Box Hedging Plants - Buxus sempervirens
Buxus sempervirens or Green or Common Box hedge plants with their very dense growth habit and small, glossy dark green leaves are ideal for low formal edging and topiary. Along with Yew, Privet and Cherry Laurel, Buxus sempervirens is tolerant of all but the deepest shade. In fact Box hedge plants actually prefer partial shade where the leaves keep their colour better - all Buxus sempervirens varieties can get sun scorched during those long hot summers we keep having.....
Box or Buxus sempervirens is a slow growing hardy native evergreen shrub or small tree with fragrant foliage and yellow, insignificant flowers that appear in March and April depending on location. Boxwood is hard, close grained, bright yellow and polishes well so it is often used for inlay work. Today Boxwood is used to make the best mallet heads - both for the carpentry shop and the croquet lawn, and most of us can remember yellow boxwood school rulers. If you are plagued with deer, Buxus sempervirens is not immune to damage, but it clearly tastes foul as in our experience they tend to leave it until last.
There is little mythology attached to Buxus, although it is a sacred plant in Georgia where Box twigs are taken to church on Palm Sunday to bring protection to the home and good luck to the family. The plant is poisonous to humans - don't worry, Box tastes disgusting to us as well as deer and it is used in homeopathy in treatments for epilepsy and malaria.
A well maintained Box hedge can - after many years be a truly magnificent sight - there is one in the parish of Babington that must be 6 metres tall, but unless you are extremely patient box hedging is best kept to between 30cm and 80 cms tall as it grows so slowly. Plant your box hedge using 5 plants per metre in a single row. The Box hedging in the trough - pictured were 30/40cms plants photographed immediately after planting.
Box hedge plants are traditionally clipped on on Derby Day - although we think that is 2 weeks too late. Because it grows so slowly, Buxus sempervirens is also excellent as potted or ground grown topiary. The best soils for box are chalky but you can grow a good Box hedge anywhere that is well drained.
We also sell container grown Dwarf Box hedging plants for smaller topiary and cloud and formal hedging around kitchen gardens.
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