Methods and Techniques for Selecting and Removing Branches and Trunks in Boxwood Bonsai

Boxwood is a bonsai tree with strong sprouting ability and tolerance for pruning. As a bonsai, it requires regular pruning, especially the selection and removal of branches and trunks. As for which branches should be kept, which should be cut off, and to what extent certain branches should be pruned, we should have a clear and definite plan in mind. Never prune blindly, or you may achieve the opposite of what you want and suffer a loss that outweighs the gain. Today, the editor will share with you how to select and remove branches and trunks in boxwood bonsai.

Boxwood can be styled into many forms such as the straight-trunk style, slanting-trunk style, and curved-trunk style, and each style has its own merits. As long as you put effort into selecting and removing branches and trunks and get it just right, bonsai of any style can show extremely high ornamental value. The decision of which branches and trunks to keep or remove in boxwood is usually carried out through pruning. Besides achieving the shaping effect we need, it also stimulates the boxwood to sprout, so that it frequently pushes out tender branches and leaves, keeping the bonsai in a fresh green state, more vigorous, and more durable to appreciate.

Boxwood has an extremely strong sprouting ability. Without weakening the tree's vigor, generally the more it is pruned, the more it maintains growth vitality and continuously sprouts new buds. Because it buds relatively quickly, and to avoid branches growing too fast and ruining the tree's form, you can usually cut off 1-2 nodes at the tip of the branch to encourage it to sprout more tender branches and leaves. Of course, as it pushes out branches, you also need to cut off redundant branches, overly long branches, overlapping branches, diseased and weak branches, and dry dead branches at any time, so as to avoid affecting the beauty of the tree's form, wasting nutrients for nothing, and weakening the tree's vigor and thus affecting sprouting.

But when pruning boxwood bonsai, regarding which branches to keep or remove, the original generally follows the principle of "keep strong branches, cut weak branches; keep main branches, trim side branches." In particular, redundant branches and leaves at the top and middle of the plant should be the focus of removal. On one hand, this improves ventilation and light penetration; on the other hand, it encourages the plant to sprout more new branches and leaves; and furthermore, it increases the bonsai's sense of layering, making the layers more distinct and the ornamental effect better. Branches that must be cut should be cut without hesitation; those that can be trimmed can be selectively kept or removed according to styling needs; those that do not need pruning should be cut as little as possible. In short, we must learn to judge for ourselves, and then decide which branches to keep or remove.

If you use wild-collected boxwood stumps to make stump bonsai, the selection and removal of branches and trunks deserves even more attention. Everyone knows that old boxwood stump bonsai has extremely high ornamental value, but to make styling and creative work easier, people generally do not use the branches and trunks that come with the old stump to achieve the styling. Instead, they often cultivate new branches and trunks through grafting, and then carry out the necessary shaping. Boxwood stump bonsai made this way often better shows novelty, and both its ornamental value and artistic charm can be fully expressed. Therefore, the economic benefits of the finished boxwood bonsai will also multiply. Moreover, for wild-collected stumps, sawing off some branches and trunks can reduce water loss in the stump bonsai, thereby speeding up the old stump's adaptation to the pot and improving the survival rate.

But for ordinary boxwood bonsai trees, the main branches generally need to be kept, and only some side branches need to be cut off or shortened. The selection and removal of branches and trunks in boxwood bonsai generally needs to be decided according to what style of bonsai you want to create. At the same time, think ahead about what effect removing these branches and trunks or keeping them will have on the overall ornamental effect of the bonsai. After all, when styling a bonsai tree, sawing off branches and trunks is relatively easy, but growing them out is relatively difficult. So before making a cut, we must think it over carefully.