New Chinese Ligustrum/Privet

[evmibo]

Obtained this today after looking through many similar sized Privets at a Bonsai Nursery. They said it's been about two months since it was repotted (and I'm assuming cut back) so I will probably keep it in the current pot and soil mixture until next spring. Since I'm doing that, should I just leave it untouched and well fed this growth season? Then hard cut back next late winter/early spring. I'm basically trying to thicken up the trunks as much as possible given the situation - I intend the final product to be at least twice as tall. Also, I'm aiming for twin-trunk style. Any other pointers for ligustrum? Thank you.

 

[bonsai barry]

In my region of the country, they grow fast. I cut mine back all summer. The branches become pretty inflexible as they thicken, so I wire early when needed, but since they grow so fast, I do a lot of clip and grow.

 

[evmibo]

Thanks Barry.

In the stage I'm in I would like for the trunk to thicken. I can worry about branch development through wiring and/or clip and grow later, right? Basically, if I've been reading correctly through all of these bonsai articles I figure the best way to thicken the trunk is to let it grow untouched (of course, continuing to fertilize and water when needed!).

Planting it in the ground would be my best option but unfortunately I don't have that option.

Everything I read about these says they're really strong and forgiving of hard cut backs, etc. Which I think I'll do next spring to help create taper - along with root pruning, the introduction of a more suitable training pot and bonsai soil mixture. From there clip and grow, wire when needed. Am I headed in the right direction?

 

[bonsai barry]

Here is a photo of a privet I bought last year (photo #1). I cut it back two or three times last year. Photo #2 was yesterday before cutting it back for the first time this year; you can see that most of the visible branches are new growth frfom last year. Photo three was after I was inspired by this thread, I went out and gave it a trim. My biggest concern is that the branches wil grow two fast and thicken too fast and become out of proportion too quickly.

It obviously has a long way to go before it's show quality, but I think that it will start looking like a bonsai within a year.

 

[Zach Smith]

The trick to getting privet to thicken is to give it lots of room to grow and restrain its tendency to throw shoots near the base. You want a single leader to grow wild to thicken the entire trunk, after which you can cut back repeatedly to produce taper. You don't really need to grow your branch structure now, as you'll get a whole new crop of buds/shoots when you're ready to do this. But you can if you like, just be sure to wire the new branches while they're tender (carefully, they snap off the trunk easily). You can produce an entire branch structure in a single growing season.

One of the keys to maintaining privet bonsai is to repot annually. Even your material in training should be root-pruned frequently. I don't know of too many species that grow roots like privet, and in a bonsai container the roots will so clog the pot that the tree can no longer get the water it needs. They tend to decline quickly once you're past the point of no return in the root system.

Good luck!

Zach

 

[edprocoat]

Evmido, if you wanted to let it grow some roots but can not put it in the ground, get a five gallon bucket heat a rod or a phillips head screw driver and burn a dozen holes along the bottom on the side for drainage and then fill it a 2/3rds the way with a good soil mix and then cut the bottom of that plastic pot open with a razor knife and sink it in the bucket. This will alow it to send roots straight down while keeping them in a reasonable circumfrence contained in the pot top and it will not disturb the fresh repot either. I would soak it first and that way the soil would be compressed and held together by the water.

ed