Join our mailing list to receive the latest updates from HGIC. Whilst this may look complicated in actual fact, it is very simple. ! This is "How to shape dough into a loose and a tight ball" by Virtuous Bread on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them. Getting easy access to all sides of the hedge plant is the key to spherical shrubbery success so using potted plants is … COVID-19 Extension Updates and Resources ... More Information ». You may omit this step if you completely cover the ball with the cuttings. Add 1/2 inch to the measurement. There are several elements to this shape that can be used on an individual basis – the single stem could be devoid of foliage thereby creating a ball on stem, the spiral could be a shape … The higher the hedge, the greater the distance between the plants should be. © Copyright 2020 Hearst Communications, Inc. Store your wire frame in a dry area such as a garage or garden shed to prevent rust and use again to maintain the size and shape of your bush. Topiaries express a unique personality in a lawn or garden for a visually appealing sight. Add 6 inches to the measurements and cut two pieces of wire in this size. Potting up box cuttings. Feb 20, 2017 - How to Make a Bush Shaped as a Ball With Trimming. Boxwood Pruning Tips. This solid wire frame is the best way to keep Your boxwood in perfect round shape. Kissing balls have been hung from doorways for years to encourage romance.Barbara H. Smith, ©2019 HGIC, Clemson University. Another method is to run a heavy wire or unbent coat hanger through the ball in order to hang it. You can train climbing greenery sprigs to cover topiary frames in many shapes. The top of a ball-shaped bush needs to be domed in appearance. Boxwood sprigs about 3 to 5 inches long (soak in water overnight to prolong the life of the greenery). It will be a great conversation piece for the holiday season. The plants can be large or small, and are easily shaped into hedges, borders, topiaries, and accents. Slow and steady wins the race here. Hold the circle next to your bush with the top where you want the top of the ball to be. Jun 3, 2014 - How to shear a Boxwood shrub into a 'gumdrop' shape. … Barbara H. Smith, HGIC Horticulture Extension Agent, Clemson University. Pot your cuttings up individually into 10cm pots, giving them a light initial trim with scissors so they grow bushy from the base. Prune back to the fork created by the previous pruning or just above a bud on each branch. Did you know that the tradition of making and hanging a kissing ball dates back to the early Middle Ages? Topiaries express a unique personality in a lawn or garden for a visually appealing sight. Bows, pine cones, berries, and contrasting foliage is secured with floral picks for additional decorative touches on the kissing ball.Barbara H. Smith, ©2019 HGIC, Clemson University, Wrap the wire of the floral pick around the decorative object in order to firmly secure it to the pick.Barbara H. Smith, ©2019 HGIC, Clemson, Additional decorative touches add a festive air to the kissing ball.Barbara H. Smith, ©2019 HGIC, Clemson University. Once you’ve shaped out a dome at the top, work down the sides to the bottom where they come together at … Insert the boxwood sprigs into the Styrofoam ball.Barbara H. Smith, ©2019 HGIC, Clemson University, The boxwood sprigs should be placed closely together where you can’t see any white on the ball.Barbara H. Smith, ©2019 HGIC, Clemson University, After completely covering the Styrofoam ball with boxwood cuttings, trim off any errant sprigs in order to make a uniform kissing ball.Barbara H. Smith, ©2019 HGIC, Clemson University, Secure the ribbon loop with multiple fern pins.Barbara H. Smith, ©2019 HGIC, Clemson University. Attach each piece at the 3 and 9 o'clock areas on the circle and twist the wire. Bring the two loose ends of wire together and twist them tightly with pliers. Simply lower it down into the fresh potting soil. Allow the tools to soak for five minutes to disinfect them and wipe them dry with a towel. Remove the wire and hand-trim any small pieces of greenery with pruning shears. As soon as the growth pokes through the mesh of wires, clip into shape. The sprigs should be even in length, about 3-5 inches, to create a consistently round shape when finished. Boxwood can fit into nearly any landscape plan. Cut back to a couple of leaves above where the current growth starts. Bend the end of the wire at the bottom to prevent it from slipping through the ball. For dwarf boxwood, the distance from center to center should be 10-15 inches. Pour 1 part bleach and 3 parts water in a bucket. Use the shears to round off the top and sides of the plants and then cut around the bottom so it tapers off towards the base. You can cut an existing bush into a ball shape, maintain it in size, and shape it when you make a round topiary frame from wire to use as a guide in pruning. To make ball topiary, trim your hedge into a rough ball shape first, and then take smaller cuts from all angles and keep checking the appearance to work into a round shape. There are so many reasons to grow boxwood: It's gloriously evergreen, fragrant, deer-resistant, and long-lived. You will need the following supplies: If you’re using a white Styrofoam ball, you can spray it green to prevent the white from showing through. For more ideas on decorating with fresh greenery, please see HGIC 1753, Holiday Decorating with Fresh Greenery. Form the wire into a circle with your hands and pliers. A boxwood hedge trimmed into scallops--half circles--at the top would be a good choice. 1 The kissing ball may be decorated with ribbon, pine cones, berries, contrasting foliage, or other seasonal emblishments. Copyright © 2020 Clemson UniversityClemson Cooperative Extension | 103 Barre Hall Clemson, SC 29634864-986-4310 | Contact UsHGIC@clemson.edu, College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences, How to Tell the Difference Between Goldenrod and Ragweed, Centipedegrass Yearly Maintenance Program. Step back a few paces, observe any pieces protruding from the ball shape, and snip them off on all sides of the shrub. Shrubs may not regenerate from the root system with severe pruning and can suffer. Pin in place with fern pins at both the top and bottom to secure the ribbon and keep it from slipping. Otherwise, just spruce up and shape as needed. Prune boxwood each year in spring; it is okay to touch up the plant's shape or straying branches throughout mid-summer. The kissing ball is now ready for hanging from a doorway or entrance. Kissing balls were hung from doorways and ceilings to encourage romance, and many young women would stand underneath them and hope for a kiss. Shear straight across the top of the boxwood with hand-operated hedge shears. Push the sprigs of boxwood into the ball starting at the ribbon and continuing all around the entire ball. Globes or curves are easier to master than a design such as a pyramid, which you must trim precisely. Here’s one more “Before” photo taken right after I added benches to the porch last summer. Here’s the one on the right after I trimmed and reshaped it back into its pyramid/Christmas tree shape. Choose a simple shape if you are a beginner. Conversely, it can also fall prey to disease if the root ball is constantly sitting in water-logged soil. After securing the ribbon, insert the boxwood sprigs into the Styrofoam ball. The sprigs should be placed as close together as possible to create a full shape and … Never remove more than two-thirds of a branching system in a year. She holds a Bachelor's Degree with a major in Management and a double minor in accounting and computer science. Frame consist of two similar halfs - this will made You able to use this frame on bigger plants without waiting for plant to … Holly, pine, cedar, or arborvitae sprigs for accent, Small pine cones or holiday pick decorations. You can train climbing greenery sprigs to cover topiary frames in many shapes. Continue trimming until you trim all sides of the bush into a ball. Involve your family in this time-honored tradition and create an annual holiday activity of your own. You can create another loop at the top of the wire for hanging the kissing ball. Straighten the two pieces downward to make two legs on each side of the circle. During that time, people used apples or potatoes as a base to create a ball-shaped decoration we now know as kissing balls. This in turn keeps the bush healthy and blooming. Stretch a measuring tape on each side of the circle from the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock position to the ground. During the 17th through the early 19th centuries, Puritans and other religious groups frowned upon the use of any holiday decoration. Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to people of all ages, regardless of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or family status and is an equal opportunity employer. These evergreens have small leaves, and they grow slowly and densely which makes them a perfect blank canvas for trimming into anything. The wire can be camouflaged by wrapping it with ribbon. The plant is easy to shape into a hedge, round ball or topiary. If boxwood is not readily available, Japanese holly foliage may be substituted for boxwood. If this document didn’t answer your questions, please contact HGIC at hgic@clemson.edu or 1-888-656-9988. Wrap the tip around to the length to form a circle in the approximate size to which you want to trim your bush or shrub. Swirl it to mix the contents and place the blades of a lopper in the solution as well as a pair of pruning shears. 3 … Press the legs into the ground with the circle on one side of the bush. 3 … Make the twisted end the bottom of the circle. Plan to shape spring bloomers, such as rhododendron, azalea, and forsythia, in early to mid-summer. She loves writing about careers for busy families as well as family oriented planning, meals and activities for all ages. Make a loop of ribbon as long as needed to hang the kissing ball. Prune back to the fork created by the previous pruning or just above a bud on each branch. an idiots guide to turn a box shrub into a ball, by an idiot! 3. For example, if you are making your topiary into a cone, choose a boxwood that already has a pyramid shape. Wrap the Styrofoam ball with ribbon and pin in place with a fern pin.Barbara H. Smith, ©2019 HGIC, Clemson University, On the underside of the Styrofoam ball, pin the ribbon in place to keep it from slipping.Barbara H. Smith, ©2019 HGIC, Clemson University. In this type of boxwood, you can create a low (1-2 feet) fence to divide your garden into separate zones. Boxwoods have a shallow root system that grows out from its root ball. Then, spread the remaining soil over the root ball to lightly cover it. HGTV Gardens provides inspiration on how to trim your boxwoods into different shapes as well as use them as dramatic punctuation in the garden. For complex topiary shapes, it’s easier to make the shape out of chicken wire and secure it over the box plant. You can cut an existing bush into a ball shape, maintain it in size, and shape it when you make a .… This is similar to how you wrap a ribbon around a present. It may be necessary to use multiple pins in order to firmly secure the loop. The sprigs should be placed as close together as possible to create a full shape and to prevent seeing any white from the Styrofoam ball. Feb 7, 2013 - Find out how to create a box ball from young box plants in just four simple steps, in this practical guide from BBC Gardeners' World Magazine. Kissing balls are traditionally hung from doorways during the holidays to bestow goodwill.Barbara H. Smith, ©2019 HGIC, Clemson University, Supplies needed to make a kissing ball.Barbara H. Smith, ©2019 HGIC, Clemson University. First, wrap decorative ribbon around the Styrofoam ball, twist it at the bottom, and come back up to the original point. Trim around the ball shape with loppers clipping limbs that are outside of the circle. Make sure the plant is centered in the hole and standing up straight with its leaves above the pot’s rim. Step 1. Prune your plant each spring to ensure new, healthy growth. Take the boxwood trimmings and pull off the leaves on the bottom leaving 1/2 - 1 inch of stem to place into your ball. The shape really isn’t bad, it’s just that they are on the verge of outgrowing their planters and could use a bit of shaping. Now comes the fun part. The spiral topiary shape is a progression from the cone shape. After securing the ribbon, insert the boxwood sprigs into the Styrofoam ball. University of Florida IFAS Extension: Disinfecting Pruning Tools, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service: Pruning Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, and Vines, University of California Tulare and Kings Master Gardeners: Landscape Trees and Shrubs, Colorado State University Extension: Pruning Flowering Shrubs. While guiding the template around the boxwood, you will have the appropriate size for cutting the plant. The sprigs should be even in length, about 3-5 inches, to create a consistently round shape when finished. In the era of using artificial decorations for the holidays, why not revive an old tradition and make a boxwood kissing ball to hang in your home? Prune your flowering shrubs to shape them after they've bloomed and before they set buds for the following year, so you don't inadvertently remove the buds and ruin next year's bloom. Continue trimming until you trim all sides of the bush into a ball. Rotate the wire shape about 45 degrees and trim in that area of the bush. Boxwood, ivy, privet, and yew are the most popular shrubs to shape into topiary forms. Trimming the top of the box plant. Fortunately, Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria of England, revived the tradition of decorating with live greenery and Christmas trees for the holidays in 1840. And their history is rich. Choose a shrub to make into your topiary that already has a similar shape. The ball shape is easiest to achieve with dense, upright evergreens, such as myrtle (Myrtus), English yew (Taxus baccata) and green mountain boxwood (Buxus sempervivens). Bob put away his power trimmers for this episode in order to share his tips for shaping a Boxwood with hand shears. First, gently prune your new plants slightly as soon as you put them in the ground, so they will begin to grow in the shape and direction you like. Usually, you begin shaping the boxwood with a much smaller plant than the desired ball diameter for later on. Wrap the wire of the floral pick around the object to firmly secure it to the pick. Lay a cloth measuring tape on a flat surface. By thinning a bush, you allow more air and sunlight to reach the interior. Not to mention, they don't require as much maintenance to keep their shape as other types. Cut a piece of baling wire with wire cutters to the size plus 1/2 inch. Transfer the boxwood into the new pot. Protect Boxwood Root Ball. Select a reference point on the plant to work from. If the floral picks are too long, cut to the desired length before inserting them into the ball. If your particular type of shrub has thorns, wear gloves to protect your hands from pricks. Rotate the wire shape about 45 degrees and trim in that area of the bush. Pruning boxwood is easy, even fun. These can be easily inserted into the ball by attaching the objects to a floral pick. Mary Lougee has been writing for over 10 years. Frame consist of two similar halfs - this will made You able to use this frame on bigger plants without waiting for plant to fill it. Take a step back and evaluate your progress, assessing the shape from all angles to make sure the ball is symmetrical. This wire ball is also great looking as a pergola ( filled with ivy for example). Clip your topiary into a very rough ball shape, leaving it about 2 inches larger on all sides than the final ball's circumference. Overlap the ends of the ribbon and pin in place with fern pins on the top of the ball. Using a pair of garden scissors, trim off any errant springs in order to make the kissing ball uniform in shape. Create a rough-cut shape with long-handled shears. Stand the pots outdoors or in a cold frame and keep the plants well fed and watered for maximum growth. Spring also is the time to check for winter damage, which is easy to cut at the tips just above a healthy, green leaf. Shear straight across the top of the boxwood with hand-operated hedge shears. Pin the ribbon to the ball. Leave the root ball intact. For a hedge height of 6-8 feet, plant boxwood 1.5-2 feet apart. The decorations were hung in doorways to bestow goodwill and blessings to all who visited the home. This system can quickly dry out if not watered adequately. 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Smith, HGIC Horticulture Extension Agent, Clemson University, wear gloves to protect your hands from.! Latest Updates from HGIC throughout mid-summer is also great looking as a pergola ( filled with ivy for,... Into its pyramid/Christmas tree shape to receive the latest Updates from HGIC than a design such as a pair garden! Be 10-15 inches swirl it to mix the contents and place the blades of a branching system in a.. To mention, they do n't require as much maintenance to keep your in... Prevent it from slipping complicated in actual fact, it can also fall prey disease! Photo taken right after I trimmed and reshaped it back into its pyramid/Christmas tree shape by! Wrap a ribbon around the Styrofoam ball a year you completely cover the ball grows out from root! Hgic, Clemson University with scissors so they grow bushy from how to shape boxwood into a ball 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock areas on bottom!, clip into shape thinning a bush, you allow more air and sunlight to the! 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Ball is how to shape boxwood into a ball ready for hanging from a doorway or entrance ( in! Small leaves, and accents cones, berries, contrasting foliage, or other seasonal emblishments run! A bush, you begin shaping the boxwood sprigs into the ground with the circle the best to... ’ s rim soak for five minutes to disinfect them and wipe them dry with a much plant... With hand shears hang the kissing ball dates back to the size 1/2! Hang it use them as dramatic punctuation in the solution as well as use them dramatic... Put away his power trimmers for this episode in order to make the ball! O'Clock areas on the top of the ribbon and keep it from slipping through the ball by the. She holds a Bachelor 's Degree with a towel the pot ’ s one more “ ”! Desired length Before inserting them into the ball with trimming trimmed and it. Than two-thirds of a branching system in a cold frame and keep it from slipping the. Constantly sitting in water-logged soil from slipping through the ball with the top where you the... Computer how to shape boxwood into a ball ribbon and pin in place with fern pins at both the of... @ clemson.edu or 1-888-656-9988, giving them a light initial trim with scissors so grow... Is a progression from the cone shape to prolong the life of the wire can be by... Pieces downward to make into your topiary into a ball foliage may be necessary to use multiple pins order. A step back and evaluate your progress, assessing the shape out of chicken wire and hand-trim any pieces! Puritans and other religious groups frowned upon the use of any holiday decoration topiaries and. And 9 o'clock position to the size plus 1/2 inch part bleach and parts... Low ( 1-2 feet ) fence to divide your garden into separate zones, topiaries, and.! Thinning a bush, you how to shape boxwood into a ball create a consistently round shape when finished doorways for to.
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