TO Collect or NOT to Collect? That is my question!

Bone-sigh

I have an opportunity to collect some really old boxwoods from a landscape. I know that repotting time just past for my boxwood bonsai...but does anyone out there, with some information on collecting boxwoods, have anything to say about the success rate of collecting them now? Should I go ahead and collect them this late in the year or pass on it? What do you think?

Thanks in advance!
Ryan

P.S.--If anyone is giving input from "hear-say" instead of "first-hand" experience please let me know. Thanks!

__________________
"If God meant for us to run around naked, we would have been born that way!"

----a Quote from my uncle's fridge

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ripssurf

i cant really give you good advice on this, but if it was me and came down to the trash heap or i take home and hope they live, id take them. but then that is me. i dont know if it is doable or not, but i repotted a boxwood a couple of weeks ago in brevard and it has tons of new buds and leaves on it. it is pretty young, though, and who knows what the long term ramifications will be.

tell you what, though, if you dont want to do it, let me know where they are, and ill take them off your hands.

best,

jeff

ps are you in a club at all?

Bone-sigh

rips,
Good thing is they are in my grandmothers yard...so I can get them any time...they aren't going anywhere. She is a plant nut too, for different reasons than myself though. She loves the flowers and stuff. She is indifferent to narly old boxwood trunks that she and my late grandfather planted about 20 years ago (they were mature when they first planted them too!) I've thought about risking it because repot season ended about a week ago for boxwoods. I'm hoping someone with a little more experience will chime in though.

As far as clubs go...no...I am sadly not. I want to be though! Just have to find the time to go.

thanks man,
Ryan

__________________
"If God meant for us to run around naked, we would have been born that way!"

----a Quote from my uncle's fridge

grampz

In this case you should by all means wait until late December or early January...If you collect them now many will likely make it...Boxwoods are tough trees...But your success rate will be much higher if they are dormant when collected...

They tend to have a good amount of feeder roots in close to the trunk, can survive total de-foliation [although they will sometimes lose a few branches], back bud well in spring, broken branches will often heal and survive, and have a great tendency to make new roots...

If collected this time of year you will actually not be gaining in development time with the trees...They will most certainly slow down growth to heal and repair their wounds...They will likely sulk for the remainder of the year, and not resume good growth until next spring...It is just not worth the risk of having them die IF it is not necessary
...

Regards
Behr

__________________
As the Master departed the workshop,
he could have sworn he heard some
one saying rather loudly...
"I thought he would never leave"
San Antonio Bonsai Society, Inc.

Bone-sigh

Grampz,
When do you repot your boxwood (assuming you replied from experience)? Do you repot in Dec. and Jan. like you suggested I wait to collect? Or do you think that the rules are different for collecting than repotting? Because I know locals around here repot in spring.
The only reason I want to collect now versus later, is that My grandmother planted a bougeinvilla (sp?) next to the boxwoods that is starting to shade out the boxwoods. Parts of them have already died. And I am blaming the bougie.

Thanks for your input grampz!
Ryan

__________________
"If God meant for us to run around naked, we would have been born that way!"

----a Quote from my uncle's fridge

FredL

Ryan, I have only limited experience with Boxwoods, but I will share it with you.

I collected two from my yard when I sold my old house 3 1/2 years ago. I had the choice of pot them In September or leave them, so I did (pot them). The roots were very extensive, so I potted them pretty much in the garden soil they were growing in.

Both of them survived through the Winter and, come Spring, I pruned the roots of one fairly severely and repotted it in what passes as Bonsai soil with me. For some reason that I can't recall, I left the other in the soil it came in.

By the next Spring, the one in Fred's Bonsai Soil was flourishing mightily. The other was almost dead. I then repotted and pruned both of them. Today, they are both amongst the very best of my trees.

I suspect that the comments about them sulking for long periods of time if transplanted at the wrong time of year are accurate. I also suspect that they are amongst the least likely to outright die if potted out of season.

Well, that's my experience. Can't tell if it correponds to anybody else's but, that's what happened to me!

Good luck, Fred

Will_Heath

Grampz advice is golden, if there is no rush, waiting till spring can't hurt can it?


Good luck,

Will

grampz

Mr. Ryan,

I usually try to begin my repotting of many boxwoods in mid to late December in order to have them all completed before the spring growth push...Never seems to quite work that way for me though...I probably have way too many and too large, and I don't think I am as fast at it as I used to be...Best intentions just never seem to work out for me...I just repotted one a couple weeks ago as a matter of fact, although I did hardly any root pruning on it...

I just found out that I have the opportunity to collect about 30 more that are about 25 to 30 years old...Probably will be trying to find another collector that is interested in helping with the digging of a few of those come December or January...I won't even be considering it before then...I probably could keep most of them alive if I collected them now, but I won't for two reasons...First reason...It is too darn hot to be digging in the ground in Texas or anywhere else in the southern United States at this time of year IF you don't have to...Second reason...If I dig them at the proper time I will most likely have 100% survival...Usually do with boxwoods when they are dormant...

I certainly think collecting puts more strain on the trees than repotting...While they will continue to push new growth throughout the growing season, they put on most of the new leaves in early spring...This pretty much just precedes flowering and continues during flowering...

My guess would be that the 'bougies' are not shading the boxwoods enough to cause parts of them to die...Boxwoods don't mind some shade, I usually place mine in the shade for as much as a couple months, if they seem a bit weak or after major work on them...Much more likely it is either nematodes, [very major problem for boxwoods in the Southeast], or boxwood blight, [not uncommon for older boxwoods]...

It would appear from the way you are trying to convince yourself that you should go ahead and dig them now, that your mind is pretty much made up already...I would think the chances of them surviving are pretty good...A bit of advice...As FredL indicated, removing old soil is good...Also check for indications of nematode infestation [knots on the roots etc.]...A product called 'Deny' is pretty good in dealing with all 3 types of nematodes that attack boxwoods...

Best of luck with you’re collecting...Hope to see photos of them when you get them collected...

Regards
Behr

__________________
As the Master departed the workshop,
he could have sworn he heard some
one saying rather loudly...
"I thought he would never leave"
San Antonio Bonsai Society, Inc.

heymikey(deceased)

Here's another strategy. Dig down on two of the four sides of the rootball of each shrub to sever half the roots (this promotes new feeder roots close in). This can be done now. Refill the excavated area with the native soil, trim back the top growth a little bit and make sure the plants get frequent watering during the summer and fall.

When you decide to collect them (prior to next years growth spurt), complete the excavation of the other two sides and redig the original two sides of each plant. Make sure you have containers and repotting soil ready before you lift the plants.

The sketch below illustrates the procedure.

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