Grow Buxus sempervirens in moist but well-drained soil in full sun to partial shade. Mulch annually with well-rotted manure or compost and trim into shape from mid- to late-summer.
Box (Buxus) is commonly planted in gardens as a clipped, formal plant or hedge, although there are many types available that are ideal for naturalistic planting. While box has been a traditional stalwart in gardens, it is now proving more difficult to grow well due to disease and pests marring their neat appearance.
Place the plants 2 feet apart. Those dwarf varieties that should be 2 to 3 feet apart for a grouping or row of individual plants should be squeezed to more like 15 or 18 inches apart for a low hedge. Use a tape measure and string or spray paint to mark the line of your hedge.
A Box hedge is closely planted - 5 to the metre is ideal, and it is much easier to get even spacing by putting plants into a trench than by digging holes. Use a line to make sure they are planted in a straight row and space the plants at exactly 20 cm intervals - uneven spacing shows up for years afterwards.
Box (Buxus sempervirens) is happy in sun or shade. Planting is simple: dig a hole one and a half or two times the size of the root ball, loosen the soil in the base and work in some compost, backfill with soil and water it properly.
An open, sunny position is best for Japanese box, but it will tolerate shade.
Boxwoods are slow-growing shrubs, so don't expect more than 6-12 inches (15-30 cm) of growth per year. However, good fertilizer, regular and selective pruning, and adequate watering can influence growth health.
Firm the soil around them. Boxwood will grow in any decent soil, but it will grow faster in earth which has been loosened and amended with leaf mold or compost. You needn't worry about soil pH.
Just keep it watered and mulched and then in spring feed with tomato food. A slow release like Blood, Fish and Bone in spring would be ideal. If the plants were strong and healthy when you put them in, and the ground well prepared, they shouldn't need much attention till then.
The general rule of thumb when it comes to watering is to thoroughly water your plants a few times a week rather than little and often. Newly planted hedges require more watering than established hedges and you should increase or decrease your watering regime to reflect the weather conditions.
You need to make both heading and thinning cuts to increase a shrub's thickness. Heading cuts remove the tips of the branches, encouraging increased branching, while thinning cuts allow light and air to reach the center of the plant, promoting new, healthy growth.
Mock Orange (Murraya paniculata)Another one of the most popular hedging and screening plants across Australia, the Mock Orange grows up to four metres high. It is dense and fast-growing with dark green foliage, and it produces an abundance of orange-blossom-scented white flowers in summer and spring.
How to grow Buxus? Planting distances are very much a matter of choice - for bare roots, 3 plants per metre is adequate, 5 is good, 7 in a double staggered row will give a dense hedge quicker. Generally, smaller plants should be planted at higher density.
Often, if you are over-watering your boxwood, the foliage may turn yellow or wilt. Sometimes the foliage may fade or turn pale compared to usual. And remember – maintaining a 1-inch layer of organic mulch around your plant and its driplines can ensure its shallow roots stay hydrated but not soggy.
Winter DamageIf exposed to bright sun in winter, some boxwood foliage temporarily loses its green color; leaves take on an orange cast or turn an unattractive brownish-yellow. The color change is unattractive but not harmful and reverses quickly in the spring as temperatures rise.
American Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis) is a fast-growing evergreen hedge with feathery foliage. It grows best in full sun and is very cold hardy. It's a great choice for a privacy hedge. American Arborvitae is hardy in USDA Zones 3-8.
What are the fastest-growing trees for privacy? Hybrid poplar tops the list. It can grow upwards of five feet per year. The Leyland cypress, green giant arborvitae, and silver maple are all close seconds because they add about two feet to their height each year.
Bamboo is one of the fastest-growing plants in the world, so it can create a lush and exotic privacy screen very quickly. Some varieties of bamboo are invasive, so consider picking a slow-spreading, clumping variety, or planting it in large raised planters to keep it under control.
The Fastest Fast Growing Trees
- Quaking Aspen.
- October Glory Red Maple.
- Arborvitae Green Giant.
- River Birch.
- Dawn Redwood.
- Leyland Cypress.
- Paper Birch.
- Pin Oak. A large shade tree that quickly reaches its 70 foot height with an average growth rate of 2.5 feet per year.
So a 20 metre box hedge will need about 100 hedge plants, for example. For tall hedges, over about 80cm high, length in metres x 4 (25cm, 10 inch spacing) is generally enough. The larger root balled and containerized plants are generally 30-50cm wide when supplied, depending on the plant size.
For centuries, English Boxwood (Buxus Sempervirens) has been one of our favourite garden plants. Extremely versatile, Box has so many uses in the garden as a superb structural, evergreen plant.
Almost as popular as the laurel, leylandii is a fast growing species that, with a little maintenance, will soon give you a dense protective screen to lend your garden the privacy you're seeking. One of the fastest growing hedge plants, leylandii can grow up to 90cm in a year - so have those pruning shears at the ready!
Hurried hedging – Top 7 fast growing hedge plants
- Berberis Ottawensis Hedge Plants.
- Blackthorn Hedge Plants.
- Pyracantha Orange Hedge Plants.
- Cherry Laurel Hedge Plants.
- Very fast growing hedge plants.
- Golden Leylandii hedging.
- Green Bamboo Hedging.
- Alnus Glutinosa.
They grow well in containers in John Innes potting compostIn terms of the soil, Buxus plants will thrive in reasonable conditions but they prefer lime-based soil but are not too fussy. If you grow them in pots we recommend using a John Innes potting compost as it's soil-based and help retain moisture.
When is the best time to prune Box hedges? Prune box (Buxus) in late May or early June after all risk of frost has passed. It can then be tidied up in September to ensure a crisp finish over winter. Choose a dry but cloudy day to tackle your hedge or trim your topiary.
Buxus plants will thrive in any reasonable garden soil with adequate drainage. Box prefers lime based ground, and wild buxus sempervirens plants will colonize the limestone bands in hilly areas with different rock layers. However, when planted in acid soil, it also grows very well.
