Repotting a boxwood

[dirk hoorelbeke]

First of all, this is not a standard repotting job and i'm not at all an expert. I "forgot" to repot this one for 3 years (or something like that). The tree started to lose some vigor and i found the tree was a bit rootbound.


After taking the tree out of the pot, preparing the pot is the first thing to do.

Drainage layer bims (pumice) and akadama

Being compacted and boxwood having fibrous root and knowing what was under the soil, i took out the handsaw. Sawing the sides first.


Next finding the nebari, that way you know how deep it is in the pot. For trees in development i place most of the nebari 0,5 or 1 inch beneath the soilline. This way more roots will develop in that place. Boxwood tend to have roots growing up when the conditions stay right higher. So i had to dig a bit.


Sawing a SMALL slice of the bottom.


Having two hands i had to improvise a bit so i could work on the bottom of the rootball.


Worked the left side of the bottom.

The stick points at the wood at the base of the trunk. It is time to stop digging.


Remove the soil (akadama and bims) from the outer ring of the rootbase. Look carefully and feel where the big roots are. Note that a big part of the akadama is still intact. The tree never went in a greenhouse during winter and regular frost is common here.


After that it was time to position the tree in the pot and working down the new akadama and bims between the roots. After watering the tree went in the greenhouse to give the tree a jumpstart.

 

[dirk hoorelbeke]

Forgot photo of a big root i cut. Finding some field ground and removing it.

Shorter root.

 

[BethF]

In the first photo, your roots look like a large package of ramen noodles! Thanks for the instructive repotting progression. Don't you wish all species made roots as fine as boxwood?

 

[dirk hoorelbeke]

It's always good to have lots of roots. They grow so dense it can become difficult, but i'm not complaining.

 

[sorce]

Thanks for sharing this Dirk.

I gotta do my boxwood soon.

Did you recently trim the foliage?

Can you please keep us updated?

I need to do almost the same type of extreme rootball shape cutting reduction.

A little nervous...knowing yours survived will help be make good decisions!

Thank you!

Sorce

 

[dirk hoorelbeke]

Last year health went down a bit. The tree was to full, the place where it was standing was not perfect. After a few years of just growing last summer i did a hard cutback, starting from almost leafless. We all know they pop back vigorously so that was what happened. But later things went wrong. Had a late noticed infestation of "Psylla buxi" I guess. So this late winter i cut it back again and i will monitor closely. Boxwood is not fussy at all so it should turn out ok.

 

[dirk hoorelbeke]

Sorce, you made me look at old photos of this tree.
2009, i think i dug the tree from a hedge in summer 2008

2010 filling in a bit. (focus on a bit)

Repotted in 2012. Seems boxwood doesn't need a pond basket for fine roots, but it helps. Shocked it was 5 years ago since i repotted.

Summer 2012

2013

2014

It will never be a top tree. But it has something elegant that i like ... Just need to remind to take some photos now for looking back later. Started from crap and still in that region... (sounds more nasty than i meant)
Sorce: how can you be nervous?

 

[J. Adrian]

What type of boxwood is it, do you know?
The recent trip to the nursery did not yield anything large like I was looking for. They mostly had 1 and 5 gal nursery containers and a lot of multiple plantings on one pot, looking for something rather tall , I remember seeing a video with A. Joura on a boxwood and liked it so much I need to look for a tall one like that for my garden.

 

[sorce]

It will never be a top tree.

Disagree!
So far your time with it has seen great improvement!

Those photos made this thread very educational.
From a 2 to a 10!

Awesome!

how can you be nervous?

It is one of my favorite and fastest trees.
Sentimental. And I got a wicked vision for it!

My experience with boxwood has been less than stellar, killed 2 following "well favored boxwood instructions" and the one that lived was a Xmas tree I whacked to nothing, kept inside till spring, and threw out!

So my understanding of them is a little backwards....

The one I still have was found in summer almost dried out in a dump with no pot!

Free so it lives for me!

Sorce

 

[dirk hoorelbeke]

What type of boxwood is it, do you know?

Buxus sempervivens. It is the most common and the most fast growing.
I digged 20 boxwood in the heat of summer, i've repotted some 3 times a year, i've dumped them everywhere, full sun, full shade, wet, dry... There were not all happy, but i must find the first that dies. Boxwood is a sub-story (is that a correct term?) tree. It grows under other trees, even in the mountains. Don't let them dry out completely and they will live.
You will not find interesting trees in young material. This hedge was 30 years old and the trunks weren't really big. I digged 30 meters, part is not styled yet.