First spring project: Ilex Verticilata (Southern Gentleman)

[Mike132327]

Hi, I’m Mike, I am 31 and have recently gotten very…obsessed, for lack of a better word, with bonsai. I have always loved the art, and have a few purchased finished projects due to lack of space. Finally I have some room and would really like to try to grown and train my own trees.

I have been doing a good amount of research on general horticulture and bonsai specifically over the last few months and would like to get some starter material before spring. I live on Long Island NY, climate 7B. I picked up an Ilex verticilata (southern gentleman) at a local nursery. I got it from the Native section figuring that it would be very tolerant to my climate. I believe it is closely related to winterberry To my inexperienced eye the tree looked like it has some potential with some love and training.

It is currently in a 2 gallon pot. I would like to thicken the trunk a bit more, so I am thinking in the spring repot into a slightly bigger pot and take a look a the root situation while it’s out of pot.

Is later in the winter like February when I should be thinking of cutting back some of the branches I will be removing later or should I just repot and let it do its thing for the first year or two? I would like an informal upright natural style tree.

I have attached pictures of the tree from all angles. Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I don't know ilex, so take my advice with a grain of salt. I would remove one of the arms of the Y junction before it buds out, and chop it back to a couple inches above that junction.
Seal the cuts and regrow the plant from there.
Good luck! And please let us know how it worked out!

 

[Mike132327]

Thanks for the reply first off! Your advice brings me some ease of mind, I had planned to remove some branches before spring to work some taper in the trunk. From what I’ve been reading they back bud nicely, so I’m hoping it responds well. The picture was what I had in mind. Completely remove the branch on the right side and start from there. The roots look like they are spread very nicely from the few I can see after removing some dead leaves frozen in the pot. So I don’t think I will need to do much there. The big chop for this year was my main focus for this guy. I will try to document as much progress as I can. Have a good one.

 

[SouthernMaple]

Hi, I’m Mike, I am 31 and have recently gotten very…obsessed, for lack of a better word, with bonsai. I have always loved the art, and have a few purchased finished projects due to lack of space. Finally I have some room and would really like to try to grown and train my own trees.

I have been doing a good amount of research on general horticulture and bonsai specifically over the last few months and would like to get some starter material before spring. I live on Long Island NY, climate 7B. I picked up an Ilex verticilata (southern gentleman) at a local nursery. I got it from the Native section figuring that it would be very tolerant to my climate. I believe it is closely related to winterberry To my inexperienced eye the tree looked like it has some potential with some love and training.

It is currently in a 2 gallon pot. I would like to thicken the trunk a bit more, so I am thinking in the spring repot into a slightly bigger pot and take a look a the root situation while it’s out of pot.

Is later in the winter like February when I should be thinking of cutting back some of the branches I will be removing later or should I just repot and let it do its thing for the first year or two? I would like an informal upright natural style tree.

I have attached pictures of the tree from all angles. Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

I have 2, both female, I use the male as a landscape tree to put berries on the females in the spring, the closer to the females the male is the more berries. I am only a few years ahead of you in time but they wire very easily but they scar from large cuts and heal very slowly. Try to be strategic with your cuts.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

The plant is yours, so do as you please! But I would remove the opposite side instead. There's a nice little zig zag in there that would - in my view - be a good starting point.
Bends tend to relax over time, becoming softer and less pronounced. Starting off with a good hard angle would be my first choice.
But the fact that you've kept your hands to yourself for so long makes me think that you're going to do well.
If cut paste is hard to find, consider vaseline or something similar (just don't use it on yourself afterwards).

 

[Mike132327]

I have 2, both female, I use the male as a landscape tree to put berries on the females in the spring, the closer to the females the male is the more berries. I am only a few years ahead of you in time but they wire very easily but they scar from large cuts and heal very slowly. Try to be strategic with your cuts.
View attachment 578807

That’s a gorgeous tree I plan on getting a female and about the same age as my male and starting to train it as well! The winterberries are such a beautiful pop of color on the bare tree.

 

[Mike132327]

The plant is yours, so do as you please! But I would remove the opposite side instead. There's a nice little zig zag in there that would - in my view - be a good starting point.
Bends tend to relax over time, becoming softer and less pronounced. Starting off with a good hard angle would be my first choice.
But the fact that you've kept your hands to yourself for so long makes me think that you're going to do well.
If cut paste is hard to find, consider vaseline or something similar (just don't use it on yourself afterwards).

Very interesting I wasn’t sure how it would look with the long straight branch as opposed to the shorter one

The plant is yours, so do as you please! But I would remove the opposite side instead. There's a nice little zig zag in there that would - in my view - be a good starting point.
Bends tend to relax over time, becoming softer and less pronounced. Starting off with a good hard angle would be my first choice.
But the fact that you've kept your hands to yourself for so long makes me think that you're going to do well.
If cut paste is hard to find, consider vaseline or something similar (just don't use it on yourself afterwards).

Thanks for the advice, it is something I have been wrestling with for a few weeks now. I wasn’t sure if the bend would be to much or if the straightness of that branch would be weird looking.

This was my second option for the cut. I imagine I would want to do it below where the end of the branch bulges no?

 

[NaoTK]

I thought Southern Gentleman is a cultivar of MALE ilex. In other words it will not produce fruit and why waste your time making a bonsai of it?

 

[Mike132327]

I thought Southern Gentleman is a cultivar of MALE ilex. In other words it will not produce fruit and why waste your time making a bonsai of it?

You are correct this tree will not produce fruit. The Red Sprite I believe is the cultivar that is pollinated by the souther gentleman. I do plan on getting a female plant as well and potentially trying to pot them together. I don’t see why it could not still be a good looking tree without berries.