Deadwood on boxwood

[Veebs]

Hello all, my boxwood is really starting to take off after I worked the roots for the first time this spring. It seems several of the branches didn’t survive the winter though.

I’ve heard boxwoods heal over very slowly, but I’m also mostly only familiar with techniques for juniper deadwood. Should I let the bark fall off and plan to carve some time? Should I try to find the live wood and remove the rest of the bark on my own? Or should I cut back and let the healing begin.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[BrianBay9]

Boxwood are one of the few broadleaf species that have deadwood hard enough to last. There are several examples here:

Great Boxwood Bonsai | Bonsai Bark

 

[rockm]

Box

View attachment 590077

Hello all, my boxwood is really starting to take off after I worked the roots for the first time this spring. It seems several of the branches didn’t survive the winter though.

I’ve heard boxwoods heal over very slowly, but I’m also mostly only familiar with techniques for juniper deadwood. Should I let the bark fall off and plan to carve some time? Should I try to find the live wood and remove the rest of the bark on my own? Or should I cut back and let the healing begin.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions

The boxwood is very VERY dense and carving it can dull tools (dremel bits or router bits) pretty quickly. Let the deadwood dry out for at least a year to help with that. It is similar to working old juniper

Boxwood does heal very slowly. Doubly so in a container. Big wound never heal over significantly which is why you carve the deadwood.

Your boxwood doesn’t look very strong. Not enough to work very hard. I’d wait until you get a lot more top growth before doing much. FWIW boxwood like well drained soil and moderate sun. (If you live in the southern U.S. a few hours of afternoon shade can be beneficial) they suffer from fungal problems if kept too moist

 

[Shibui]

I’ve heard boxwoods heal over very slowly, but I’m also mostly only familiar with techniques for juniper deadwood. Should I let the bark fall off and plan to carve some time? Should I try to find the live wood and remove the rest of the bark on my own? Or should I cut back and let the healing begin.

First, take note of the advice above re plant health. Trying to carve or chop will affect the roots and therefore the living parts of the tree. Let it recover and grow before doing more.

Techniques for deadwood are the same for all species so use what you know of juniper on this one too.
Bark that has dried onto dead wood will stick fast for several years before it starts to peel off. Bark should be peeled while still green if you want it to come off clean. After it dries you need to scrape or grind every piece off which can be slow work. If you're in no hurry it doesn't matter because you'll be carving it off with a tool when you carve the wood. If the bark is already peeling off I'd say that branch has been dead for some time, probably a year or more.
No real need to find the live wood. You can carve the dead part and the live part to whatever shape looks good. I usually follow the dead back to the live then decide whether to stop there or add some more dead to enhance the shape.
Plenty of time to consider your approach.

 

[Veebs]

First, take note of the advice above re plant health. Trying to carve or chop will affect the roots and therefore the living parts of the tree. Let it recover and grow before doing more.

Techniques for deadwood are the same for all species so use what you know of juniper on this one too.
Bark that has dried onto dead wood will stick fast for several years before it starts to peel off. Bark should be peeled while still green if you want it to come off clean. After it dries you need to scrape or grind every piece off which can be slow work. If you're in no hurry it doesn't matter because you'll be carving it off with a tool when you carve the wood. If the bark is already peeling off I'd say that branch has been dead for some time, probably a year or more.
No real need to find the live wood. You can carve the dead part and the live part to whatever shape looks good. I usually follow the dead back to the live then decide whether to stop there or add some more dead to enhance the shape.
Plenty of time to consider your approach.

It seems to peel more easily than juniper does so I guess I was afraid that in the removal process I might peel back some healthy bark unintentionally, like the ease (in some species) of peeling bark off the band of trunk when you’re making an air layer.

 

[Shibui]

It seems to peel more easily than juniper does so I guess I was afraid that in the removal process I might peel back some healthy bark unintentionally, like the ease (in some species) of peeling bark off the band of trunk when you’re making an air layer.

Bark does slip off some species easier than others but I have not particularly noticed it with boxwood.
Might be related to time of year? Bark slips quite easily when the trees are growing but not when dormant. The better they are growing, the easier it is to peel bark cleanly. Bark on dead wood is generally really well attached until it's been dead for a year or 2.

To reduce chances of removing bark you did not intend, make cuts at the limits of the area to be stripped. Cut right through the bark, all the way down to hard wood. That way removing bark stops at the cuts.