Creating a new bonsai (Korean Boxwood) from nursery plant - where do I begin??

Earthling? I'm not convinced. Seems far too knowledgeable to be a mere mortal.

JimLewis wrote:Well, he did say he's from Planet Earth. That narrows it down a bit . . .

And if it is true that he has

been on this forum for decades, on and off,

, I think I have an idea who hesheit may be. Or not. <g>

Well, without giving anything away...can/should we trust his/her recommendations?

How about having the IBC forum moderator checking his/her IP address that's logged with every post? Or when joining, how about telling new members about how their IP address is logged with every post?

Lou, you sure got an avalanche of posts on this question of yours! Do you have a local Bonsai club nearby that could give you advice and assistance? Internet clubs are great, but it's hard to replace face-to-face knowledge. As you've already deduced, the #1 most important thing in choosing a bonsai is the bones (structure of the plant). If this one isn't the best, then consider it a good candidate to learn on: push it, trim hard, wire, watch it grow, see how it responds, etc. Like Russell had said, these nursery Boxwoods are easy to find, so always choose the best. By the way, you can always tell the Bonsai folks at the garden centers because we're on our hands and knees digging through the green looking for trunks and surface roots.

As far as trimming advice, what you have here is a very young boxwood, and they often will sprout foliage behind a cut. An older Boxwood doesn't always do this. In fact, I've never seen an older specimen (30+ years) bud back from very old wood. They act much more like a pine than an elm. Speaking to others here on this site, they've had different experiences, but this is mine (and many others locally who have wanted a backbudding that never happened), so caution is valid. Just FYI I thought I'd send this link that shows one of the ways to get branches in close when they've extended too far and nothing else works:
https://ibonsaiclub.forumotion.com/t9720-boxwood-threadgrafting-branches

While buying a small garden center Boxwood is a good learning experience, collecting one from the landscape (maybe a neighbor that is ripping them out) will give you a much more interesting specimen!

louvega wrote:How about having the IBC forum moderator checking his/her IP address that's logged with every post?

Already done, louvega.

However, irritating as much as they are, we have much better things to busy ourselves with - whether that's us moderating or more importantly you guys getting on with the good stuff of bonsai knowledge and experience interchange. So please just ignore our earth-dweller.


And great advice from Joey there.

coh wrote:

JimLewis wrote:Well, he did say he's from Planet Earth. That narrows it down a bit . . .

And if it is true that he has

been on this forum for decades, on and off,

, I think I have an idea who hesheit may be. Or not. <g>

Well, without giving anything away...can/should we trust his/her recommendations?

NO. I sure would not.

Hey guys. Thanks again for all the outstanding advice. Ok, here's where I'm at. Any ideas? I took away some of the more dense nodes, at the internodes, just before some larger groupings of shoots to work on getting little (correct term?) "pads" of foliage. I also took away some forward facing branches, a good portion of the "undergrowth" to open the form/structure up and took away a few crossing branches. It still doesn't look right, but getting there - just where to go from here?


IMAG0272 by louvega06, on Flickr


IMAG0271 by louvega06, on Flickr

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IMAG0273 by louvega06, on Flickr

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IMAG0274.jpg by louvega06, on Flickr

But now, I'm glad I do see I have a few "trunks" to work with.

Try to dig a bit until you find your actual base...I am sure it is much nicer since that left branch will surely meet it somewhere, usually have a wider trunk and base/root ball.

By the way, it might be a bit daunting at first because you most likely will encounter thick fine roots before you reach it but you have to push on.

Do what Dario said. Normal nursary stock is planted very deep. A lot of times the trunk is buried.