Boxwood – planting and care

Scientific name (Latin): Buxus

Family: Boxwood family (Buxaceae)

Boxwood is a valued and easy-to-grow evergreen shrub that is excellent for gardens in several ways, including as a hedge, as a divider, as a separate shrub, or planted in a pot. And it loves to be pruned. Boxwood retains its shape well and can be pruned exactly as you want it. It is precisely the pruning that ensures that it can show off its most beautiful side. The round, dense shrub balls seen in many gardens are simply boxwood.

The plant has become very popular in many Norwegian gardens. It is valued for its robustness. It thrives in most gardens and soil types, and it grows densely. This creates an intense green color and soft shapes. With boxwood, only imagination sets the limits.

• Growing Location
  Boxwood is easy to place and thrives in lightly shaded to bright and sunny spots. In late winter/spring, the bushes should be covered with burlap to prevent the leaves from drying out in the strong sun.
• Soil
  Use flower soil, and dig around in the planting hole so that new and old soil are mixed. Plant at the same height as it was in the pot. Water in the hole and immediately after planting.
• Water
  Boxwood's roots are small, dense, and shallow, so it prefers even and moist soil. Water during dry periods with little rainfall. It is also beneficial to cover the soil with, for example, cut grass, which both adds nutrients and keeps the surface moist.
• Fertilizer
  Improve the soil with cow manure in the spring, and supplement with long-lasting fertilizer at the start of growth. Avoid fertilizing late in the summer and autumn.
• Pruning
  A boxwood that is not pruned will grow into a dense and somewhat wide bush. Boxwood can be pruned into various shapes as soon as the frost has gone out of the ground. Prune preferably a couple of times throughout the summer. Avoid pruning on very hot and sunny days, and late in the summer. Boxwood is slightly toxic and has (according to some) an unpleasant scent. The scent is most intense during pruning. Use gloves when pruning if you are allergic. Rodents and deer avoid boxwood.

Planting boxwood is simple, and if you're planning a hedge, you plant it in the same way all hedges are planted. Make sure you have holes large enough so that the roots can spread, and plant them at the same height as they were in the pot. You can mix new, nutrient-rich soil with the existing soil and fill the hole. Press down lightly and water generously. When planting a hedge, you plant the plants with a distance of about 20 cm.

To succeed with planting a hedge, there are some important things to keep in mind. If you are planting boxwood alone and want it to grow tall, it may be wise to provide it with support. In addition, it is important to ensure that the boxwood receives sufficient nutrition. This is done by fertilizing it once in the spring, unless the soil already contains slow-release fertilizer.

For the varieties grown in pots, provide a new layer of soil on top in the spring. In winter, pot-grown boxwood should be kept frost-free and in a bright place. To protect the bushes during the growing period and give them a slow and good start before summer, it is recommended to cover the bushes with a fleece fabric in the spring.

As for other care, boxwood does not require much. Pruning is not necessary if you do not want to shape it. Pruning can advantageously be done after midsummer, and no later than July. Remove the parts you prune so that they cannot be picked up by animals or children, as they are toxic.

Boxwood has a long tradition of being a shrub whose main purpose is to be shaped and used as a hedge and separator. This has been done for thousands of years. Already in Roman times, this hedge was shaped. Boxwood also had a very prominent role in the Renaissance, when the plant was used to cut out a variety of different shapes, such as various geometric figures or animal shapes. Boxwood's slow growth habit, dense foliage with small leaves, and soft branches make the plant particularly suitable for this type of pruning. With a boxwood in the garden, you also have the opportunity to shape it into your own figures.

Boxwood isn't just suitable as a shaped shrub; it has a range of uses that can greatly benefit your garden. This evergreen plant is a historically classic species, and it's really only in recent years that we Nordics have recognized its value. Boxwood can be used as a low or medium-high hedge, a separator between different flower beds, as an edging plant, or also as the free-growing shrub it actually is, alone or in combination with other shrubs. It is so robust that it can be planted just about anywhere.

The leaves of the boxwood are the main reason we cultivate it. They are dark green, very small, and have a glossy surface. They sit very densely on soft branches, and they retain their color all year round. Boxwood blooms in the spring, but with small, tiny white flowers that are not very noticeable. Boxwood only has white flowers, but as mentioned, it is not the flowers that are the prize with boxwood.

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