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FAQs
Should I choose Box or Box-Leaf Holly?
If you are in the colder inland parts of the North & Scotland, or on the coast, then Box-Leaf Holly, Ilex crentata, or its dwarf variety, Convexa, are definitely the best choice. Another alternative for coastal sites are Hebes, but they are a bit larger and less formal.
Common box won't grow well right on the coast anyway, and although it is perfectly hardy, it comes out of a harsh Northern winter looking a bit sad until the new foliage comes through.
If you are planting in full shade, then Common Box or Dwarf Box will perform best, as long as there is adequate air-flow.
Common box is susceptible to two diseases that do not affect Box-Leaf Holly:
- Box Blight Fungus: It typically only affects Common & Dwarf Box in humid places (which are more common in the South & West of England and Wales) with poor air flow.
The risk is decreased if the box is clipped during dry weather, when the blight spores are less active.
- Box Moth: The caterpillars only cause cosmetic damage, and can be killed with pesticide or organic controls.
Key Takeaway:
- Box-Leaf Holly is disease-free, grows on the coast, and performs best in the coldest regions of the UK. You can clip it any time of year, which makes it ideal for very neat formal uses & topiary.
- Common Box is the most shade-tolerant, won't grow on the coast, and tends to experience cosmetic leaf damage in the coldest, windiest parts of the UK.
Clip it during winter to reduce risk of disease.
What are Sweet Box Plants Good for?
There are three big differences between Sweet Box, Sarcococca confusa, and the other two Boxes described above:
- It has larger, less dense leaves, and so does not clip quite as nicely into perfect formal lines and curves.
- It has very fragrant flowers. These appear in winter, when there is not much else to smell around the garden.
- It will grow in really full shade, in dry soil under other evergreen plants, and prefers a well sheltered location.
All of those features combined give Sweet Box a special purpose, because it does not really need to be seen to be appreciated.
- It can be used as ground cover around and under bigger plants where it receives no direct sun, and isn't really visible as you walk past.
- In really shady, humid, sheltered areas where the other Boxes are not so ideal, it can still replace them as a low ornamental hedge
You can grow box hedges almost anywhere in the UK that has decent drainage. They are all hardy, shade-tolerant, and not fussy about soil type.
Common & Dwarf Box:
- Tolerate full shade well, but needs decent air flow to reduce risk of disease.
- The most important thing is that your Box hedge is in an open situation where there is lots of breezy air movement.
The shade is no problem, it is the air flow that is crucial for healthy Buxus. As a rule of thumb, you could plant against a wall or under a big tree with high branches, but both might be too clammy. - Fine in exposed windy locations, but not in range of salty coastal winds.
- Box blight is a potential problem in humid areas with poor air flow. Use Japanese Box instead.
Japanese Box-Leaf Holly:
- Tolerates partial shade well, but not ideal for full shade.
- Grows in exposed windy locations, including right on the coast.
Sweet Box:
- Exceptionally shade-tolerant, it will grow in dry soil directly underneath evergreen plants where few other things can.
- However, if planted in full sun, it needs a moist, rich soil.
- Does not like exposed, windy locations.
Our how to plant a formal hedge video demonstrates with beech, but the principles are the same with Box.
Spacing a Box Hedge:
Common Box, Sweet Box, Box Leaf-Holly, and Dwarf Box Leaf-Holly sold in the larger root balled size, are all planted at 3 plants per metre (every 33cm) in a single row.
Dwarf Box, and Dwarf Box Leaf-Holly in the smallest size, should be planted at 4 or 5 plants per metre (every 20 to 25cm) in a single row, and you can go as high as 8 per metre (every 15cm) if you want a dense hedge ASAP.
Box plants are slow growing, no matter your location! But as with any plant, the growth rate is affected by the amount of sun, shelter, local climate, and soil nutrients.
Ranked from slowest to less slow:
Dwarf Box: 4-5cm per year in ideal conditions.
Perfect for very low hedging between 20cm to under a metre tall.
Common Box: 7-8 cm per year in ideal conditions.
Given enough time, it can grow to several metres tall, but most box hedges are around 50cm to 1.5metres.
Sweet Box: Because it is usually grown in deep shade, expect less than 10cm per year, but it can do up to 15cm in sunnier spots.
It is good for hedges up to about 1 - 1.5m tall.
Box-Leaf Holly: Up to 20cm per year in ideal conditions! It can also grow to several metres tall, given enough time.
The cultivar Convexa is the dwarf version, best used as an alternative to Dwarf Box for hedges under 1m tall.
Trimming Common & Dwarf Box:
To avoid risk of Box Blight disease, the best time to trim is during a period of dry weather, so keep an eye on the forecast. Any time between May and August is probably best.
You can also trim in dry winter weather, whenever the temperature is above freezing, but then you are likely to need to trim again in summer if you want that classic near, formal look.
There is an old custom of clipping your Box hedge on Derby Day in June, but that is only the best date to achieve a neat, formal look with only one trim per year, because Buxus does most of its growing in the cooler Spring weather.
Always collect or rake up and burn fallen leaves, then apply mulch to cover the soil.
Trimming Box-Leaf Holly:
Trimming twice per year is best for keeping a Box-Leaf Holly hedge really neat: once in Spring around April to the start of June, and again in September.
It's recommended to avoid trimming in the summer heat, as the new growth might get scorched in exposed, sunny locations, but that damage is only cosmetic.
Trimming Sweet Box:
Clip once per year, after flowering - in May or April is fine.