Collected some monsters buxus this spring

I have collected loads of buxus over the years & all except harlandii have popped new buds from bare wood not visible dormant buds, some of these existed but not all sprouted! This is a microphylla that was cut back to bare wood in november & collected. The pic was taken in february, regrowth from the cut ends right back into the trunk (about 5"dia).

Nice Boxwood! Do you have a "just cut back" photo?

I think you're on the right track Joey. Matt's boxwood shows exactly what happens here. We have similar climates, he's warmer but I get a lot more rain. It would have never occurred to me that where they are growing would make that kind of a difference - but that must be it.

by Russell Coker on Sun Apr 22, 2012 9:18 am
I think you're on the right track Joey. Matt's boxwood shows exactly what happens here. We have similar climates, he's warmer but I get a lot more rain. It would have never occurred to me that where they are growing would make that kind of a difference - but that must be it

It could be, but right now it's all just a guess. A good way to test this would be for several people with old collected B. microphylla growing in different climates to all stump a branch/branches, rub it up and down to make sure it has no buds, photograph it liberally and watch. Even if the backyards are different (sun, shade, cool, hot, etc.) it would give us a clearer idea of the ability of the species and take some of the guesswork out. Like you had said, apples and apples, then!

Jim, please up date us on your tree every now and then, I'd love to see how it turns out!

I will definitely be keeping a sharp eye on it for growth out of those few branches I left and for anything new that might pop on it. Louisville being in a river valley is definitely humid so hopefully that theory proves true and saves this one. I'll keep you posted. I did collect two that day and the other one has a lot more growth further in and is a fairly decent piece of material. A good consolation prize I guess. Thanks again.

That's more like it.. shouldn't have a problem with this one. Even if you live in an area where you can get Buxus to break back, if you know that it can be an issue, then if you have an important branch to the shape of the tree, leave a little green as insurance.

It looks like it may be 2 trees.. you may double your money on this one!

Jim,

This (last one) should be reduced and cleaned up a bit...just remember to keep some foliage at the end of each branch . Better safe than sorry.

If it is mine, I'd probably try to reduce it by half (height wise) if possible.

JMcCoy wrote:Nice Boxwood! Do you have a "just cut back" photo?

Sorry Joey, no pics of it when first collected.

Russell Coker wrote:
I think you're on the right track Joey. Matt's boxwood shows exactly what happens here. We have similar climates, he's warmer but I get a lot more rain. It would have never occurred to me that where they are growing would make that kind of a difference - but that must be it.

Location is a major factor as well as aftercare. All my collected trees are placed in full sun right from the get go & watered twice daily, the soil isn't dry but the movement of water thru the soil also takes oxygen to the roots(essential). I don't use any special products (seasol etc) just lots of sun & water.

The thing I have found with Buxus is, if you leave a single spot of green it will shoot from there & not elsewhere, if you remove everything the tree has to shoot or it dies (even plants have a strong drive to live!)

The thing I have found with Buxus is, if you leave a single spot of green it will shoot from there & not elsewhere, if you remove everything the tree has to shoot or it dies (even plants have a strong drive to live!)

The thing is that I've had about a half dozen that were tried without leaves.. all goners (sadly too, as some were interesting shaped). Other Bonsai folks in this area have had the same problem. Also I could show three homes near me where they cut back their B. microphylla hedges hard, and all were either lost or now have a couple live branches from the existing buds, looking terrible. Not saying it would never work, but I certainly wouldn't recommend ever stumping a microphylla back.

I think I've probably occupied too much of Jim's thread! Sorry Jim!

No reason to apologize at all Joey, glad to have so much good info come out of my little ol' thread. Thanks again to everyone for a great discussion and cautionary tale. Jim

Jim Doiron wrote:Thanks everyone for the replies. I have had a similar experience with boxwood that were ripped from the ground and thought that is was irreparable damage to the roots that caused the dead branches. I assumed this one would be different because it was collected properly. Hopefully I will get lucky, I would hate to lose this one I will definitely be more cautious with the next one.
I already have a giant dead stump with one spot of growth. This one was collected curbside after the homeowner ripped it from the ground:

Looks like this is 2 plants as well. Clean up the dead branches and see what you've got...looks very promising still.

I walked out the other day to check on things AND LO AND BEHOLD!! BUDS!! Needless to say I was pretty thrilled. So now I am thinking fertilize the piss out of this thing to get it to push these out. Sorry about the photos they were taken with my phone.

That's great news!!!

Let's hope the other branches sprout as well.

Fantastic! I've found that the cambium will remain green (wick) for quite some time, even on branches that don't have buds, so maybe even leave those others for a while to see what they do. Fertilizer won't force it to grow any faster at this point, it's all going to have to come from the stored energy of the plant. Once it's up and running it'll probably help though.
That's actually a good shot with your phone! The tech is getting so much better!!

Great news! I'd be hitting it with half strength miraclegro once a week.

where's the taxus?

peter keane wrote:where's the taxus?

He posted it on a separate thread... https://ibonsaiclub.forumotion.com/t9647-spring-activities-collecting-taxus

Yeah I just changed that Peter, sorry about the confusion. I originally had them both in here before I realized I had already posted the taxus in another thread.

jim, any updates?

Thanks for reviving this post I was just looking a this one the other day thinking that I need to post an update. And here it is growing like a weed. I gave it one light trim early this spring but otherwise have left it alone. I'm excited to maybe attempt some wiring next spring to start composing things. Thanks again.

Fantastic healthy tree! This one will be fun to style.. keep us updated!

I remember reading this a while back. As the topic ended unanswered I thought to myself "and that concludes our broadcast today. Come back next week for the conclusion of our exciting adventure!" Thanks for the update, It's an amazing specimen and it would have been a shame. Glad it worked out for you.