How To Care For Your Tropical Boxwood Bonsai Tree

Neea Buxifolia Bonsai Care

About The Tropical Boxwood Bonsai Tree

The Tropical Boxwood is actually a type of bougainvillea, native to Puerto Rico.  New shoots have a lovely red color, and it can produce small flowers and berries as well.

Placement

A Tropical Boxwood makes a wonderful indoor bonsai.  It can live outside, but will die in temperatures below 55 degrees - so inside for a large portion of the year is best.

Make sure it gets plenty of sun (6 hours or so) with a quality grow light, or a windowsill (south facing preferred.)

In the summer, it should be placed outside if possible - just be gentle with the temperature change.  Bring it outside for the season when the midday temperature is the same as indoors, and bring it inside for the season when temperatures are back in that range.  Generally, around 70 degrees in the mid-day.

Watering

The Tropical Boxwood is native to the topics, so it enjoys plenty of water in well draining soil. Never let it dry out completely.

Humidity

When your Tropical Boxwood bonsai tree is indoors, using a humidity tray is recommended.  It’s from the tropics, so it loves humidity.

Fertilizing

Since your Tropical Boxwood bonsai is in a small pot, and not the ground, it needs nutrients.  A slow release (pellet based) fertilizer is perfect for this, and can be added sparingly every 1-2 months during the growing season.

Pruning & Trimming

Trim back the new growth to the farthest safe point that looks good to you — but never remove all of the new growth.

A regular trim will help keep your Tropical Boxwood bonsai tree short, while helping the trunk grow thicker.

Repotting

Repotting must be performed periodically on your bonsai, Tropical Boxwood included, when its root system has filled the pot.  If you can clearly see the roots coming out of the bottom of the pot, it’s time to repot your bonsai.

Generally, this means every 2-3 years for a deciduous tree and every 4-5 years for an evergreen.  A tropical tree, such as the Tropical Boxwood, will be somewhere in this range depending on its environment.

Repotting should be done in mid-summer, when the tree is at it’s least fragile state.

The Tropical Boxwood bonsai, along with all of its soil, should be removed from the pot.  From there, you can trim away no more than 1/3rd of the root mass (1/4th is preferred.) 

Then you can repot the tree in the same pot, or give it a newer / bigger pot to thrive in.

After repotting, your bonsai Tropical Boxwood should be thoroughly watered.

Diseases, Insects & Other Pests

Your Tropical Boxwood bonsai can be treated for pests like a normal Tropical Boxwood tree.  Just remember, your tree is miniature and will need a much smaller and more gentile dose of treatment.