. The sheet says that it should be grown in filtered light. Since I live in Boston, these guys don't go outside, but are near a window and have grow lights over them. Should this neea be further away from the grow lamps than my schefflera and ficus?

Attached Images

2466.jpg (24.7 KB, 37 views)