Buxus are popular evergreen shrubs that are favoured for their small leaves, dense growth habit, and small stature. They provide both wonderful aesthetics and fit into most garden designs. While they are generally trouble free and easy to grow, there are a few tricks to getting the most out of them.
Caring for Buxus is about making sure the plants are thriving. Our buxus plant care and box hedge care articles provide the necessary details to give you the greatest chance of success. Afterall, there is nothing worse than putting the effort into planting for them to fail. Therefore, follow our Buxus plant care advice and give yourself the best chance of success.
Caring for a Buxus hedge has several key elements to ensure the hedge grows healthily and looks amazing. The most important part starts with planting, and our article, How To Plant Buxus, provides sound advice on how to do this properly. So, let’s now assume your plant is growing well and you want to keep it that way!
The most important part to Buxus care starts with planting, and our article, How To Plant Buxus, provides sound advice on how to do this properly. So, let’s now assume your plant is growing well and you want to keep it that way!
Winter is the perfect time for mulching your plants. Organic matter such as compost or sheep pellets should be spread liberally around the plants and then overlaid with mulch. The Plant Company has three very good options for mulch. The first is coco fibre matting which is made from the husks of coconuts. The second is Earth Mat which is made from recycled paper. Both of these break down to become part of the soil within two years. The third is black plastic matting which will last 20 years or more. Whichever mulch is used, The Plant Company recommend stones, bark chip, or other similar products be spread over top for aesthetic purposes. The Plant Company does not recommend adding fertiliser during winter as this is better applied in spring so less is wasted. However, adding organic matter such as compost is quite okay.
Spring is the perfect time for fertilising the plants as they start to bounce into life. The Plant Company has fertilisers which have been specially blended for different plants and in this instance, our Shrub Fertiliser will give them the correct boost and keep them fed for 12-months. A suitable alternative is our organic fertiliser which will also keep them well fed but they will require a secondary application in autumn.
Summer is when the plants need regular watering and this should be undertaken every second day on the hottest days. Plants that are establishing need particular attention as their root system will not have penetrated deep enough to secure consistent moisture yet.
Caring for Buxus in autumn is about keeping the plants healthy. Foliar feeding using a liquid fertiliser can be undertaken during spring, summer, and autumn if you have time but this is not essential if solid fertiliser and/or good amounts of organic matter have already been applied. If you think the plants need an extra boost or have some yellowing, however, a liquid fertiliser won’t hurt.
Plants should be checked for pest or disease issues during spring, summer, and autumn. If anything is looking a little bit unusual, refer to our articles under Buxus Issues And Troubleshooting.
Boxwoods do have issues from time to time. Therefore, it is important to understand the underlying issue(s) and have the remedies to fix the problem. The Plant Company have produced this series of articles to help you in the quest for answers!
The main pests of Buxus are scale insects and they can often be confused for a fungal infection. Where such pests are present there may be a black mould on some of the leaves and stems. This is a mould that feeds on the sugars released as the insect feeds. While the mould is unsightly, it does not hurt the plant and will dissipate with time. Scale insect is easily controlled with a general insecticide. Please always read the label before using any agrichemical.
When Buxus are grown in wet soils or exposed to prolonged wet through over-watering, the disease, Phytophthora, can take hold. Phytophthora attacks the roots and causes the plant to eventually die. The tell-tale symptoms are yellowing of the leaves, drooping foliage even when the soil is wet, discolouring of the stems, and plant collapse. This can happen over several months during any season and progressively gets worse. This is all resulting from the root system being progressively weakened by the pathogen. Gardeners will often mistakenly think the plant needs more water. Unfortunately, adding water only accelerates the problem prolonged wetness was generally the cause in the first place.
Often the disease will start to show several weeks after a prolonged rain event. It can also occur when plants are regularly over-watered, or planted in soils that are poorly drained or that hold too much moisture (e.g., clay soils). Therefore, good drainage is essential and sites where drainage is poor should be avoided. The article, Fixing Poor Drainage On A Clay Soil gives good advice on how to correct drainage.
Treatment for Phytophthora can be a hit and miss exercise as there are no silver bullets. However, if picked up early, The Plant Company has experienced some success using Transformer. Transformer has fungicidal properties and when used as a soil drench 2-3 times, plants can sometimes recover. However, if the plant is too far gone, The Plant Company recommends removing the plant entirely, and using Transformer as a soil drench before putting in a new plant. Of course, the drainage or watering issues will need to be addressed so the problem does not manifest again.
Buxus Blight causes leaves and stems to die off rapidly, leaving unsightly dead foliage on Buxus plants. The leaves soon fall off to leave naked stems that often have tell-tale dark streaks on younger stems. Young plants are almost certainly killed by the disease. The disease is caused by a fungus that thrives in warm and humid climates. It infects plants through cuts and can remain in the soil to infect replacement plants.
Treatment involves cutting out infected vegetation and sending to landfill or burned. Next, spray the plants with Thiram which is available from most garden centres. This should be applied as 2-3 applications about 14 days apart. Make sure the tools are sterilised with boiling water or sprayed with Thiram also to prevent reinfection.
Leaf yellowing in Buxus can result from Buxus Blight, over-watering, being grown in poor draining soil, or Phytophthora. See the article, Why Is My Buxus Dying? for specifics on these issues. Other common causes are too much shade, or the plants have not been fed for a number of years. A liquid fertiliser can be used to correct issues quickly and should be supported with Shrub Fertiliser during spring if you think this is the cause.
There can be many reasons why a Buxus looks sick or is dying and it is often an iterative process to determine why. The most common reasons are presented below and organised from most likely to least likely based on The Plant Company's experience.
Black mould on Buxus is caused by Sooty Mould Fungus. This fungus feeds on the sugars released by feeding insects such as aphids, thrips, and scale insects. While the mould is unsightly, it does not hurt the plant and will dissipate with time as long as the pests causing it are controlled. Most pests that feed on Buxus are easily controlled with a general insecticide. Please always read the label before using any agrichemical.
Two issues will likely be causing your Buxus to die. The first is Buxus Blight which causes dead patches through the plant. This is discussed fully in the article, Buxus Blight. The second, is Phytophthora root rot. Healthy plants can start to wilt even though they have plenty of moisture in the soil. This issue is discussed in the article, Phytophthora In Buxus. If neither of these seem likely, further options are presented in, What Is Wrong With My Buxus?
A wilting Buxus will be caused by one of two reasons. The most obvious is that it needs water! However, if you know the soil has plenty of moisture, but is still wilting, there is a high probability it has root rot disease. When Buxus are grown in wet soils or exposed to prolonged wet through over-watering, the disease, Phytophthora, can take hold. Phytophthora attacks the roots and causes the plant to eventually die. The tell-tale symptoms are yellowing of the leaves, drooping foliage even when the soil is wet, discolouring of the stems, and plant collapse. This can happen over several months during any season and progressively gets worse. This is all resulting from the root system being progressively weakened by the pathogen. Gardeners will often mistakenly think the plant needs more water. Unfortunately, adding water only accelerates the problem prolonged wetness was generally the cause in the first place.
Often the disease will start to show several weeks after a prolonged rain event. It can also occur when plants are regularly over-watered, or planted in soils that are poorly drained or that hold too much moisture (e.g., clay soils). Therefore, good drainage is essential and sites where drainage is poor should be avoided. The article, Fixing Poor Drainage On A Clay Soil gives good advice on how to correct drainage.
Treatment for Phytophthora can be a hit and miss exercise as there are no silver bullets. However, if picked up early, The Plant Company has experienced some success using Transformer. Transformer has fungicidal properties and when used as a soil drench 2-3 times, plants can sometimes recover. However, if the plant is too far gone, The Plant Company recommends removing the plant entirely, and using Transformer as a soil drench before putting in a new plant. Of course, the drainage or watering issues will need to be addressed so the problem does not manifest again.
Buxus propagation is a relatively straightforward process when you have the right advice. Box hedging cuttings are easily rooted and our articles give you the best chance of doing this successfully and without wasting time.
Buxus do not root well in a cup of water and are more likely to rot. There might be the odd success, but The Plant Company suggests don’t waste your time. Our article, How To Propagate Buxus will give you a lot better chance of success!
Buxus is propagated by cuttings. Semi-hardwood cuttings are usually taken from autumn until mid-spring. A stem about 10 cm long is trimmed into a cutting using secateurs with 2-3 leaves at the top, and is clipped just below a node at the base. The leaves are often cut in half to reduce transpiration losses which could cause the cutting to dry out. The cutting is dipped in rooting hormone, then inserted into propagation growing media. The tray of cuttings is placed under mist with bottom heat also applied. The cuttings will have taken root inside of four weeks as a general rule. The Plant Company generally applies a fungicide once per week while the cutting strikes.
The correct feed for Buxus is important to ensure the plants thrive. The correct Buxus fertiliser depends on whether the plant is grown in a pot or in soil, and getting this wrong can be disastrous for your plants. Our articles provide the best advice for box hedge fertiliser so you can achieve the amazing results you are after.
Buxus grown in containers require different fertiliser to those grown outdoors in soil. In this instance the correct fertiliser to use is either container plant fertiliser or fertiliser tablets. Each of these will provide safe, sustained, and complete nutrition to the plant for the next 12-months. Using other types of fertilisers can be detrimental to the plant and may result in plant injury or death.
Foliar feeding using a liquid fertiliser can be undertaken if you have time but this is not essential if container plant fertiliser or fertiliser tablets have been used. If you think the plant needs an extra boost or has some yellowing, however, a liquid fertiliser application won’t hurt. A great benefit of foliar feeding is that it helps keep the leaves strong and lush as the nutrition is right where the plant needs it.
Buxus require feeding to keep them growing optimally. The Plant Company’s Shrub Fertiliser has been blended to give plants the boost they need and then sustained nutrition for the next 12 months. We recommend the fertiliser is applied to the soil surface in spring just as the plants start to grow actively. More importantly, we advise that no fertiliser is placed in the hole at planting, but rather spread around the soil surface so it can wash through the roots as it releases. It ensures that nutrients remain in the soil around the plant rather than being lost through the soil profile to where the plant cannot reach it. This also applies to plants grown on sandy soils. The Plant Company’s Shrub Fertiliser is therefore very environmentally friendly and longer lasting than most other products in the market.
Foliar feeding using a liquid fertiliser can be undertaken if you have time but this is not essential if Shrub Fertiliser has been applied. If you think the plants need an extra boost or have some yellowing, however, a liquid fertiliser application won’t hurt. A great benefit of foliar feeding is that it helps keep the leaves strong and lush.
Buxus are showy plants that do require feeding to keep them looking amazing. A lot of articles have all sorts of advice on this subject which often requires multiple applications so you use more of their products. The Plant Company prefers to take a simpler and more environmentally responsible approach. We believe the best organic option is The Plant Company organic fertiliser which is applied in spring and again in autumn and will keep them well fed. You can safely apply generous amounts of this fertiliser without risk of injuring the plants. More details about this organic fertiliser are provided with the product.
The soil pH refers to how acid of alkaline the soil is. Buxus prefer a soil pH within the range of 6.5 to 7.5 which means they can tolerate both slightly acidic and slightly alkaline soils. As the pH of the soil moves away from this optimum range, the nutrients the plant is taking up (or not taking up) through the roots changes. If the shift in pH is too far, this can result in deficiencies of some nutrients and toxic levels of others. In either case this can cause the plant to become sick or even die a slow death.
The best way to know whether the pH is correct for your plant is to do a test. The Plant Company has pH test kits available that are easy to use and only take a few minutes to get a result. Preferably this test should be completed before planting so any pH issues can be corrected without risking the plant. A pH less 5.5 should have sparing amounts of dolomite lime applied along with Shrub Fertiliser. A pH above 6.8 should have small amounts of soil acidifying fertiliser applied. In both instances the fertiliser should be thoroughly mixed into the soil before planting. A retest of the soil pH should be undertaken after four weeks, and small adjustments made again. If the pH is in the optimum range, just use Shrub Fertiliser thereafter.
A secret to an amazing Buxus hedge is fertiliser, even if you have put lots of compost and organic matter into the soil. Buxus require nitrogen and magnesium for foliage, and good amounts of phosphate for root and new foliage development. The Plant Company has developed a feed for Buxus hedges (and other trees and shrubs) that will give the plants sustained nutrition for 12-months and it that has everything the plant needs to remain healthy. More importantly, the nutrients don’t get lost past the roots when it rains, so this is more environmentally friendly than other fertilisers. Our vigorous and healthy plants, as well as those of our clients, proves we have developed the best product. If you want the best feed for your Buxus hedge, The Plant Company’s Shrub Fertiliser is the only product you’ll ever need.
This series of articles answers many of the frequently asked questions about Buxus, such as how fast they grow, their hardiness, and more!
Buxus can take frost once established, though very young plants should be protected until they are at least 15 cm tall. Frost Cloth is a good option for protecting vulnerable plants if you are worried. Be careful to harden off recently purchased plants if you intend to plant these during winter and frosts are likely. Do this by gradually exposing them to the cooler conditions over a 2-3 week period or until such time as you think that a frost won’t damage them. The Plant Company recommends holding off planting until spring if you are at all worried that new plants might get frosted. Generally speaking, a good sized Buxus planted in spring will cope with frosts the following winter.
The list of Buxus that The Plant Company has cataloged, worked on, propagated, and marketed is extensive. Our database of Buxus varieties is listed below:
Buxus sempervirens, commonly known as boxwood or box hedge, is a popular evergreen shrub grown for its dense, dark green foliage. It's a classic choice for formal gardens and landscapes due to its ability to be easily shaped into hedges, borders, and topiary.
Key Characteristics:
Planting and Care Tips for Buxus Sempervirens
With proper care, Buxus sempervirens can be a long-lived and low-maintenance addition to your landscape.
Generally speaking, Buxus do not have invasive roots when compared to other species. However, if you plant it on top of soil drainage lines, the roots are probably going to grow into those lines eventually. If, on the other hand, you’re worried about it lifting concrete, we have not observed this occurring. The Plant Company regards this plant as having non-invasive roots.
Buxus are generally regarded being of slow-medium vigour. A healthy Buxus should double in size each year until it reaches maturity. Be sure to start with strong and healthy plants at the outset as a sickly plant can take a lot of time to recover and cause a hedge to become uneven. Our article, What To Consider When Buying Buxus provides sound advice on this subject.
Buxus varieties differ in their mature heights. However, the most popular variety, Buxus sempervirens, typically grows to 1 m tall and the same wide. Often the mature heights are irrelevant when they are being grown for hedging. For example, Buxus sempervirens is often grown as a 30 cm tall hedge. Nonetheless, The Plant Company has put a lot of effort into determining how big each plant will grow in an unrestricted growing environment. Far too often we see people planting a garden too densely and then having to spend a lot of time trimming or removing plants later. This is something we want our customers to avoid and we therefore provide size information so the planning can be right from the start. Be sure to check out our Buxus varieties and the detailed information that accompanies both this, and our other plants.
Boxus is a misspelling of Buxus. Buxus is the correct genus name for a group of plants that includes the commonly known boxwood or box hedge (Buxus sempervirens). So, Buxus sempervirens is a specific type of plant within the broader genus Buxus.
The most commonly used plant as an alternative to Buxus is Lonicera nitida. In particular, Lonicera Honey Hedge Lime, Lonicera Honey Hedge Ruby, and Lonicera Honey Hedge Lemon are very popular. These Lonicera varieties have similar foliage and can be trimmed into a small hedge. Westringia Aussie Box and Westringia Grey Box are also recommended by The Plant Company as an alternative to Buxus. These afford a different style to the Lonicera.
The most common Buxus variety is Buxus sempervirens. This makes up about 80% of the traditional plantings and forms a dense hedge that is highly aesthetic. Buxus Green Gem is a faster growing variety with slightly larger leaves, and also forms a highly aesthetic hedge. Both are regarded by The Plant Company as being the best varieties of box hedging. The Plant Company has a range of Buxus varieties and we welcome you to check them out. We have taken great care to provide detailed information with each of them.
Buxus sempervirens has a slow to moderate growth rate in NZ. Once established the expected growth rate is about 10-15 cm per annum in ideal conditions. Ideal conditions are a full sun position with a fertile soil that is both well-drained and does not dry out during summer, and a warm climate. Once any of these factors are compromised, the growth rate will tend to slow. The Plant Company strongly recommends ensuring the soil is free draining where the Buxus sempervirens are to be planted. Unfortunately, this is most common reason that Boxwood plants fail or perform poorly. If drainage is not easily resolved, consider raising the soil level or consider an alternative such as Lonicera nitida.
Boxwood is the common name for Buxus. Therefore, there is no difference between the two. The Plant Company has a range of Buxus varieties and we welcome you to check them out. We have taken great care to provide detailed information with each of them.
Buxus Green Gem is the quickest growing box hedge. It has slightly larger leaves than the other Buxus varieties and makes for a highly aesthetic hedge. Buxus sempervirens makes up about 80% of the traditional plantings and forms a dense hedge that is also highly aesthetic. The Plant Company has a range of Buxus varieties and we welcome you to check them out. We have taken great care to provide detailed information with each of them.
Buxus hedging, also commonly known as a boxwood hedges, are by far one of the most popular hedge plants in NZ. They owe their fame to their small stature, compact growth, and their ability to be clipped into almost any shape imaginable. They are used in NZ gardens to create borders, define spaces, and provide privacy. Buxus hedges tend to be slow-growing, but they can reach heights of up to 3 m tall with proper care and depending on the variety. However, they are generally trimmed to sizes anywhere between 30 cm tall and 1.5 m.
Buxus will sprout when cut right back, even up to 10-15 cm above ground level. However, this relies on the plant having heathy shoots at the outset. This activity is best undertaken during spring or summer using secateurs or a pruning saw. Please note: Buxus grown in shade environments may struggle to re-establish when cut back severely. Similarly, growing sub-optimally due to disease or nutritional issues may also struggle to regrow. The Plant Company does not recommend cutting plants any lower than 15 cm above ground level to ensure a better chance of success with this procedure.
Buxus make amazing informal hedges (i.e., minimally trimmed) and to create an outstanding hedge, space plants 30-40 cm apart. The faster you want the hedge to fill in, the closer they should be planted. Similarly, space plants closely if you want a dense hedge quickly (25 cm apart).
Creating a Buxus ball requires patience and careful trimming. The top of an upright growing plant is cut off just above the mid-point of the ball to encourage sprouting just below the cut. As the new stems grow, they are routinely “tipped” (i.e., the top bud is pinched out) to encourage more shoots. All the time, the ball is progressively shaped until the desired size is achieved. This process can take three years (or more) to complete if the ball is large. If all this seems too hard or you don’t have the patience, contact us and we can generally supply your needs.
Creating a Buxus topiary standard requires both patience and a straight, single-stemmed plant to start off with. The plant is staked to grow with a straight trunk to just past the mid-height of the topiary (i.e., ball). All the side branches are trimmed off to about 10 cm above the mid-point of the topiary. The top of the plant is cut off just above the mid-point of the ball to encourage sprouting just below the cut. As the new stems grow, they are routinely “tipped” (i.e., the top bud is pinched out) to encourage more shoots. All the time, the ball is progressively shaped until the desired size is achieved. This process can take three years (or more) to complete. If all this seems too hard or you don’t have the patience, contact us and we can generally supply your needs.
Trimming a Buxus hedge so it looks perfect is quite easily achieved with some attention to detail. It does, however, start at establishment if you want a truly awesome hedge. As the hedge is establishing, keep trimming the outer branches lightly. Removing the tips of the branches during this process encourages more branching and a denser hedge overall. It is essential while doing these light trimmings to keep in mind what width you want the hedge to be when fully grown. Given about 5 cm of growth will be removed at each trimming when it is fully grown, the light trimming needs to occur inside the maximum width of the hedge by about 10 cm. Only when the hedge thickens should it be taken out to its maximum width.
Trimming typically occurs in early spring and again in late summer with a little and often philosophy. Taking off too much will make the hedge look bare, but it will grow back. To get straight lines better than trimming by eye, you can use a string line after the initial cut is complete. When The Plant Company trims hedges, we will often do a light cut over, then stand back and look along the lines to determine the high points for removal. Good luck!
Buxus are trimmed to remove excess foliage and to shape the plant(s). This is best done during early spring, late summer, or both. You can be as gentle or aggressive as you like when trimming. A mistake often made is to trim the plants hard enough. This error generally results in a woodier plant and a much larger plant that can be difficult to contain. Buxus are very forgiving plants and even if you get the trimming wrong, they will recover!
The Plant Company recommends trimming frequently (at least one per year) and cutting the plants back not further than where you can see leaves. If you remove all the foliage, the plant will need to sprout again from those stems to regrow. The Plant Company also recommends removing any dead or unsightly stems at this time. The cut stems can be painted with would paint, but this is optional.
The articles, How To Grow A Buxus Hedge, How To Trim A Buxus Hedge, and How Hard Can I Prune A Buxus?, provide further information.
The optimum spacing for a Buxus hedge is generally 20 cm apart. With this spacing the plants will compete with each other and push upwards to grab as while competing for light. At the same time, they will fill out nicely at the base so you are not left with an annoying gap between the plants. You can space plants wider but that will have two effects. The first is the hedge will take longer to fill in and you may end up with a gap at the bottom of the hedge between the plants that often bothers people. For the sake of 1-3 extra Buxus plants, go with the recommended spacing to avoid future headaches!
If you have purchased large and bushy Buxus plants, these can be spaced up to 60-70 cm apart as often they are already 50 cm wide with dense foliage already. Check with The Plant Company if you are in doubt here as we want you to have a hedge your neighbours will envy!
Buxus can be trimmed at any time of the year, though early spring and late summer to early autumn are the times recommended by The Plant Company. At these times the plants will produce good amounts of fresh, new growth. Moreover, the growth in autumn will not be at risk from frost injury. Light trimming to remove unsightly foliage can occur at any time of year.
These short articles provide some insight into how you might use Buxus in different situations and what you might pair them with.
Buxus owe their popularity to not just their small and dense foliage, but also to their versatility. They make exceptional hedges low hedges for bordering gardens, as well as taller hedges for where greater formality is required. While their usefulness for hedging is well established, they also make for amazing standalone plants. The Plant Company often uses them as a backdrop for smaller plants or turns them into topiary balls and topiary standards (i.e., trimmed into a ball atop a short trunk). The small and dense foliage means they can also be clipped into interesting shapes. They can be included in most garden styles with ease and make for a fresh addition. Explore The Plant Company’s range of Buxus varieties to find the one(s) that suits your design needs!
The main varieties of Buxus in NZ are Buxus sempervirens, Buxus Green Gem, and Buxus Silver Beauty. Each makes for a fantastic hedge that is both dense and highly aesthetic. The Plant Company has a range of Buxus varieties and we welcome you to check them out. We have taken great care to provide detailed information with each of them.
A wide range of plants can be grown with Buxus, particularly when they are used to border a garden. The Plant Company often recommends using other plant colours and textures to add variety and interest. Such plants include Lomandra White Sands, Astelia, Phormium Platts Black, Rosemary, Gardenias, Westringias, and Camellias. When they are grown in pots, we will often have Dichondra Silver Falls trailing from the sides.
Growing Buxus, or Boxwood as they are commonly known, is generally easy when you get a few of the basics right. This involves planting in the right soils, choosing the most ideal planting position, selecting the best variety, and ensuring they have the essentials to thrive. Whether you are growing buxus in pots or planting into soil, The Plant Company has the advice to ensure success.
Buxus are very easy to grow, but you need to have the basics right. Choose a sunny spot and prepare the soil by adding compost or sheep pellets. Feeding your plants in spring with Shrub Fertiliser will replenish nutrients and keep them fed for 12 months. They should also be watered regularly during dry periods to keep them flourishing. The Plant Company has produced a suite of articles that covers everything you need to know about growing Buxus.
Buxus can cope with coastal areas provided they are not covered in salt spray. Being constantly coated with sea spray results in leaf burning and ultimate death of the plant. Planting on the opposite side of the house to the beach is generally fine. If the soil is near pure sand, this will become problematic both from a watering and nutritional perspective. Our articles, How To Water Buxus and Best Fertiliser For Buxus, provide useful advice on these subjects.
If the soil is too saline, this can also prove detrimental to the plants and result in them becoming stunted and not performing. Nonetheless, if you elect to plant in this environment, The Plant Company recommends ensuring the soil is well prepared with organic matter such as compost and water regularly during dry periods.
In shaded conditions Buxus become “stretched” as the branches extend to chase light, and internal leaves may yellow and fall off. In full sun they tend to be more compact with a greater depth of foliage. That said, Buxus will grow well with just 4-5 hours of direct sun during the day, or with large amounts of dappled light.
Please note that a Buxus hedge that extends under a large tree or through a shaded area will generally differ in both the colouring and overall aesthetics when compared to other areas in full sun.
Buxus do not grow well on wet or heavy soils, including clay soils. In such circumstances, they are likely to die a slow death. In these environments the plants are likely to succumb to the root rot disease, Phytophthora. The article, Why Is My Buxus Dying? affords more information on this disease. You might find articles, How To Test If My Soil Is Poorly Drained and Fixing Poor Drainage On A Clay Soil useful.
Buxus look amazing when grown in pots, especially when managed correctly. They are commonly grown as a topiary, or as a topiary standard. The most popular varieties for this are Buxus sempervirens, Buxus Silver Beauty, and Buxus Graham Blandy.
To grow a Buxus in a pot, choose a pot that is no less than twice the size of what the Buxus is currently growing in and that has plenty of drainage holes in the bottom. Fill the bottom of the pot to about 1/3 of the way up with potting mix. Do not use soil or compost when growing plants in a container and do not add fertiliser. The Plant Company potting mix has all the nutrients required to sustain the plant for the next 12 months.
Remove the plant from the container it is growing in by either pulling it free or by cutting the bag. We recommend cutting the bag or container, especially for larger grade plants, to minimise any chance of damaging the roots. If the roots have been growing in a circle or are all bound up you can tease them apart if you want but this is not essential. Similarly, you don’t need to remove any of the growing media. The Plant Company does not recommend cutting the roots, even if the plant is root-bound as this offers no benefit. This is explained in our article, Managing Rootbound Plants. Add more potting mix and firm this around the plant using gentle pressure, then water well. They should be watered twice a week during hot weather and weekly or fortnightly during cooler periods. The key to having an amazing Buxus in a pot is to both keep it fed correctly (see article Best Fertiliser For Buxus Grown In A Container) and not to over-water it. Over-watering is the most common reason Buxus fail. Our article, How To Trim Buxus will is also useful.
Choose a full sun position for your Buxus. The hole should be dug to at least 50-75% deeper and wider than the container the plant is currently growing in. The Plant Company recommends incorporating compost or sheep pellets into the soil to provide additional organic material, but this is not essential. Do not put fertiliser in the bottom of the hole, rather spread Shrub Fertiliser on the soil surface after planting, and preferably do this when the plant is actively growing in spring. The Plant Company has produced specific articles to help you grow amazing Buxus: How To Plant Buxus, How To Trim Buxus, Best Fertiliser For Buxus, When To Water Buxus, How To Mulch Around Buxus, and Buxus Issues And Troubleshooting.
To create an outstanding Buxus hedge The Plant Company recommends spacing them based on how tall you want the hedge to grow to, as explained in our article, How Far Apart Should Buxus Be Planted For Hedging?. Generally, this is 15-20 cm apart.
It is important to understand that the hedge is generally pruned in early spring and late summer with about 10-15% of the exterior vegetation removed. The amount removed depends on how much you need to contain the hedge. The best Buxus hedges are trimmed twice per year with a little and often approach to keep the plants dense and lush. That said, they still look fine with once-a-year trimming. See our article, How To Trim A Buxus Hedge for finer details on this subject. Further, The Plant Company has produced expert advice on Trimming Buxus, Fertiliser For Buxus, Buxus Troubleshooting, and many more Buxus articles to help you grow amazing plants.
Variety selection is also very important as not all varieties grow as tall as each other. Check out The Plant Company's range of Buxus varieties to make sure you get the right one. We have taken great care to provide accurate information and detail about how each one grows. The varieties most commonly used for a formal hedge are Buxus sempervirens and Buxus Green Gem.
Choose a full sun or partial shade position with good drainage for your Buxus plant. The hole should be dug to at least 50-75% deeper and wider than the container the plant is currently growing in. A planting spade makes the hole digging a lot easier. The Plant Company recommends incorporating compost or sheep pellets into the soil to provide additional organic material, but this is not essential. Do not put fertiliser in the bottom of the hole, rather spread that on the soil surface after planting, and preferably do this when the plant is actively growing in spring.
Remove the plant from the container it is growing in by either pulling it free or by cutting the bag. We recommend cutting the bag or container, especially for larger grade plants, to minimise any chance of damaging the roots. If the roots have been growing in a circle or are all bound up you can tease them apart if you want but this is not essential. Similarly, you don’t need to remove any of the growing media. The Plant Company does not recommend cutting the roots, even if the plant is root-bound as this offers no benefit. This is explained in our article, Managing Rootbound Plants.
Now place the plant in the hole and make sure it is level with the soil surface before filling in around it. If it is above the soil surface, dig more out. If it is below, put in more soil and retest the level. Once the plant is set level with the soil surface, add more soil gradually and firm it around the plant using gentle pressure as you go. Scatter Shrub Fertiliser across the soil surface after planting and the give the plant a good watering.
Only potting mix should be used when plants are grown in a container. Often people will try and cut corners and use soil or mixes that contain both soil and potting mix with poor results. The same applies to when plants are potted up with compost as it holds too much moisture. Soil also contains weeds and tends to become compacted in a container, hence why it is not used in this manner. The Plant Company has nursery grade potting media which is pre-loaded with the correct amounts of fertiliser and micro-nutrients to keep the plant sustained with nutrition and actively growing for the next 12-months. After 12-months, simply add a couple fertiliser tablets to keep the plant fed for the next 12-months.
Soils rich in fertility and organic matter that are well-drained will produce amazing plants. The soil should be well prepared with either compost or sheep pellets mixed in at planting or spread on the soil surface after planting. It is important that the soil being planted into won’t restrict root growth and for this reason, clay soils are not well suited to Buxus. Clay soils also tend to be very wet which will negatively impact the performance of the plant, and can ultimately result in plant death. Death in these instances usually occurs because the holes fill up with water which starves the roots of oxygen. This essentially drowns the plant.
Feeding your Buxus plants in spring with Shrub Fertiliser will replenish nutrients and keep them fed for 12 months. Liberal amounts of organic fertiliser can also be used. Do ensure that plants are watered regularly during dry periods to keep them flourishing.
Placing mulch around Buxus helps keep the soil moist and significantly reduces weeds. The Plant Company recommends an organic mulch is used as this breaks down over time to provide nutrients and improves the soil. It is also better for the environment than the plastic-based alternatives. Whatever type of mulch is used, it needs to be free draining so the soil can “breathe” and allow water to penetrate quickly and easily. Heavy rates of lawn clippings are therefore not a good option as they hold too much moisture. The Plant Company has three very good options for mulch. The first is coco fibre matting which is made from the husks of coconuts. The second is Earth Mat which is made from recycled paper. Both of these break down to become part of the soil within two years. The third is black plastic matting which will last 20 years or more. Whichever mulch is used, The Plant Company recommends stones, bark chip, or other similar products be spread over top for aesthetic purposes.
Compost is not considered an effective mulch as weeds germinate easily and it is only short lasting. It is, however, a very good method of adding organic matter to the soil and should be applied before the mulch is put down.
Buxus are best planted any time from mid-autumn until late spring. During this time, they can cope with the stresses associated with planting (root damage mainly) more easily than if they have to also cope with heat and moisture stress as well. They can be planted in summer provided they are well-watered and the roots have plenty of growing media attached when planted. If watering is a challenge, The Plant Company advises planting any time from late-autumn through until early-spring. Make sure you have a good planting spade to make this job a lot easier.
A full sun or partial shade position with good drainage and shelter is essential for getting the best results with Buxus. In shaded conditions they tend to become “stretched” as the branches extend to chase light, and internal leaves may yellow and fall off. In full sun they tend to be more compact with a greater depth of foliage. The planting position should also be moderately sheltered which will help with establishment and the overall plant shape.
The question as to which Buxus is best for hedging comes down to what you like and are trying to achieve. Presented below are the most popular Buxus varieties grown for hedging in NZ.
Buxus Graham Blandy, is a variety of Buxus sempervirens, and is reasonably popular for hedging. It grows as a narrow, columnar shrub with dark green leaves held densely on short stems. It is a slow-growing plant, reaching a height of 1.5-2 metres and a width of 0.5-1 metres over 10 years. The Plant Company recommends Buxus Graham Blandy where a Buxus sempervirens look alike is desired but with more height. In these instances, it is usually trimmed to a 1-1.5 m tall hedge. This Buxus is also great for growing in a pot or planting at an entrance to bring height and formality to the space.
Buxus Green Gem is also a popular variety in NZ for hedging. The foliage is slightly larger than Buxus sempervirens and is a fresh green colour. Buxus Green Gem grows slightly faster but still has the dense foliage that makes for a fantastic hedge. It is generally trimmed into a hedge 50 cm to 75 cm tall and used in pool gardens, borders, and as the main hedge at the front of a house. The Plant Company often recommends growing these as topiary balls in pots at an entrance.
Buxus microphylla, commonly known as the Japanese boxwood, is often trimmed into a hedge. The leaves are small and glossy green, about 1 cm long, and have a smooth, waxy surface. They are densely packed on tight network of branches that gives this plant a lush appearance. These characteristics make Buxus microphylla popular for trimming into a hedge 40cm to 1m tall. The Plant Company often recommends this Buxus where clients require something similar but slightly different to Buxus sempervirens.
By far the most popular variety of Buxus hedge in NZ is Buxus sempervirens. It produces small, dark green leaves off short stems. The dense network of branches enables this variety to be trimmed into a hedge as low as 20 cm, or up to 75 cm tall if that is the goal. It is somewhat slow growing but requires little maintenance apart from trimming, watering, and an annual application of fertiliser. The Plant Company often recommends Buxus sempervirens for low borders, English gardens, pool and cottage gardens, or for new houses where clean lines to complement the architecture are desired or to provide a contrast against a light-coloured wall or pavers.
Watering Buxus correctly is an important part of growing amazing plants. Importantly, making sure they get enough without being over-watered is paramount.
Buxus require good levels of soil moisture to stay fresh and keep growing actively. They require watering both during establishment and during those dry periods. The Plant Company recommends a generous watering every second day during summer, or every third day if the soil is a bit heavier. If plants start to wilt, you need to water immediately. The Plant Company advises watering in the morning or in the evening for water conservation purposes.
If your Buxus is being grown in a pot, watering every second day during summer and once every week during winter is the general rule. This will depend on how hot the growing environment is and the size of the plant of course. A word of caution, over-watering is the most common cause of plant death with Buxus.
Whether you need assistance finding the plant you’re looking for or you simply want to know more about who we are and what we do, we invite you to get in touch with us today. A member of The Plant Company team will get back in touch as soon as possible.
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