Propagating boxwood: cuttings & division

Instead of buying many new plants to plant a large box hedge, you can simply propagate your box yourself. We reveal how.

When your gardening budget is limited and you still miss out on beautiful ones Boxwood (Buxus) want to do without, it is worthwhile to use the vegetative propagation methods - that is, to propagate your box tree yourself. The prerequisite for this is that you have plenty of time with you, because the book does not grow more than 10 centimeters per year. In the following article we will show you how propagation by cuttings, division and seeds works.

There are several vegetative methods to choose from for the propagation of the boxwood. The most commonly used is propagation by cuttings. It is the quickest way to obtain many young plants. The division of the book is less common - on the one hand because fewer offspring are obtained from a mother plant in this way, on the other hand because of the higher risk of failure. Propagation by sowing is rarely practiced, but for the sake of completeness we will also go into it.

Propagate boxwood by cuttings

There are two types of cuttings in the box, depending on the starting material: the older, lignified cuttings or the annual, herbaceous cuttings. Propagation via cuttings is preferred in late summer or autumn. The reason for this is that the new shoots are already mature enough to withstand the rigors of reproduction and withstand a possible threatened fungal attack. If you prefer to make your own boxwood cuttings in spring, you can try to stick them directly into the garden soil when the weather and soil conditions are favorable. The important thing is: the location has to be sunny, fertilization is only applied in the growth phase.

Large cuttings: cracks from the boxwood

If a strong and bushy plant is used as the source, older, well-branched shoots can be cut generously. From these, about 15 centimeters long biennial shoots (recognizable by the brownish bark) are torn off against the direction of growth. The tips of the shoots are shortened by a third to reduce transpiration and the lower third is freed the branch of leaves and cut off the protruding bark tongue, which is caused by the tearing off can. These so-called "large cuttings" or "cracked cuttings" are then planted in pots with cuttings soil up to the base of the leaves, watered and kept constantly moist. The cuttings root best at room temperature. The advantage here is that these plants are nicely branched from the start and they can be planted outdoors as early as next year.

Small cuttings from the boxwood

If the available mother plant is still young itself or can only be pruned a little, annual shoots are also suitable as cuttings. They should be protected more against frost over the winter and will probably need two years before they can be planted out. When growing the plants on the windowsill, a small greenhouse or a plastic bag can help create a humid microclimate. However, you should not forget to ventilate the room every day so as not to promote a fungal disease.

Propagate boxwood by dividing it

Division is also a possible method of vegetatively propagating the boxwood. The plant is cut generously around the root ball, the radius being at least the current one Height of the book should correspond, because the volume of its root ball is often larger than the actual one Plant. The bale is then split on a hard surface with a spade or saw. A new partial plant should have at least two shoots in order to develop well. This is often difficult because the woody stick of the box tree has to be cut through. This leaves cuts that are a welcome gateway for various pathogens such as fungi and bacteria. The subsequent planting can either be done directly in the open field at the original planting depth - the soil should then be mixed with good compost soil Place in a shady location if possible - or the split box trees are placed in pots with calcareous potted plant soil, where they remain until the roots are completely rooted.

The disadvantages of division compared to cuttings:

• It is less efficient, fewer young plants can be obtained in this way
• The large injured area forms a gateway for pathogens
• The new boxwood has one leafy and one bare side, even if regular, rigorous pruning of the box does not necessarily shed all of the inner leaves

Propagate boxwood from seeds

For real enthusiasts, specialists and professionals, perhaps even growing the book from seeds is an option. This simple but time-consuming endeavor makes perfect sense if you plan on breeding yourself and creating your own strain. If you are determined to undertake such an experiment, it will certainly not be news to you, that some types of boxwood bloom little or not at all and therefore do not bear any seeds will. Passionate boxwood experts will probably not be put off by the fact that they have to wait 20 to 25 years for the first seeds even with the flowering varieties. Depending on the variety, it takes between 30 and 190 days to germinate. All in all, however, the cultivation of the box from seeds is rather uninteresting for most hobby gardeners. But who knows? Perhaps the method will prevail in the future, when hot summers and persistent drought cause problems for the plant: the seedlings form namely, in contrast to the cuttings, more tap roots that reach deep into the ground and thus still reach the soil water in dry periods come.

Instructions for growing boxwood from seeds:

• Prepare box tree seeds: Box tree seeds are hard-shelled and need a cold stimulus (stratification) or mechanical scratching (scarification) in order to germinate. For scarification, place the seeds between two layers of sandpaper, carefully roughen the shell with circular movements. This is followed by the cold stimulus: For stratification, the seeds are placed in the refrigerator at around 4 ° C for two months. To do this, place the seeds between several dampened layers of kitchen paper and keep them constantly moist, but not wet, so as not to promote fungi. It should be enough to check the seeds twice a week.
• Germinate and plant box tree seeds: After the seed has been prepared, germination takes place at temperatures as constant as possible between 15 and 21 ° C. As soon as the seeds break open and the first white root sprouts appear, the seedlings can be planted. Prepare a small pot with a diameter of about 5 cm for each seed. Put a thin drainage layer of gravel or expanded clay on the bottom and then fill the pot with special potting soil. This must not be too rich in nutrients so that the roots of the tender seedling do not burn. Plant the seedlings, root down, twice as deep as the size of the seed. You should now regularly supply the pots with water in a bright place. The earth should never dry out, but it must not be too wet either.
• Maintain the small box trees: After the first real leaves appear, fertilizer can be used for the first time with a highly diluted fertilizer. Within a year, the light-hungry seedlings should have developed into five to 10 centimeters large plants. The pots are now rooted and the small box trees can - ideally in spring after the last frost - be planted in the place of their intended use.

In case you find out more about the right one Maintaining your book want to find out, take a look at our special article here.