Boxwood: Expert tips on evergreen boxwood

Hardly any other evergreen plant is as popular with us as the boxwood. Here you can find out what you need to consider when planting, cutting and the like.

box trees (boxy) have become indispensable in our garden landscape. Box trees adorn gardens and parks as hedges, shrubs, balls or even in imaginative forms. In order for your boxwood to thrive magnificently, there are a few tips that need to be observed. With us you will learn everything from planting and care to propagation to overwintering the evergreen shrub.

Boxwood: origin and claims

The name "Boxwood" is derived from the Greek word "pyxís", which means "box" in German (English "box wood" - from "box"). Because even in ancient Greece, boxes and cans were turned from the wood of the boxwood. The boxwood family (Buxaceae) includes 70 species worldwide.
The boxwood is a shrub, but it can also occur as a tree. The foliage is evergreen and consists of dark green, leathery leaves. The boxwood makes few demands on its location and is otherwise very easy to care for. It also copes very well with frequent cutting. However, the evergreen bush grows very slowly, just 10 to 20 centimeters in a year.

Buy boxwood

When buying your boxwood, you should make sure that the plant looks healthy and well cared for. Make sure you don't find any signs of disease or pests on the boxwood. In addition, the foliage should be rich and green. It is also important to check the health of the roots.
You can buy boxwoods in garden centres, hardware stores or tree nurseries. Many online retailers also offer boxwood for delivery.

More, more detailed tips for Buying your boxwood you'll find here.

Boxwood species and varieties

Two species of the boxwood family (boxy) are interesting for cultivation in our gardens: The Buxus sempervirens and the Buxus microphylla. Buxus sempervirens is the common boxwood and is native to the Mediterranean region. Buxus microphylla, the Japanese or small-leaved boxwood, originally comes from Korea and has also been cultivated in Japan for centuries. Below we present popular varieties of these two species.

Buxus sempervirens:

• ‚Suffruticosa': The variety best suited for edging beds and as a hedge. It forms long, medium-sized, light green leaves and usually does not exceed 50 cm in height
• ‚Blue Heinz': This variety is also good for edging beds, as it is low-growing and frost-hardy. The leaves are bluish in colour
• ‚Aurea': This boxwood variety is interesting because of its special leaf colouring. After sprouting, the leaves are golden yellow and later turn green
• ‚Globosa': If you want a boxwood ball, you should grab this variety; this already grows somewhat spherically by itself

Buxus microphylla:

• ‚faulkner': A popular variety of the Buxus mircophylla. This bears glossy, olive-colored foliage and is very hardy to drought and cold. Faulkner box trees grow very bushy and are therefore well suited as ground cover
• ‚Herrenhausen': Another proven boxwood variety. This is particularly suitable for hedges and borders, is rather small and resistant to fungal attack

Plant boxwood: location and instructions

The frugal boxwood is satisfied with almost all locations, but you should consider a few points to create ideal growth conditions. The ideal location for your boxwood should be sunny and warm. The boxwood especially loves locations with morning and evening sun. However, he does not want to stand in the blazing midday sun. The soil should be well loosened and aerated. You should avoid waterlogging by working sand into soil that is too heavy. Slightly moist, alkaline soils with a pH between 6.5 and 7.5 offer ideal conditions for your boxwood.

Box trees feel particularly at home in this location:

• Sunny to semi-shady location
• Loose, well-aerated soil
• humus rich soil
• PH between 6.5 and 7.5

The optimal time for planting the boxwood is in the spring between March and May. Dig a sufficiently large planting hole. Now put the boxwood in the middle of the hole, then the hole with the excavation, also with a nutrient-rich organic soil like ours Plantura organic potting soil, fill up and water. When planting as a hedge, a spade-wide ditch is dug and the boxwoods are planted 20 centimeters apart for low hedges and 30 to 35 centimeters apart for tall hedges.

Plant boxwood: How to proceed step by step:

• Dig a plant pit
• Place the boxwood in the center of the planting hole
• Fill the planting pit with excavation and compost
• casting

Transplant boxwood

You can also replant box trees when they are old. Choose a frost-free, not too hot day. To dig up the boxwood, use a spade to dig up the root ball to the same extent as the boxwood crown. The depth depends on the size of the tree - at least 40 centimeters for a small bush, at least 60 centimeters for a large one. Use a digging fork to loosen the soil under the bush as much as possible. Then lift out the boxwood and cut back any damaged roots. After that, the dug up boxwood should be soaked in a vessel for half an hour. Then, as described above, it can be planted in its new location or in a pot.

Detailed information and tips for Planting and transplanting box trees in beds, hedges and pots can also be found here.

propagate boxwood

There are two vegetative methods for propagating boxwood yourself: propagation by cuttings or by division. We will introduce both to you below.

Propagating boxwood by cuttings

The best time for propagation by cuttings is late summer or autumn. Strong, bushy plants are most suitable, from which older, branched shoots can be used. But you can also use younger plants for propagation. One-year shoots are particularly suitable here.

Propagating boxwood by cuttings in a nutshell:

• Tear off biennial shoots about 15 centimeters long against the direction of growth
• Shorten the shoot tips by a third
• Remove leaves from the lower third of the branch
• Cut off the protruding bark tongue
• Plant in pots with cuttings soil up to the base of the leaves
• Pour on and keep constantly moist
• Let grow at room temperature
• Transplant outdoors next year

Propagate boxwood by division

During the division, a boxwood is severed and divided into two parts. However, this is associated with a high risk of loss, since the division creates entry points for diseases and pests. In addition, fewer young plants are obtained in this way than with cuttings.

Propagating boxwood by division - summary:

• Cut out the plant generously around the root ball (radius is at least the current height of the tree)
• Split the bale on a hard surface with a spade or saw
• New subplant should have at least two shoots
• Plant either outdoors or in pots

A detailed guide to Propagation of the box tree you'll find here.

caring for boxwood

Even if the boxwood is generally very easy to care for, it also needs to be watered and fertilized sufficiently. We give you tips on how to water and fertilize your boxwood correctly and tell you what is important when cutting the evergreen bushes.

Water boxwood

Since the boxwood only has shallow roots, it cannot draw water from deeper soil layers. It is therefore dependent on regular watering when it is dry. With potted plants, you should make sure that the soil does not dry out - even in winter. If you see brownish leaves and shoots after the winter, this can be a sign of too much drought in the cold season. Especially in hot and dry summers, the boxwood is happy to be sprayed with a hose or watering can to remove dust from the leaves.

Fertilize boxwood

Typical symptoms that your boxwood is suffering from a lack of nitrogen are reduced growth and yellowing of the leaves. However, to ensure that it does not get that far, the box tree is dependent on regular fertilizer application. The best time to fertilize is from spring to early summer. However, you should not fertilize later, as the shoots supported by the fertilizer die off quickly in the event of frost. For boxwood we recommend fertilizing with a fertilizer that offers a long-term organic effect - such as compost and ours Plantura organic universal fertilizer. An organic long-term fertilizer supplies the plants with nutrients over the long term and at the same time promotes healthy soil life and the formation of humus.

Detailed instructions for the ideal fertilization of your boxwood can be found here.

cut boxwood

The cut plays an important role in the boxwood: it promotes growth, the bushes become denser and more lush and the boxwood can be brought into the desired shape. Can be pruned between April and September. It is also important that the sun does not shine fully and it does not rain on the day of cutting. Both hand scissors and electric scissors are suitable for cutting, but they should be sharp. Templates can also help to bring the boxwood into the desired shape.

More tips and tricks for Pruning of box trees you'll find here.

Overwinter boxwood

In the bed or as a hedge, the boxwood can survive our winters well. The situation is different with box trees in pots. They are more delicate and require some measures to avoid freezing to death. If you can carry the pot, simply place the boxwood somewhere sheltered from the wind, for example in front of a house wall. To protect the pot from the cold from below, it is best to place it on a wooden board. If the pot is too big or too heavy to move, the bucket can also be protected from frost with jute bags. On particularly cold days and nights, the boxwood itself can be packed into the jute bags. Also remember to water your boxwood regularly in winter - but only on frost-free days.

You can find out what damage frost can do to your boxwood and how you can prevent this in our special article on the subject boxwood damage by environmental conditions.

boxwood diseases

Unfortunately, some diseases also affect the boxwood and can severely affect it. Here we give you a brief overview of the most important boxwood diseases.

boxwood canker

The fungus can penetrate through the bark of the box tree Volutella buxi penetrate the plant and first cause growths and later the death of shoots. If your boxwood is affected by cancer, you should cut back and remove the affected parts.

Boxwood dieback

Caused by the fungus Cylindrocladium buxicola the box tree dieback causes whole box trees to wither away. The first signs of an infestation are brownish or orange spots on the leaves, which get bigger and bigger. Eventually, the bush sheds all its leaves, and the shoots become bare. With such an infestation, the only thing that helps is to remove the affected plants, alternatively a pesticide can help.

How you that Boxwood dieback can recognize and what can be done about it, you can read here. A more detailed description of the boxwood fungus can also be found in our special article.

boxwood rust

Another disease caused by fungi is boxwood rust. Rust fungi usually stain the leaves of the plant rusty red to brown. To combat the affected parts of the plant can simply be cut off and disposed of.

A detailed guide on how to boxwood diseases recognize and combat, we have prepared for you here.

boxwood pests

The best-known boxwood pest is probably the boxwood moth. But other pests also enjoy the leaves of the bush. Here we present the most important boxwood pests.

A comprehensive overview of boxwood pests and information on how to combat them can be found here.

box tree moth

For several years, the caterpillars of the box tree moth (Cydalima perspectalis) holes in our box trees. From the middle of May they are up to mischief. Everything important about the box tree moth You can also find out in our special article.
If the infestation is detected early enough, it can be treated with biological sprays like ours Plantura Zünslerfrei XenTari^® be fought.

You can find out in our article how you can get rid of the pest with proven home remedies Fight box tree moths with home remedies. If these don't help either, we'll give you more tips here Control of the box tree moth. All important information how to use the Dispose of the borer caterpillars and touch, we have put together for you here.

Tip: With pheromone traps like that Plantura borer trap an infestation of the box tree moth can be detected at an early stage. So you can react quickly and fight the borer.

shoot tip mite

Twisted shoots and leaves are caused by the shoot tip mite. This won't damage your boxwood, but it doesn't look very nice. If you spot infected parts of the plant, cut them back and remove them.

boxwood flea

The boxwood flea can also taste the leaves of your bush. You can recognize the infestation by the spoon-shaped, crooked leaves. Cutting off infested areas helps against fleas.

Boxwood: Toxic to humans and animals?

It is safe for box tree moths and the like to feed on the box tree. For everyone else, however, the evergreen bush is highly toxic. This is due to the 70 different alkaloids in the roots and leaves of the plant. However, since these taste very bitter and inedible, nobody would think of eating their fill. However, you should be careful with children, as even a small amount of the poison can have serious consequences if they weigh little. Therefore, supervise small children in the garden and teach them from an early age not to eat from the plant. This allows the beautiful bush to grow in your garden without posing a threat.

In-depth information on the topic "Boxwood: Toxic or not?“, you will find in our special article.

But maybe it doesn't always have to be boxwood? About possible Alternatives to boxwood you can find out more here.