Live Oaks and Boxwoods

Here in the South, we do love our Live Oaks - and for good reason. There's nothing quite like them...





My inspiration...


The tree we bought in 2000, luckily there was a house to live in too...


Beautiful and picturesque trees, but sucky bonsai material. Luckily, Japanese boxwoods are everywhere, and even very ordinary material works great for our "Live Oak style". This one was dug from a planting along my driveway several years ago and stuck in a pot. I decided it was time to give it away or work on it, so here's what I started with...



I used guy wires to bring down the branches, October 2011...



Over the last couple of weeks I spent almost 18 hours pruning, leaf stripping and wiring...









And went ahead and moved it into a good pot. It stands 30 inches tall and is 42 inches wide.



It makes me happy.

R

As indeed it should.

Russell Coker wrote:

Russell,

I see possible better fronts on these pics. You might have to remove a branch on each though.

Either way, very nice tree.

Thanks y'all. Dario, you wouldn't say that in person, I promise.

Russell Coker wrote:
Thanks y'all. Dario, you wouldn't say that in person, I promise.

I'll take your word for it. It only means you have an awesome tree with multiple fronts!

Looks really nice, Russel. It amazes me how you can find the bonsai inside of the material.

Your Boxwood does indeed look like a Live Oak !

Really nice job Russell. Certainly one of the nicest Boxwoods I've seen and you did yourself and that oak gracing your home proud.

MAGNIFICENT OAK

ANCIENT AND SO POWERFUL

DELIGHT TO MY EYE

mp

Yep, just lovely!

Very nice Russell! I knew it would be a show stopper in no time in your hands! Can you please elaborate on your leaf stripping / styling technique.

Thanks Mitch

Love the progress, always a sucker for the "live oak" look, really nice!

Very nice set up than delivery with the oaks and such

the final stand/ pot/ tree...the whole shebang ( as yall say down south)....awesome (as we say...well everywhere !)

ps. did really like the original aka not so good pot , somehow I miss it.

RUSSELL,,It is great !!! I like the way you cut down on the foliage a lot.. i miss those trees a lot,,i am from south georgia and north fla. really.. most of them have moss hanging from them there.. you did good be proud !! take care john

Thanks, I appreciate all of the kind words. And Mike, I love the haiku!

Mitch, I guess I should have taken some pictures of that. I started by going through and doing an initial rough trim. Boxwoods grow in tight bunchy clumps so you have to do a lot of thinning. That's where the leaf plucking comes in. Those twigs are cover with oppositely arranged leaves and shoots. There is just too much there so you have to strip those leaves and pick and choose which branches to keep. Remember, you're going from bush to tree. With boxwoods there is plenty to work with, so it's hard to make mistakes. And if you do it will grow back fast anyway.

This one's next, when I feel like wiring again!

Russell,
I love your trees. You transformed the first one into an old tree in a short time. Wow. The second one looks equally impressive ... even before the wiring it will receive ... soon ... hint, hint, hint ... get to work!

Best,
Todd

I like your tree, very natural. But, I confuse with the first branch on the left



[/quote]

I am a relative novice, so please forgive a naive question. I have read that with twin trunk style trees, the center branch(es) of one trunk should not cross over the other trunk. Is this really something to be concerned about? I ask because to keep the branches from crossing seems like it would be necessary to constantly stay after and trim them. What is your opinion?

Nicely done!

Zentis, I don't understand your statement so I can't respond.

Barry, there are lots of "rules" concerning this and that about bonsai. It is important that you understand them, but it's also important that you let your material guide you in its design. You can destroy an interesting tree following rules too closely. Every tree brings with it specific attributes that you will need to play up or try to dimenish, but understanding rules and being confined by them are 2 very different things.

Russell Coker wrote:


Barry, there are lots of "rules" concerning this and that about bonsai. It is important that you understand them, but it's also important that you let your material guide you in its design. You can destroy an interesting tree following rules too closely. Every tree brings with it specific attributes that you will need to play up or try to dimenish, but understanding rules and being confined by them are 2 very different things.

Well said!

Russell Coker wrote:... ..., but understanding rules and being confined by them are 2 very different things.

Exactly!
Barry, I consider myself a novice, too. But I always have in my mind the saying of Saburo Kato :
Choose the most beautiful examples for your bonsai out of nature. Do not just copy anything. Rather, make your bonsai like the best parts of nature.
and consequently the approach of Mr. Walter Pall about bonsai style and design.

Russell, First I'd like to say how much I like what you've done with this tree - seems so natural, especially in view of your pics of live oaks as introduction. Then - do you think Buxus Sempervirens would produce the same or similar results ? I have a few mature specimens of Sempervirens, but no knowledge of Kingsville (Japanese) Box. I am also short on experience of producing bonsai, although growing trees in containers for Niwaki has been a hobby for some years. I suppose I am asking if it would be a suitable project for a beginner? Cheers. Rick.

"Barry, there are lots of "rules" concerning this and that about bonsai. It is important that you understand them, but it's also important that you let your material guide you in its design. You can destroy an interesting tree following rules too closely. Every tree brings with it specific attributes that you will need to play up or try to dimenish, but understanding rules and being confined by them are 2 very different things."

I'm glad with your response and I agree. Thanks

Hi Rick.

I think boxwoods are perfect for beginners. They are easy to find and very forgiving. Well, at least the microphyllas seem to be. We can't grow sempervirens here where I live. Honestly, I can only assume you can treat them the same way, but I really don't know. I've seen some beauties at old plantations farther north, and Cram and Will B have posted some from your side of the pond. For us, it seems to be easy to find "tree-like" Japanese boxwoods (not 'kingsville') in nurseries and landscapes. The sempervirens I see at nursery trade shows are field grown and aways a bunch of little sticks that make up a big green ball.

I hope that helps!

R