What are the shaping techniques for boxwood (Buxus sinica)?
Boxwood bonsai should be artistically shaped according to the plant's basic tree form, adapting to the tree's conditions and following its natural tendency. Shaping methods can be by pruning or by wiring, but wiring is best done in summer and autumn, when the branches are more supple and easy to bend; pruning should be done in spring.
It is important to note that although boxwood has strong sprouting ability, it has a peculiar trait: "no leaves, no sprouting." Therefore, whether for shaping or routine pruning, for branches that are not in the right position, the method of "keeping leaves section by section, cutting back to force buds" can be used, so that they gradually send out shoots downward into the correct position. One must not blindly pursue getting it right in one step with ruthless pruning and trimming that leaves no branches or leaves, as this often causes the branches and the entire plant to fail to sprout or even die.
Boxwood has strong sprouting ability. Before shaping, the trunk can be headed back to let new shoots sprout around or below the cut surface, and then, according to the requirements of artistic shaping, the branches can be wired. Wiring with palm fiber in spring is best. It can also be roughly wired and finely pruned to form cloud-like layers or a bun shape, or processed into a natural tree form. The trunk is then shaped according to its natural tendency into a slanting-trunk style or a prostrate style. If a boxwood stump landscape is accented with ornamental stones, it becomes a "boxwood leaning over stones" composition. Boxwood is very tolerant of pruning and has strong sprouting ability; to maintain a beautiful tree shape, it must be regularly processed and reshaped.
Old boxwood stumps collected from the wild are generally cultivated for 1-2 years before shaping and production begin. In the first few years of shaping, wiring is primary and pruning secondary. After the basic form is achieved, pruning is primary and wiring secondary. The best time for wiring is summer and autumn; in summer and autumn, boxwood branches are relatively soft and easy to wire.
In spring, boxwood branches and trunks tend to lose their bark, and the branches are rather brittle and break easily, so it is not a good season for wiring. Pruning can be done in spring. For wiring, palm fiber can be used, or plastic-coated electrical wire. When using uncoated metal wire for wiring, it must be wrapped with cloth strips, plastic film, etc., otherwise the bark is easily damaged.