Just Dug Up this Holly - Need Help Please

Hi, new here, just registered. My name is Israel and I live in Tampa, FL. I dug up some sort of boxwood last week from a yard where they are removing the old landscaping. I already trimmed a lot off of the bush (probably should have posted here BEFORE trimming..) and have a few questions if anyone would be willing to help.

Did I cut too many branches off or not enough?

Should this be in a smaller pot?

Should I be fertilizing now?

Also, I am interested in raising the tree up to show off some of the roots, should I do this now or wait until later?

Thanks in advance, any advice is appreciated, even answers to questions I didn't ask but should've!

*Edit* Forgot to add that this is my very first real attempt at bonsai.



[strike]

Well, you probably cut off too much -- especially in the inner part of the tree, but all is not lost. This appears to be Buxus mycrophylla. It is the fastest-growing of all the boxwoods and -- as a hedge plant -- obviously can take a lot of butchering.

In the long run, you probably want all of those branches to be only half as long -- or less. But don't hack them off now. Let it backbud on the bare wood. This may take a growing season or two, but once you have a fair amount of greenery on the now bare branches, you can cut it back again.

It looks to have a nice trunk, which will look even nice and fatter once your branches are shorter.

Yes. Fertilize, perhaps lightly now, then at label strength in a couple of weeks. Repeat every two weeks. Use a balanced fertilizer -- Miracle Gro makes good fertilizers. You want a good dose of N, P & K to grow both leaves and roots in a newly dug tree.

The tree should be kept in part sun (morning is best) for this summer. Full sun next year and thereafter.

The pot is fine for now. Maybe next spring if you have a lot of new green on it, you could put it in a pot of the same diameter but half as deep. If the green is still sparse, wait until the following spring. Keep on fertilizing through the growing season, which in your area is most of the year.

Expose the roots when you repot. I assume you just want to show the surface roots along the soil line and not to have this tree up on "stilts." I don't think that would work too well with this heavy trunk.

Overall, there is a lot of potential with this tree. Just don't fiddle with it too much; that's a BIG danger with a beginner with just one tree. Maybe go to a nursery (someing better than Home Despot) and buy a potted boxwood and do some practice with it.

Go to your library and check out some bonsai books. Find a local bonsai club and attend some meeings.

Here's the Tampa club info: FLORIDA - Tampa
Hukyu Bonsai Society of Tampa. Meets at USF Botanical Gardens., 4202 E.
Fowler Ave, SCA 238, 3rd Sat., 10:00 AM. William B. Henderson, 10704 Lake
Carroll Way, Tampa, FL 33618-4236. (813) 932-3714. A Club with high
standards for bonsai enthusiasts.

Good luck -- and enjoy!

Thanks for the reply Jim! Right now it's getting afternoon sun, so maybe I'll move it around to the front of the house. Everything in the center of the tree had no green at all, pretty much just green on top so I cut that center stuff out. Afterwards, I started wondering if I should have left it on. I agree with you that in the long run the branches should be about half the length they are now, so hopefully it starts growing on the bare wood. As for the roots, I'm not wanting to do stilts at all, but just bring some attention to this one big root that is now sitting just on the surface of the dirt.

I'll try not to mess around with it for a while, I have a Confederate Jasmine recently purchased from Home Depot that I was going to try to do something with in the meantime. I also have a miniature rose, but not sure how well that would do as a bonsai?

Thanks for the advice, I'll post an update once there is something worthwhile to update on this boxwood.

Oh, here is a picture of the root, haven't dug around to see if there are any other large ones in there. Is there a way to begin making more large roots grow now?


And this is just a pic of a really cool looking knot on the side of the trunk:

Can we get a close up of the leaves this looks like a ilex or holly species to me and not a boxwood .I could be wrong but they both react very diffrently to hard pruning.the bark also looks like ilex and not a boxwood. boxwood bark is a more pale tan color and rough where this appears to be a more smooth gray color.

Hi Seth, here is a close-up of the leaves, what do you think it is? I just assumed it was a boxwood for some reason....

Ilex vomitoria, Yaupon holly, but not a healthy color. Needs iron tonic.
Iris

I agree with iris these back bud very well even on old wood "ironite" fert and in a few weeks you should see some back budding.

Thanks, I'll try the ironite. Which ironite product should I use?

I use the granular that is very low in nitrogen and it slow relece you can get a large bag for cheap at a home center.

Thanks, just put some ironite on it today, will see how it does.

Hi Isreal,
You have a good start there. You are just going to have to control yourself and leave it alone for the rest of the year (easier said than done). Keep it fertilized as the good folks here have mentioned and if it makes it (you did collect out of season) then you are going to have a nice tree to work on.

About the Hukyu Bonsai Society, they are having a friend of mine, Mike Rogers, putting on a demo there on June 19th. I highly suggest you don't miss it. Among our local bonsai clubs he is considered a master and the go to person for getting the final word on an issue.

You can learn a lot from him.

Good luck,
Ed

I'm going to take your advice and leave it alone aside from fertilization. I gave it ironite, should I use another fertilizer as well (the ironite is just 1-0-1)? I am interested in visiting the Hukyu club, but probably won't be able to make it any time soon due to my busy schedule.

The Ironite is essentially a tonic, like a vitamin-mineral supplement. It is not a substitute for an all around fertilizer. Use something like Miracle-Gro or Miracid, at the recommended rate for house plants.
Iris

Just noticed some new growth in several places on this tree! Most of it is on the outer branches, but there is one little sprout coming out on old wood near the trunk, here are a few pics: