Box Trees (Buxus Sempervirens) 

Boxwoods (Boxwood)

The boxwood is always a welcome guest in the sleek gardens of palaces and castles. As a boxwood hedge, but also as a solitary plant. This boxwood tree will also look super nice at your home. In the garden, in attractive pots or large planters. The plant is still a symbol of reliability and class. Companies that want to radiate this usually choose to place beautiful box trees at the entrance of their business premises.

Types of box trees

The boxwood or Buxus Sempervirens can be obtained from Hedge Plants Heijnen in a number of varieties / shapes. You can place the plants as a hedge. That gives a very nice effect. You can of course also use the boxwood plants as a solitary plant. We have two special boxwood plants that already have a shape, namely: the boxwood bulb and the boxwood pyramid. Both recommended to have in your garden.

The boxwood originally comes from the south, but it also thrives in our climate. It is still immensely popular. It is a real asset to your garden.

Why choose box trees?

• The boxwood in a pot or in the garden is beautiful.
• It always stays green.
• This plant is hardy.
• It grows quite slowly.
• The boxwood can be pruned easily and in good shape.
• It can withstand shade.
• The plant is not very expensive to purchase.

When is the best time to plant a box tree?

The best months to plant box trees are from October to the end of April.

Then the plant is well rooted for the summer.

How do you plant a box tree?

1. When placed in the ground, unweed the ground where you want to put it.
2. Dig a hole about 1.5 times as deep and wide as the root ball.
3. Loosen the soil well.
4. Sprinkle some lime in the hole and mix it through the substrate.
5. Then sprinkle in some compost with plenty of leafy soil and mix this together with the lime and the rest of the soil.
6. Place the boxwood plant in the hole. Nicely upright.
7. Make sure the top of the root ball is leveled with the ground level. Keep in mind: it is possible that the ground is still subsiding slightly.
8. Fill the hole with soil and press down well.
9. Water generously. Keep doing this for the coming time so that the boxwood takes root well

Tips

Provide enough water. But not too much either. The boxwood does not like wet feet.

Advice & Care

• Give the box trees enough water; but not too much. Wet feet are not ideal.
• Do not prune the plant in sunny weather, otherwise the twigs can dry out.
• If you want to keep the boxwood in a certain shape, prune it twice a year. Best in the spring.
• A few weeks after planting the boxwood plants, it is important that you prune it to the desired shape. The later you do it, the more difficult it will be to give it the desired shape.
• Have you pruned the boxwood a little too rigorously? No problem, it just takes a while before the plant is nicely full again.
• Keep a close eye on the plant so that you quickly spot any fungi or the boxwood caterpillar.
• Give the boxwood some cow manur pellets in due course.

Treating known box tree diseases

Boxwood fungus - the boxwood sometimes suffers from the boxwood fungus. It will then develop yellow or brown leaves that eventually fade completely. The leaves are falling out more and more, leaving a bare plant. Check your boxwood regularly. If there are black / brown spots on the leaves or black stripes, then this is not a good sign. Remove the branches that show this. Then also clean your tools, gloves and clothing. Prevention is better than cure. However, this fungus is very difficult to prevent. Our advice is: ensure that the plants are in organic boxwood soil and give them sufficient boxwood nutrition.

Boxwood caterpillar (boxwood moth) - you will see the following on your boxwood plant:

• they spin communal tents and thus leaves that are stuck together;
• dead leaves;
• bare branches;
• the "skeleton" of the boxwood,

then you can be sure that it has been affected by the boxwood caterpillar or boxwood moth. Unfortunately, this is common. If the bark is still green, the box trees are still alive. You will most likely not have to write off the plants. What you can do is the following: control the caterpillar in an environmentally friendly way. With products based on Bacillus Thuriengiensis or Spinosad.

You really need to carry out the treatment very thoroughly and certainly repeat it the following week.

If all this does not help and the plant has to be removed, you can think of a boxwood substitute. As a solitary plant, the yew, thuja or bay leaf are ideal to replace the boxwood. Do you have a hedge? Then choose the Ilex Crenata Dark Green, Ilex Crenata Convexa, Ilex Crenata Green Hedge, Ilex Crenata Blondie, Ilex Crenata Caroline Upright or Ilex Maximowicziana Kanehirae.

Advantages and disadvantages of the boxwood

Advantages:

• The plant is relatively cheap.
• Its slow growth makes it easy to prune.
• It retains its shape and is hardy.
• The boxwood remains green in winter.
• The plant has a dense structure and is therefore easy to prune into shape.
• It grows almost in any place, also in the shade.

Disadvantages:

• It grows slowly.
• Unfortunately the boxwood is sensitive to boxwood fungus and boxwood moth.
• Pruned too thoroughly? Then it takes a while before the plant is full again.

Conclusion

Are you looking for a beautiful plant that stays green all year round? One that is easy to prune, hardy and thrives everywhere? Then a boxwood is an ideal plant for your garden. Prune it to the shape you want.

Would you know in what shape you would prune it? Order it immediately. Do you have any questions? Contact us.