Given time (decades) Buxus will grow into a small tree, but today it is more usually clipped into a hedge or used in decorative topiary.
They respond well to clipping and break readily from old wood.
Old or snow damaged plants will make vigorous new growth if cut back to 15 to 30 cm of the ground, cutting back any branches that may have layered them selves naturally into the ground
Today in Europe Box is suffering extensively from box blight, this disease causes unsightly dieback on decades and centuries of carefully tended hedges and topiary.
Clip to shape in mid to late summer but reforming should be done in the spring
Box can be grown from seed, and needs a short period of cold to germinate.but the plants are slow growing and it may take four or five years to grow to planting out size.
It is easier and quicker to take semi ripe cuttings in the late summer to autumn. Use a free draining mixture and give protection of a cold frame to speed up the rooting process.
Pinch out the tips to encourage bushy growth, as box is slow growing, it may take three or four seasons to achieve planting out size. During this time it is easier to grow them on in a nursery bed, rather than pots, as a potted plant is always more hard work with regard to watering and feeding
Transplant into growing position as bare root plants in the autumn.
Container grown specimens can be planted out at any time of year, but watering must be carefully attended to, particularly during the first growing season
Seeds are a small woody green capsule, collect before it splits in late summer or early autumn
These estimates for how long Boxwood takes to sprout, grow and harvest are from real observations from real gardeners, right around the world.
Average days | Min days | Max days (0)
Average days | Min days | Max days (0)
Average days | Min days | Max days (0)
Rabbits are supposed to dislike the smell of box
The wood is smooth, yellow and close grained ideal to be used for block engraving
Common box, Box
Buxus sempervirens L.
Misspellings: Buxus sempevirens