I have several 6 year old box in pots that I would like to encourage to bush
up a bit more. I intend re potting them into posh pots this year, what's the
best medium and feed to encourage strong bushy growth?

Mike

On 01/04/2015 14:43, Muddymike wrote:
I have several 6 year old box in pots that I would like to encourage to
bush up a bit more. I intend re potting them into posh pots this year,
what's the best medium and feed to encourage strong bushy growth?

Mike


I would suggest John Innes No3 with sharp sand or grit sand or gravel
(sharp, not pebbley). The JI3 will give weight and substance with
4-6mnths of feed; the gritty additive will give the extra drainage.
Avoid giving box plants lots of nitrogenous feed. It will encourage not
just lots of growth, but very soft growth which will be prone to Box
Blight. Also remember to water the top of the compost in each pot
rather than wetting the foliage, which can also encourage BB.
--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay

Some years ago I used to grow bonsai. In still have a couple. If I wanted the tops to develop more rapidly I would plant them in the garden for a couple of years until they reached the size I wanted. Other bonsai growers would plant them in a much larger container. Once to size they would be dug up (some roots trimmed as desired) and planted in appropriate pots. I didn't hove to worry too much about a feeding routine. Not tried it box.