Page 21 - BSAM 2017 Q4

Teir wood is very fexible and allows tough bends. It’s a very resistant tree and well adapted to life in a container. Scots pine are quite atypical. Many other pines have a masculine aspect, instead, the Scots pine is more feminine and very elegant.Buxus sempervirens, European BoxwoodIn the south of France, at the foot of the Pyrenees mountains, there is a very limited area where Box-wood trees grow quite exceptionally. Tey are also confronted by the same harsh climate conditions as the Scots pines, but, in addition, they survive in a stony soil, almost without organic substrate and must undergo the ferce and violent winds. As a result, the trees that have a very spectacular movement and drifwood are extremely old. Te specimens styled as bonsai are probably over 600 years old! It is probably the European species best adapted to bonsai: small persistent leaves; the ability to bud on old wood; very dense and resistant wood which enables the creation of beautiful drifwood. In addition, the boxwood re-acts very well to drastic pruning; on branches as well as on roots. Unfortunately, fres and the invasion of a Box tree borer from China, threaten the survival of this species in nature. Bonsai is therefore a way of ensuring their survival.The Boxwood specimens styled as bonsai are probably over 600 years old! It is probably the European species best adapted to bonsai.Facing page; Pinus sylvestris by Jean-François BusquetThis page; Buxus sempervirens by Raymond Claerr