All features at a glance

The box tree in an informative overview

• Botanical name: Buxus
• Popular names: Buchs, Bux
• Plant family: Boxwood family (Buxaceae)
• Occurrence: Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America
• Types: about 30
• Location: Penumbra, Sun
• Height: depending on the type and variety between 50 centimeters and 6 meters
• Growth habit: small shrub or tree
• Age: 500 years and more
• Root form: shallow roots, dense network of roots
• Evergreen / summer green: evergreen
• Leaves: ovate, between one and 2.5 centimeters in length
• blossoms: inconspicuous, only in older specimens
• Flowering period: March to May
• Fruits: black capsule fruits
• Toxicity: all parts of the plant are poisonous
• Winter hardiness: high (with the exception of non-native species)
• Use: hedge plant, Border, Topiary, solitary, bonsai

Characterization, types and varieties

With the exception of Australia, New Zealand and the North and South Poles, boxwood species occur almost everywhere in the world. Most of the 30 or so species come from the tropics and subtropics. In Europe, however, only two species are native: The common boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) comes from the Mediterranean region and was already cultivated as a garden plant in the ancient Roman Empire around 2000 years ago. The Balearic boxwood (Buxus balearica) also found (and continues to be found) as a cultivated plant in many gardens in the Mediterranean region. In Central Europe, however, this species does not play a role, in contrast to the Buxus microphylla, which comes from the Far East, the small-leaved or Japanese boxwood. This has been part of traditional Japanese gardens for centuries, but has also enjoyed our popularity as a garden wood for some time.

Popular varieties for the home garden

In this country, only Buxus sempervirens and Buxus microphylla are relevant as garden trees. Among the most popular sorts belong:

• 'Faulkner': B. microphylla, glossy, dark green foliage, more wide than tall, not very sensitive to fungal diseases
• 'Herrenhausen': B. microphylla, quite low with comparatively large leaves, foliage color light green to yellowish, not very sensitive to fungal diseases
• 'Angustifolia': B. sempervirens, dark green foliage, up to 90 centimeters in height
• 'Argenteo variegata': B. sempervirens, golden yellow leaf margins
• 'Blue Heinz': B. sempervirens, blue-green foliage, low growth
• 'Globosa': B. sempervirens, naturally spherical growth
• 'Graham Blandy': B. sempervirens, columnar growth, up to three meters high, remaining narrow
• 'Handworthiens': B. sempervirens, fast growing, up to five meters high
• 'Marginata': B. sempervirens, light green foliage with a yellow edge
• 'Rotundifolia': B. sempervirens, up to 100 centimeters high
• 'Suffruticosa': B. sempervirens, light green foliage, stays low with a height of up to 50 centimeters