Live oak style boxwood

I've shown his one before (quite a few times). It is modeled after a tree (Quercus virginiana) I "knew" in Tallahassee, whose branches spread almost 100 feet across.

In past pics, the top was much too thick. You can always see through those huge coastal live oaks of the Southeastern USA. I (and the squirrels) have been working on the top this winter, and it's about where I want it.

Comments are welcomed.

I know that most of you are going to demand that I put it in a shallow pot, but while I might go for something a bit shallower, and wider, I'm not leaning toward a tray-like pot for this.



This shows how the top has been opened up -- advertantly and inadvertantly

Very nice work Jim. Don't know if they're the same or not, but we have Canyon Live Oak in our neck of the woods and you've really captured the essence of those short stout trees. I'm working on a boxwood to resemble one of those that I "know" very fondly. Thanks, it's always inspiring to see a more advanced work in progress and I like the natural way you have with trees.

I likes!

Gives me a few ideas for the dozen or so boxwoods I have in training.

Thanks,

Jay

A very nice tree Jim. Very realistic.

first time posting,boxwood ive been growing in oak tree style

Very nice.

But can I see through the base? If so, I'd suggest you fill the void with soil. Oak are too massive and heavy a tree to be on stilts. It would kinda ruin the image of the "oak tree style."

Aside from that though this is one more example of what I think is the best style for boxwood.

Lots of people style them with lots of deadwood -- a la Ben Oki -- but juniper do that job a LOT better. Even oaks don't do "oak style" as well as boxwoods.

Hi Jim,

Nice tree. I agree that box makes a perfect live oak style. I also agree that your tree needs a shallower and wider pot. I don't think it has to be a lot shallower, especially if you pot the tree lower in the pot so that the soil isn't mounded up. Should be easy to do given typical box roots.

Roger

What are these live oaks? Seem to be pretty popular in the States.

Wonderful trees by the way jim and Bosmi

hi jim
how would i fill the hole? or do i need a deeper pot
thank you

RichLewis wrote:What are these live oaks? Seem to be pretty popular in the States.

Wonderful trees by the way jim and Bosmi

Here are a few pics of Quercus virginiana. There are similar shaped "live oaks" on the west coast, but Q. virginiana is orders of magnitude larger.

The national champion live oak was discovered in 1976 near Louisburg,
Louisiana. It had a diameter of 11.65', height of 55', and crown
spread of 132'. The Florida champion live oak, as given in the
1984 revised list, was found in Alachua County and measured 108"
in diameter, 83' in height, and had a spread 150.5'.

how would i fill the hole? or do i need a deeper pot

You probably could just shove some soil inside the root void without moving the tree at all. Down here, I'd probably use some of our native clay soil, dampen it, and pack it in.

Bosmi, rather than packing soil in the gap under the trunk of your tree I would suggest lowering it in the pot. Pot it low enough that the gap doesn't show. You might need a slightly deeper pot, but not much.

Roger

Wow, you could build one heck of a tree house in those!

RichLewis wrote:What are these live oaks? Seem to be pretty popular in the States.

Wonderful trees by the way jim and Bosmi

In addition to what Jim Shared...here is a little perspective to the potential size of Live Oaks This is Angel Oak growing on St.Johns Island, South Carolina. Jim...I think you have done well capturing the feel of a live oak with your tree. I would like to see it in a wider and shallower container..
John

Thanks John, I keep looking for the right pot, but when I find one I like, I usually can't afford it.

JimLewis wrote:Thanks John, I keep looking for the right pot, but when I find one I like, I usually can't afford it.

You should team up with Robert Wallace and see what he can come up with!! It would be worth it:)
John

I've often wondered about live oak bonsai. As the examples of full sized trees illustrate, many of the branches rest on the ground. Are there examples of bonsai that have branches resting on the ground?

I've never seen one. That doesn't mean that none exist. That would be some kind of raft or sinuous trunk style (that also has a short central trunk), I suppose.

I will say, though, that in bonsai, even our "naturalistic" trees are neater and more orderly than Ma Nature tends to make. None of those big trees we pictured (above) are particularly "orderly" are they?

now in deeper pot

Jim

I love the trunk! I like what the squirrel did. i know that Bonsai is only supposed to be an interpretation of what we find in nature, as such you could consider guy wiring several of the upper branches down further, and open up the canopy so I can see through the tree. this would allow a closer approximation of a live oak who can barely hold her branches up. Try and imagine the same amount of weight straining each branch and then bending them downward to accommodate this imaginary weight. I've seen the real thing in the deep south and man are they great. I'm styling a box in the same way and I find that after guy wiring a month ago, I want to bring my branches down even further for that live oak look. Wouldn't it bee cool to maybe bring one to soil level, like in those pictures of the real ones?

Live oak bonsai DO exist I've seen them in Texas, strangely they tend to look nothing like the big boys. I think its tough to grow an oak out like you would a boxwood, then wait for heavy low growing branches to work with. The natural growth habit of the tree is one thing, but its the effect of gravity and how the tree responds that makes them look pendulous and heavy.

Gorgeous tree, Jim. Always nice to see it.

I love the tree Jim. Do you happen to know how old your boxwood is?

Not really. It has been a bonsai since 2000, but it was a large plant when I got it from a local nursery in Tallahassee.