Boxwood
Buxus species (BUXACEAE)
Planting and Growing Boxwood
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow boxwood in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, and fruit of boxwood
- Growing conditions for boxwood
- When and where to plant boxwood
- How to plant boxwood
- How to shape, prune and control growth of boxwood
- Watering, fertilizing, and care of boxwood
- Landscape uses of boxwood
- Pest and disease control for boxwood
Growing Boxwood
About 30 species of slow-growing, compact, dense, evergreen shrubs, to 6 ft. (1.8 m) tall and wide, with shiny, midgreen, round leaves, 1/2–1-in. (12–25-mm) long.
Commonly cultivated species include Japanese boxwood, Buxus microphylla var. japonica; Korean boxwood, Buxus microphylla var. koreana; and common boxwood, Buxus sempervirens. Dwarf varieties available.
Boxwood Planting and Care Guide
Flowers and Fruit
Tiny, white flowers in spring, in clusters borne at junction of leaf with limb, form berry- or caplike fruit in summer.
Best Climates
U.S.D.A. Plant Hardiness Zones 5–9; ground hardy, zones 6–9.
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist, well-drained humus. Fertility: Rich. 6.0–7.5 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Full sun to partial shade. Space 1 ft. (30 cm) apart for hedges, 3 ft. (90 cm) apart for landscape plants, depending on species.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep evenly moist. Fertilize quarterly spring–autumn. Avoid cultivating around plants. Mulch, zones 8–9. Prune and shear in spring, autumn. Protect from wind.
About This Species
Good choice for backgrounds, edgings, hedges, paths, topiary in cottage, formal, natural, small-space gardens and landscapes. Best in mild climates. Scale, spider mite susceptible. Boxwood blight, an invasive non-native disease, is a serious fungal disease of boxwood in regions where it has become established.