The Art of Bonsai Project

The image is of a miniature landscape I created about 10 years ago. The trees are Kingsville box. The rock is made up of several smaller rocks epoxyed together.
The tray is about 22 inches long.

Mike

Hi Mike,
I know from experience that Kingsville boxwoods are very slow growers and would like to know the age of the ones you've used (as they appear to have a healthy sized trunk). Also, I assume that you severely chopped them as some point to get the diameter height ratio?
Cheers Gman

Hi Graham
All the Kingsvilles in this saikei are in the 20-40 year range. They have been kept compact over the years by frequent trimming. It does take many years to grow Kingsvilles with trunks this stout.
If you are young, I suggest you plant rooted cuttings in the ground and keep them compact with occasional trimming.

Thanks Mike...young no, more like middle aged (depending on ones definition) hopefully one of my grandchildren will take care of them. They are 3 years old now (about 4") and I trimmed (thinned) them in 08 and was thinking about putting them on an aggressive fertilizer program this summer.
Cheers G.

Graham, be very cautious when feeding Kingsvilles. They are light feeders at most. I rarely feed mine, and when I do, it's usually light foliar feeding. Over feeding will often result in oversize foliage.
Another caution: If one of the Kingsvilles grows a shoot with foliage larger than normal that looks like a larger boxwood, cut it off. Because the Kingsville is a sport off the Korean Boxwood, its possible for it to revert to the original. If allowed to continue to grow the larger foliage, it may revert completely. I had a small one that started reversion. To prove it, I allowed it to revert completely. Even if defoliated, it still grew only Korean box foliage.
Three rules that have worked for me: Light or no feeding. Keep in mostly shade. Keep well watered.
Good luck

Hi Mike from Washington, DC-
I have followed your posts on this and the IBC sites over the past few years; of particular interest to me are your posts on Kingsville. I bought my first Kingsville three years ago. It was extremely dense and needed to be opened up to allow light inside the tree. I was warned to go slowly since they are such slow growers, but as an artist and fairly fearless, I jumped in with both feet knowing where I wanted to go with this tree. I am fairly pleased, but my teacher Colin Lewis feels I need to develop the pads. This seems to be a challenge given how Kingsville grow.

After reading your comments on feeding and light on this post, I realize I over care for this tree...too much sun and too much feeding. I will make adjustments this coming year.

I would love your feedback on my progress with this tree. I think it's a sweet little tree and I look forward to its development. I was disappointed the National Exhibition didn't feature a Kingsville (unless I missed it completely).

Regrards,
Stephen

Stephen,
There were two boxwood Bonsai. One was a Japanese(I think) that came from David De Groot and the other I believe was
a Shohin. I hope you get the Exhibition book then you can see for yourself!

Best Regards,
Mark

Stephen
I'd like to see you open it up more so as to see the branch structure better, and make it possible for, as Naka-sensei said, 'the birds to fly through". Or at least, the bird can see his way in to find a branch to rest on.

The image is part of a Kingsville rock planting that will illustrate what I'm saying.
The full image can be seen by clicking the link.
http://www.artofbonsai.org/galleries/winners.php

Regards

Mike