Grovic
Mame
Came for the bonsai knowledge, stayed because of the insect porn.
'Red Sprite' Winterberry Holly styling/virtual
- Thread starter cbroad
- Start date
LeftHandLuke
Mame
Cbroad - Thanks for posting these (the winterberry, not the bees 
). I picked up a winterberry last summer that looked very much like yours. It was discounted stock from Lowe's, insanely root-bound. I nursed it through the rest of season, then just a few weeks ago I did what you did. The only difference is that I planted it in a shallower training pot... oh, and I chopped the trunk way the hell back! So, we're several weeks into spring and now I'm doing the standard crossing-of-the-fingers awaiting signs of buds. I'm in zone 6a, so a bit cooler than where you are. Do you know what time of year new buds typically appear? Also, given your experience with the verticillata, what do you predict will happen with mine in the coming weeks?
). I picked up a winterberry last summer that looked very much like yours. It was discounted stock from Lowe's, insanely root-bound. I nursed it through the rest of season, then just a few weeks ago I did what you did. The only difference is that I planted it in a shallower training pot... oh, and I chopped the trunk way the hell back! So, we're several weeks into spring and now I'm doing the standard crossing-of-the-fingers awaiting signs of buds. I'm in zone 6a, so a bit cooler than where you are. Do you know what time of year new buds typically appear? Also, given your experience with the verticillata, what do you predict will happen with mine in the coming weeks?Attachments
cbroad
Omono
I like where you're going with the tree so far! Keep me updated!
Here's a shot of my buds at the moment:
And here's a different one that wasn't touched:
Here's an established one in my yard:
So, my repotted one is slower to respond than the untouched containerized one, and both are slower than the established tree.
The one my thread is about is definitely behind, probably only because of the root work. I really butchered the roots so I'm not that worried. Although I repotted a lot of maples and a few are showing signs of issues; leafing out, than drying up... This does have me a little concerned that I went too hard on the root pruning with no branch pruning. So far so good with my red sprite, it's just taking its time.
When mine break dormancy, it's always a different time of year depending on my weather. Usually if we've had a cold winter, they'll wake up later, and we had a pretty mild winter We had at least a week of mid 70s here and a few days in the low 80s, most of my stuff woke up at the same time in the span of week and a half.
You left a lot more roots than me, I think yours should be fine, assuming it was healthy going into winter and hasn't experienced a hard frost since repotting.
You may have pruned off all of the conspicuous buds, do you see any at all?
If there are no visible buds, than it will probably be even longer until it wakes up. It should wake up though being a holly, they can usually throw buds on very old wood. But it might sacrifice the trunk in favor of a sucker from the base. Hollies do tend to do this, especially winterberries. In their native range, in swampy areas, the old wood tends to die back a lot and rejuvenate from their root crown.
Were your buds starting to swell before you did all of the work? If not, it may be slower than normal to wake up.
Here's a shot of my buds at the moment:
And here's a different one that wasn't touched:
Here's an established one in my yard:
So, my repotted one is slower to respond than the untouched containerized one, and both are slower than the established tree.
The one my thread is about is definitely behind, probably only because of the root work. I really butchered the roots so I'm not that worried. Although I repotted a lot of maples and a few are showing signs of issues; leafing out, than drying up... This does have me a little concerned that I went too hard on the root pruning with no branch pruning. So far so good with my red sprite, it's just taking its time.
When mine break dormancy, it's always a different time of year depending on my weather. Usually if we've had a cold winter, they'll wake up later, and we had a pretty mild winter We had at least a week of mid 70s here and a few days in the low 80s, most of my stuff woke up at the same time in the span of week and a half.
You left a lot more roots than me, I think yours should be fine, assuming it was healthy going into winter and hasn't experienced a hard frost since repotting.
You may have pruned off all of the conspicuous buds, do you see any at all?
If there are no visible buds, than it will probably be even longer until it wakes up. It should wake up though being a holly, they can usually throw buds on very old wood. But it might sacrifice the trunk in favor of a sucker from the base. Hollies do tend to do this, especially winterberries. In their native range, in swampy areas, the old wood tends to die back a lot and rejuvenate from their root crown.
LeftHandLuke
Mame
Very helpful info! I did see some buds at the branch tips that may have started to swell. I'll share an update later in the season. Thanks!!
LeftHandLuke
Mame
And here's a quick update to show the timing when the buds appeared. These first surfaced around April 13 (just a few days after my last post). They've swoll up a bit over the past few days. Pictures were taken today. I'm not sure what I've done to deserve getting that top bud PRECISELY where I wanted it but that was pretty fortunate. If anything, that demonstrates how cutting the leader on the bias encourages where the bud will (ideally) appear.
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