How to water boxwood after planting. Boxwood planting and care in the open field in the Moscow region. Boxwood ball

Evergreen boxwood (Buxus) can grow indoors and outdoors. However, in the Moscow region, rarely anyone successfully grows it in the open. I have not seen in our country and hedges of boxwood bushes. Another thing is the tub option, in which pots with boxwood are exposed to fresh air in the spring, and transferred indoors for the winter.

evergreen boxwood

Description of boxwood

Two types are popular: boxwood, or evergreen, (B. sempervirens) and small-leaved (B. microphylla), both from the Boxwood family. There are other types of boxwood. Colchis boxwood (B. colchica) is listed in the Red Book of several countries. Buxus thrives in Southern Europe and Southeast Asia. It is hard to imagine the Mediterranean without this evergreen plant. He is comfortable in Transcaucasia and the Caucasus. In the south of Russia, a small boxwood grove remained near the Khosta River. There used to be real boxwood forests. In Sochi, buxus bushes are planted in many parks and near houses.

Boxwood is a slow-growing evergreen shrub or tree up to 8 meters high, rarely higher. There are undersized species and varieties (dwarf variety " compacta"). The bark is grayish-yellow, with small depressions and cracks. The yellowish wood is heavy and super-dense, which is the reason for the name of the plant (Greek "buxe" - "dense"). Forms for engravings are cut out of it. The wood is so hard that it used to be used to make bearings.

Leaves 2-3 cm long are opposite. They are leathery, dark green with a light green tint underneath. Small female and male flowers bloom in early spring. The fruits are small pods. Seeds are black, ripen in early October. When describing boxwood, it is impossible not to recall its special aroma. The smell intensifies after watering and cutting the bushes. You can feel it if you stretch the leaf with your fingers. This is one of my favorite tart flavors, but a lot of people don't like it.

Boxwood - poisonous plant. This must be taken into account when choosing a place for it. You can not plant bushes on playgrounds, decorate playrooms with them.

Planting and growing boxwood in open ground

My advice : buy seedlings or grown plants only in containers, i.e. with a closed root system. They should be bushy, with green leaves and shoots. At risk are seedlings with yellowed leaves and bare shoots.

Spring is the best time to plant boxwood on the site. The pit should be twice as large as the clod of earth with the roots of the seedling. At the bottom of the planting pit or trench, it is advisable to put compost in a layer of 10-15 cm, then mix it with earth, sand and water it. Boxwood does not like acidic soils, so it is advisable to add to the soil mixture.

It is not worth straightening the roots of a plant taken out of a pot. Another thing is a seedling whose roots with earth are wrapped in a film before being sold. They need to be straightened, inspected and lowered into a bucket of water. A root stimulator is preliminarily dissolved in it (strictly according to the instructions) or clay is stirred.

Boxwood as a houseplant

In the flower departments of the shops, boxwood is sold in flower pots. It can be grown at home. In the garden center, I was advised to bury a pot of boxwood in the spring in the ground, and move it to a cool room in late autumn. For example, in the basement of a house with an upper window, a glazed balcony, a veranda, etc. I remembered engravings and photographs of boxwood, which in the old days was often grown in tubs. In the spring they were exhibited at the main entrance, and in the winter they were kept in winter gardens.

A few years ago, I saw a perfectly shaped boxwood growing in a large flower pot for sale. I could not pass by and became the owner of two such plants at once.

When growing indoors, I ran into some problems. First of all, boxwood turned out to be a more moisture-loving plant than I expected. It has to be not only regularly watered, but also sprayed with a crown. Even short-term drying of the soil leads to drying and loss of leaves.

There are no problems with top dressing, because. loose soil in a pot promotes the absorption of complex fertilizers for evergreens. Suitable fertilizer for ficuses.

Our two boxwood trees winter on the loggia

A pot with boxwood should not be kept without shading on the windowsill on the south side of the house. In winter, I keep boxwood on a glazed loggia, where the air temperature at night does not drop below plus 12 ° C.

Reproduction boxwood

In nature, buxus reproduces by seeds. For us, the easiest option is rooting cuttings. The rooting rate is about 80%. Suitable cuttings 10 - 15 cm long, cut in summer ( end - middle) and autumn ( end - beginning). They leave a few upper leaves, all the lower ones are removed. It is better if the cut is oblique. Immediately stick into a moist soil mixture of peat and sand or other light substrate. You can use root stimulants. Then they are sprayed and covered with a jar or a transparent bag so that the leaves do not touch the polyethylene. Under such a shelter, with regular soil moistening and spraying, roots appear on average after a month. After two months, the seedling is ready for transplanting into a school or a permanent place. They cover it for the winter.

Cuttings that began to root at other times may form roots worse. Autumn cuttings are best rooted in flower pots and kept indoors in winter.

Boxwood in landscape design

Boxwood, like yew, is ideal for curly haircuts. A variety of shapes are obtained from it: balls, cubes, cones and spirals. Strong pruning is carried out in mid-June. You can adjust the shape at any time, with the exception of autumn and winter. - the best month for the first pruning of the year. The last haircut is best done in mid-August, so that the plant has time to prepare for winter. A few cut branches can be placed under the pillow to enjoy a pleasant sleep.

Large pots with boxwood look good at the entrance to the house. Balls of evergreen buxus growing near the porch look spectacular. They are considered a talisman against envious people and evil spirits.

Boxwood is an ideal plant for hedges. But in the middle lane, this is a risky option that requires regular “repairs”. Part of the dried or bald bushes will have to be replaced with new ones from time to time. For low evergreen hedges, landscape designers also recommend boxwood with a vertically growing crown (for example, Suffruticosa). Slow-growing frost-resistant "Blauer Heinz" with bluish leaves is used for lively patterns, ornaments and borders.

Some figures (balls, hemispheres, cubes, etc.) are easier to grow from several seedlings planted side by side.

Green boxwood cones

Boxwood belongs to slow-growing plants, but it has species and varieties that give annual growths of more or less than 8 cm.

Among boxwoods there are "giants" and "dwarfs". You can choose fast-growing or slow-growing varieties. Interesting variegated forms have been bred (variety " elegans"). It is worth paying attention to fast-growing (" Winter Gem micropholia" and " Sempea”) plants on which you can hone the art of creating green figures. Wu " B. Faulkner microphylia» natural spherical crown, the shape of which can only occasionally be corrected. For growing bonsai, it is best to choose boxwood " Harlandii Hance» and " Curly Locks» with curved stems.

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In almost all countries of North America, Asia and Europe, the evergreen boxwood plant is common and very popular. This evergreen shrub is valued for its dense, beautiful crown, which is easy to shape. With the help of boxwood (buxus), lawns are framed, backstage, borders, hedges are created.

The owners of personal plots widely use it as a decorative element of the garden, front garden or cottage. This is due to the fact that the shrub is frost-resistant, tolerates a haircut well and is unpretentious in cultivation and care.

Description, types and photos of boxwood

Boxwood is an evergreen shrub whose height can be from 2 to 10 meters. It has become an indispensable element of interior design because of its decorative crown and slow growth. In a year, a bush can grow by only 5-6 centimeters.

Boxwood is distinguished by dark green oval-shaped leaves. Rubbing them in your hand, you can smell quite a strong smell. Single-sex flowers of the plant are very small and inconspicuous in size. Of these, in October, fruits are formed, which are a round box. Small cracks appear on the grayish-yellow bark of boxwood with age.

Boxwood in nature there are more than 30 types, each of which has unique qualities and finds its application in landscape design.

In room conditions, evergreen boxwood can be grown like a bonsai. Perfect for this variety "Buxus harlandii Hance". The slow growth of the shrub and its small leaves allow you to create real miniature masterpieces.

For planting a buxus, special knowledge and skills are not required. Young plants are recommended to be planted in the autumn season. Shrubs aged three years and older are transplanted from early spring to late autumn.

When purchasing seedlings, it is best to stop the choice on the container version. Shoots and leaves should be green, the crown is lush. Leaves with yellow spots they say that the plant is sick and will soon die.

Landing should be carried out on a cloudy day in pre-prepared pits, which should be twice the volume of the horse system. The bottom of the pit must be covered with soddy soil, leaf humus and sand (2: 4: 1). You can add potash fertilizer.

The seedling in the hole is installed very carefully. The roots straighten, fall asleep and compact. A recess is formed around the trunk and the plant spills. It is recommended to mulch the soil around plantings with agrofiber or bark of coniferous plants.

So that the bushes grow strong and densely leafy, the soil for them should be:

well drained;
breathable;
loose;
nutritional;
with neutral acidity;
loamy.

Evergreen boxwood can also grow on poor soils. Wherein the crown will be dense and dense, but its growth will noticeably slow down. Therefore, it is recommended to add compost and slaked lime to such soils.

Buksus seedlings purchased in November are best temporarily dug in a leeward shady place in the garden, sprinkled with light permeable soil. In winter, they will need to be covered with snow. Bushes are planted in a permanent place in April.

Properly planted plants take root within three weeks. After that, you can start cutting shrubs. This is necessary not only to obtain a beautiful shape, but also to increase the growth of roots, and a good increase in green mass.

Features of caring for boxwood evergreen

Shrub care is quite simple, however has its own characteristics and nuances.

Boxwood care at home

Buxus as a room culture is rather capricious. Therefore, it is necessary to take care of it at home. subject to certain rules.

The place for the plant should be chosen bright, but without direct sunlight. It is best to grow boxwood near the western and eastern windows.
Watering should be regular. The plant is watered in small doses and sprayed from the aerator. Care must be taken to ensure that water does not accumulate in the pan. This can lead to rotting of the root system.
In winter, the optimum temperature for buksus is 6-10C. To do this, a pot with a plant can be placed at the glazed balcony door, or placed between double frames. Watering in winter is reduced to a minimum.
Boxwood is transplanted every 2-3 years. This should be done carefully. In order not to damage the roots, the plant is taken from the old pot with a clod of earth.
You can trim indoor bushes throughout the year.

boxwoods propagated by cuttings, which are harvested from late June to mid-July. For this, young shoots lignified at the base with three internodes are selected.

Cuttings cut into two internodes with two upper leaves are immersed in a mixture of peat and garden soil. Leaves should remain on the surface. To create a greenhouse effect, the cuttings are covered with a film or glass jar. The container is placed in a warm, bright place, but not in direct sunlight. Watering should be frequent, but not plentiful.

About a week later the cuttings will take root and grow. At this time, they will need to be seated in separate containers. Young plants are planted in open ground in the first days of September. Before frost, they should have time to take root well. For the winter, seedlings are covered with covering material, as young boxwoods are afraid of frosts below -15C.

Diseases and pests of boxwood

Protecting it from pests and preventing diseases is of great importance in caring for buxus. With proper care, there should be no problems, but the most common hazards should be studied.

Of the pests, boxwood can suffer from moth, leaf flea or gall midge.

Firefly is a nocturnal moth that can strike vast areas with green bushes. Its caterpillars entangle the shoots and leaves with cobwebs, causing the parts of the plant or the whole bush to dry out. When the color of the foliage changes, boxwood should be checked for the presence of moth caterpillars. Infected trees are treated with special preparations.
The leaf flea gives the leaves a white color and bends them. Affected leaves must be removed, and the crown should be treated with mineral oil.
Gall midge is manifested by nodular swellings from the bottom of the leaf and yellow spots from above. The leaves dry up and die. In this case, regular pruning and chemical treatment is required.

Among the most common diseases of boxwood are the fungus Cylindrocladium buxicola that causes leaf loss and the fungus Volutella buxi that provokes shoot necrosis. In both cases pruning of infected branches is required and escapes. Fungicide treatment does not cope with diseases. But it can be used as a preventive measure.

In landscape design, buxus is very popular as a hedge, green curtains, framing rabatok and flower beds. From its bushes you can make geometric shapes and all kinds of shapes.

Plants can be shaped like a pyramid, ball, cone or oval. With their help, you can decorate front gardens, paths and flower beds.

High varieties of boxwood, which include Rotandifolia and Latifolia, used to form hedges. The Handorthiensis variety is distinguished by an unusual fortress. It looks original and beautiful as a backstage against which roses bloom.

Buxus for hedges is best planted in the spring. For this, pits are prepared, the distance between which should be 30-40 centimeters. The sprouts are removed from the container, placed in the prepared hole, covered with soil and watered.

It will look good boxwood in a flower bed in combination with geykhera. By placing a shrub with red leaves in the central part, boxwood can be planted along the edges. Against the background of its greenery, geyhera will contrast and stand out favorably.

If a to form any figure from boxwood or you can’t manage the composition yourself, you can always use the services of professionals, or buy a ready-made, original plant.

Subject to all the rules of planting and caring for boxwood, the plant will delight you with its beauty for many years. And the hedges formed from it, shapes and figures will decorate your garden plot to the envy of all neighbors.

Plant boxwood (lat. Buxus)- a genus of evergreen slow-growing trees and shrubs of the Boxwood family, of which, according to the latest data, there are about 100 species in nature. They grow in the West Indies, East Asia and the Mediterranean countries. The name of the plant "buxus" was borrowed by the ancient Greeks from an unknown language. In nature, there are three large areas of boxwood - African, Central American and Euro-Asian. In culture, the boxwood tree, one of the most ancient ornamental plants, is grown as a pot and horticultural crop. In warm areas, boxwood bushes are used not only as hedges and borders - picturesquely formed boxwood bushes adorn gardens and lawns.

Boxwood at home is the most popular culture for bonsai, because it can grow in a small container, bushes well, has small leaves and tolerates pruning.

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Planting and caring for boxwood (in brief)

Landing: from mid-September to early October, but if necessary, it is possible in spring and even in summer.
Bloom: the plant is grown as an ornamental deciduous plant.
Lighting: shade or partial shade.
The soil: any, but better calcareous, loose and well fertilized.
Mulching: in early May, a layer of organic matter 5-8 cm thick.
Watering: after planting, the first watering is a week later. In the future - regular watering at the expense of 1 bucket of water per meter-high bush. In drought, watering is carried out according to the same scheme, but the consumption is doubled.
Top dressing: after planting, fertilizers are applied no earlier than a month later. In the future, during the period of active growth, organic matter and complete mineral fertilizers are introduced into the soil, and in the fall - only the potassium-phosphorus complex.
Pruning: in April or early May.
Reproduction: more often by cuttings, but it is also possible by seed.
Pests: boxwood gall midges, psyllids, moths, scale insects, false scale insects, mealybugs, felt bugs, spider and gall mites.
Diseases: root rot, rust, shoot necrosis, cancer.

Boxwood plant - description

The leaves of boxwood are opposite, entire, leathery, elliptical or almost round. The flowers are fragrant, small, unisexual, collected in axillary inflorescences. The fruit is a three-celled capsule that cracks when ripe and scatters shiny black seeds. Boxwood is a honey plant, but boxwood honey should not be consumed, since all parts of the plant are poisonous. Boxwood is valued by landscape designers for its beauty of the crown, shiny leaves, and ability to tolerate pruning well. Gardeners, among other things, appreciate decorative boxwood for its unpretentiousness and shade tolerance.

Planting boxwood

When to plant boxwood

If you follow the popular wisdom that it is better to plant plants that bloom in spring in autumn, and vice versa, it is better to plant boxwood in autumn, from mid-September to early October, giving it a month to root before the onset of cold weather. Although some gardeners successfully plant boxwood in early spring and even summer. It is best to plant a plant in a semi-shady or shady place, in clay, moist and permeable soil containing lime. In the bright sun, boxwood leaves are quickly damaged.

How to plant boxwood

The day before planting in open ground, boxwood seedlings with a closed root system should be watered abundantly to make it easier to remove the root system with an earthen clod from the container. It will be even better if you can take out the seedling and immerse its roots in water for a day. The pit for boxwood should be approximately three times deeper and wider than the earthen clod with the roots of the seedling. A drainage layer of perlite 2-3 cm thick is placed at the bottom of the pit, the earth taken out of the pit is also mixed with perlite in equal parts. The roots of the seedling are straightened, placed in a hole, and the roots are gradually covered with a mixture of soil and perlite, trying to avoid the formation of air cavities.

After filling the pit, lightly compact the ground and water the seedling with settled rainwater (with a seedling height of 15-20 cm, you will need 3 liters of water). When, after watering, the earth in the pit sags, add more soil mixture, but do not compact it. The trunk of the boxwood should be strictly vertical. At 20-30 cm from the stem, pour a low earthen rampart around the circumference so that during further irrigation the water does not spread, but goes deeper, and cover the trunk circle inside the circle with a layer of perlite 1-2 cm thick.

Boxwood care in the garden

How to grow boxwood

Growing boxwood is not at all troublesome, and if you do not know how to care for boxwood, follow the general rules of gardening and simple logic. After planting, if there is no rain, water the boxwood in a week. Water consumption during further irrigation is approximately one bucket per meter-high plant. Water must be poured inside the circle that you marked with an earthen roller. Boxwood should be watered in the morning or in the evening, and during drought or dry hot winds, boxwood should not be watered more often, but more abundantly.

After watering, be sure to loosen the soil, simultaneously removing weeds from the site. In early May, when the earth is already warm enough, the near-stem circle of boxwood is mulched with a layer of peat 5-8 cm thick, but in such a way that the mulch in no case comes into contact with the shoots and trunk of the boxwood.

Boxwood care involves regular feeding of the plant. The first time boxwood is fertilized only a month after planting, if you planted it in the spring, since only a rooted plant can be fertilized. Later, during the period of active growth, complex mineral fertilizers or organic matter are introduced into the soil, and in the fall, for digging into the soil, only those fertilizers that contain potassium and phosphorus are applied, since the plant does not need nitrogen in autumn and winter.

Boxwood transplant

It is better to transplant boxwood in the spring, so that the plant has time to take root safely and prepare for winter. Mature plants need to be transplanted along with a clod of earth. Boxwood transplantation is carried out according to the same principle as the initial planting, and if you do everything right, the plant will endure the procedure painlessly.

Boxwood haircut

Boxwood pruning is carried out in April or early May. You can form a boxwood bush in the form of a geometric figure - most often these are cubes, cones or balls. You can grow boxwood in the form of a standard tree, leaving only the central, strongest shoot on it, and cutting out all the rest at the root. Young shoots growing in the upper part of the central shoot of the bole are usually given the shape of a ball. Once a plant has been formed, you only need to slightly adjust the shape, since boxwood grows very slowly.

When adjusting, usually only young growths are cut, it can only come to cutting old wood if the bush has completely lost the required shape. Boxwood tolerates a haircut very easily, and it gets thicker the more often you cut it. Professionals recommend adjusting the boxwood crown monthly. However, keep in mind that the more often you prune boxwood, the more often you will need to water and feed it so that it can make up for the loss of nutrients delivered to it by the cut leaves.

Pests and diseases of boxwood

The main enemy of the plant is the box midge, which lays its eggs in early summer in young leaves at the ends of the shoots. The hatched larvae eat into the tissue of the leaves and winter there, and in May, adult insects appear from their pupae. If the occupation of boxwood gall midge is total, its leaves dry and fall off. The fight against boxwood gall midge is carried out with the following drugs: Aktara, Karbofos, Fufanon, Tagore. If after one treatment you did not notice any improvement, repeat the spraying after ten days. The same insecticides will help you in the event of the appearance of felt on the boxwood, the vital activity of which is manifested by swelling on the leaves and withering of the shoots. The spider mite, which appears on the plant in severe dryness, is also destroyed by the listed drugs.

Of the diseases, boxwood suffers from necrosis of the shoots, accompanied by the death of the ends of the branches and spots on the leaves. This disease is treated with fungicide treatment, and possibly repeated. Worst of all, if boxwood strikes cancer. If this happens, cut off the affected areas of the plant, grabbing healthy wood, and treat the wounds with Fundazol.

Boxwood in Moscow and Moscow region

Planting and caring for evergreen boxwood in Moscow and the Moscow region is not much different from the agricultural technology of the plant in other areas with a temperate climate. However, in places where winter frosts are very strong, one should not neglect the measures to prepare boxwood for winter. For information on how to ensure a successful wintering for the plant, read the appropriate section.

Reproduction boxwood

How to propagate boxwood

Boxwood is most often propagated vegetatively, but sometimes seed propagation is also used. The problem is that boxwood seeds lose their viability very quickly, but if you want to try growing a bush from a seed, use our recommendations.

Growing boxwood from seeds

Fresh, just ripened seeds are soaked for a day in warm water with a growth stimulator - Epin or Zircon. Then they are laid out between two damp (not wet) towels or napkins and wait until white sprouts appear - this usually happens after a month, and all this time you must keep the fabric in which the seeds lie moist. If sprouts do not appear within 2-3 weeks, put the seed towels in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator for a few days, and then move them back to a warm room.

After the appearance of white sprouts, the seeds are sown in a mixture of peat and sand in equal parts, directing the sprouts into the soil, and cover the container with glass or film. The container is kept in a warm place in partial shade and shoots are expected, which should appear within two to three weeks. As soon as green sprouts hatch, the film or glass is removed, the container is rearranged in partial shade. Seedling care consists in watering and fertilizing young plants with fertilizers of a weak consistency. Strengthened and grown seedlings are planted in the ground after the return frosts have passed.

Propagation of boxwood cuttings

Spring cuttings of boxwood- the most common method of propagation of this shrub. For cuttings, young, strong, but not completely lignified shoots 10-15 cm long are harvested, which are cut obliquely, and, having removed the leaves from the lower third of the cutting, soaked for a day in a root-forming solution. Then the cuttings are washed and planted in open ground with approximately the following composition: old, long-rotted compost or humus, leafy soil and sand in equal parts.

The composition may be different, the main thing is that the soil is light and nutritious.

The cuttings are deepened into the substrate to the very leaves and each is covered with a five-liter plastic bottle with a cut-out bottom. In order to water the cutting, you will need to unscrew the cap of the bottle and sprinkle water from the spray bottle inside. In the same way, cuttings can be aired daily. Roots begin to form in a month, and after two, a root system will already form at the boxwood, and the bottle can be removed. Do not forget to cover the cuttings with spruce branches in the first winter, otherwise they will die.

You can also propagate boxwood with cuttings in the fall, but you need to plant them in pots, because before winter they will not have time to take root and get stronger, so they will probably die even under cover. The cuttings must be brought into a room with a temperature of 10 ºC, where they will wait out the winter cold, and in the spring they are planted in a permanent place.

Propagation of boxwood by layering

This is another reliable and proven method of vegetative propagation. In spring, boxwood shoots are bent to the ground and dug in. All summer they are watered and fed along with the mother bush, and when they take root and grow, they are separated and planted in a permanent place.

Boxwood in winter

Boxwood in autumn

The most difficult period in the cultivation of boxwood is winter - the evergreen shrub is very sensitive to cold temperatures. In addition, the dormant root system does not provide the shoots and leaves of boxwood, awakening to life at the first ray of the sun, with moisture and nutrition, which makes them dry. That's why it's important to plant boxwood in the shade. And that is why it is so important to take all the necessary measures to prepare the boxwood for the winter.

Immediately before the onset of frost, in early November, it is necessary to carry out abundant winter watering of boxwood, which will saturate the plants with moisture for the long winter months. After that, you need to mulch the trunk circles with rotted needles or peat. Dry leaves are not suitable for this, because in wet winters they can support and provoke the development of fungal diseases in boxwood.

Boxwood shelter for the winter

When the air temperature drops to -10 ºC, they start organizing boxwood shelters. Before you cover the boxwood for the winter, standard plants need to be tied to a support so that heavy snowfall does not break the trunk of the boxwood. After that, the bole should be completely wrapped with non-woven material or tied with spruce branches. In adult boles, the trunk can be whitewashed, then only the crown of the plant will need to be tied with a cloth. A boxwood border or hedge also needs shelter - they are completely covered with two or three layers of non-woven material or burlap, which are fixed by sprinkling the edges with earth. But first, boxwood bushes need to be tied up - large masses of wet snow can break its branches.

Rooted cuttings and young boxwoods are tied with spruce branches, mulching the near-stem circles with peat or coniferous needles. They remove the shelter as soon as spring comes, otherwise the boxwood can rot in the warmth. They do it on a cloudy day, and not everything is removed by coniferous paws and layers of fabric - leave one layer of burlap, lutrasil or spunbond and some spruce branches to shade from too bright spring sun. It is necessary to accustom boxwood to spring gradually.

Types and varieties of boxwood

Not many types of boxwood are grown in culture, but it has very attractive garden forms that we want to introduce you to. So:

Evergreen Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens)

Distributed in nature in the Mediterranean and the Caucasus, where it prefers to grow in the undergrowth of deciduous and mixed forests, even in dense shade. This tree is up to 15 m high, much less often - a shrub. The shoots of this species are straight, tetrahedral, densely leafy, green. The leaves are opposite, almost without petioles, glabrous, shiny, dark green on the upper side of the plate and dull light green, even yellowish, on the bottom. The shape of the leaves is elongated-elliptical, the length is from 1.5 to 3 cm. Small unisexual greenish flowers are collected in compact capitate inflorescences. The fruit is a small globular capsule with wings that open when the seeds ripen. All parts of boxwood evergreen are poisonous! The best varieties:

Suffruticosis- evergreen shrub, slowly growing strictly vertically up to 1 m in height. The leaves are ovate or obovate, opposite, up to 2 cm long. The flowers are small. The plant is ideal for hedges and borders;
Blauer Heinz- a squat, slow-growing shrub with stiffer shoots than Suffruticose and leathery, bluish-green leaves. This is a relatively new variety, which is used to create carpet ornaments no higher than 20 cm. It is more compact and frost-resistant than the previous variety;
elegans- a dense shrub with a spherical crown up to 1 m high with straight densely leafy shoots and oblong variegated leaves with a white border. Drought tolerant.

Small-leaved boxwood (Buxus microphylla)

Unlike evergreen boxwood, this species is much less sensitive to winter frosts. This is a Korean or Japanese descendant of boxwood, which withstands thirty-degree frosts without shelter in winter, but nevertheless needs shelter from the bright spring sun. The most popular varieties in the culture:

Winter Jam- a very frost-resistant variety of boxwood with a dense crown, which is great for creating small topiary forms. Handles pruning well. A fast-growing variety rare for boxwoods, reaching a height of 1.5 m;
Faulkner- a compact slow-growing shrub up to 1.5 m high, most often its bushes are cut in the shape of a ball, which is favored by the natural growth of the crown.

Boxwood Colchis, or Caucasian (Buxus colchica)

Slow-growing relic of the Tertiary period, which is the most small-leaved and winter-hardy European boxwood species. This species lives up to 600 years, reaching a height of 15-20 m, the diameter of the trunk at the base is 30 cm.

Balearic boxwood (Buxus balearica)

It is the most western type of boxwood. It comes from the Balearic Islands, southern Spain, Portugal and the Atlas Mountains in northern Morocco. This is the largest-leaved species of the Euro-Asian range: a leaf of Balearic boxwood reaches a length of 4 and a width of 3 cm. It grows quickly, has extremely high decorative qualities, but, unfortunately, is not winter-hardy at all.

There are several other types of boxwood that can be cultivated in our climate, but so far they are very rare in our gardens.

Boxwood (Buxus)

boxwood(lat. Búxus) - an evergreen slow-growing shrub or tree of the Boxwood family. It grows to a height of 2 to 12 meters. Some specimens of boxwood live for more than 500 years. It unites about 30 species growing in Southeast Asia, the West Indies and the Mediterranean countries.

The Latin name for boxwood Buxus comes from the Greek πύξος - boxwood, boxwood. The most famous type is Boxwood evergreen(Buxus sempervirens) L., has the widest range in Europe. In the Republic of Adygea, a unique boxwood forest grows, with an area of 200 hectares, and in Abkhazia - a boxwood grove.

Boxwood has long been used for landscaping and ornamental gardening. Its beautiful dense crown, shiny foliage and ability to tolerate a haircut are especially appreciated. Like other evergreen crops, boxwood is quite resistant to cold.

Attention: all parts of the plant and especially the leaves are poisonous!

Other names:Boxwood Colchis, or Caucasian(Buxus colchica)

Buying seedlings. When buying boxwood seedlings, you should pay attention to the appearance of shoots and leaves. They should be deep green. It is not recommended to buy boxwood with bare stems or yellow leaves.

To immediately get a beautiful view, you can purchase seedlings 10 cm higher than designed. Three weeks after planting, the tops are trimmed to obtain an even horizontal pruning line. Thus, planting density and better survival are achieved, because. a part of the crown is removed and it is easier for the roots to nourish the aerial part.

You can buy boxwood evergreen in our store


Boxwood (Buxus). Boxwood seedlings from 10 to 60 cm high

Location and boarding. For growing hedges, 4-5 boxwoods are planted per 1 running meter. The distance between seedlings is approximately 20-25 cm. For parterre carpet compositions or low borders, boxwood is planted in a checkerboard pattern, the distance between bushes is 15-20 cm. The soil between plants must be carefully compacted, creating a deepening along the entire hedge. In the first 2 weeks after planting, this trench will need to be filled with water 3-4 times.

It is better to plant boxwood in semi-shaded places, because. in the sun, its leaves may dry out and turn yellow. Planted in the open sun, young plantings do not tolerate clear frosty weather especially well.

Boxwood is not particularly demanding on soil, although it prefers calcareous or clay soils containing lime. On well fertilized soils gives a strong gain. An important condition: the soil must be well drained, permeable. In wetlands or in lowlands where water accumulates in spring, boxwood cannot be planted.

The best time to plant is in the spring. Before winter, seedlings will have time to take root well and prepare for frost. In autumn, planting is recommended from early September to mid-October, no later than a month before the onset of frost.

Purchased seedlings in containers often have a confusing root system. Tangled roots must be untangled before planting.

With a row landing, a shallow trench is dug, with single plantings - pits. The plant is buried not lower than the growth mark of the old coma or container, while the subsequent tamping of the soil around the trunk must be taken into account. If the soils are very poor, a nutrient substrate is prepared from dry humus, leafy soil, peat, humus, which is mixed with the ground during planting. Then young plantings are abundantly watered and mulched with peat, rotted coniferous needles or crushed coniferous bark. Oak bark cannot be used, because. it contains a lot of tannins.

Boxwood - Care from spring to autumn

Caring for boxwood is not particularly difficult, but there are some nuances that need to be considered when planting.

As mentioned earlier, boxwood leaves dry and turn yellow in direct sunlight. This happens especially often at the end of winter, when the root system is still at rest, and the crown begins to wake up under the sun's rays. Shoots and leaves do not receive enough moisture, dry and fall off. There is a so-called burnout of plantings growing in the sun. Therefore, they need to be covered with non-woven material, burlap or plain paper.

Watering. Boxwood is quite undemanding to watering. However, in dry, arid weather, it needs moisture, especially young plantings. Responds well to spraying.

Loosening, mulching. Young plantings of boxwood are mulched with crushed bark of coniferous trees or rotted needles, peat is also suitable. Do not use oak bark, coniferous sawdust or foliage for mulch.

As an additional protection, mulching is also carried out before wintering plants.

Top dressing. When planting in poor soil, fertilizer from humus and humus is added. In the future, boxwood does not need special feeding. Plants in tubs can be fed with special liquid fertilizers for boxwood, which are diluted with water and applied from mid-April to early August 1 time in 10 days.

To prepare for wintering, top dressing with potash fertilizers is used in September. They contribute to faster lignification of shoots and better frost resistance of bushes.

Pruning and shaping. The first cutting of bushes is carried out in late April - early May. Boxwood is a slow-growing plant, so pruning should be gentle: slightly adjust the crown and prune new growths. Further haircuts are carried out once a month until September. More frequent mowing requires additional watering.

To form a boxwood in the form of a standard tree, all side shoots are removed from a plant with a strong central trunk to the desired height, and those that remain are slightly shortened. Then, by regular pruning, a ball is formed on the leg.

Bloom. In our latitudes, boxwood blooms very rarely. This event occurs in March-April, the flowers are small and greenish. Boxwood is valued primarily for its beautiful evergreen crown.

Reproduction.In late June - early July, slightly lignified young shoots are cut. The cuttings are cut 10-15 cm long with 2-3 internodes. 2-3 upper leaves are left on the handle, the lower ones are cut off. Planted in a mixture of peat and earth (1: 1) and covered with a transparent material. Water every other day, spray regularly. After 3-4 weeks, the cuttings take root, by the fall they can be planted in a permanent place.

Diseases and pests. The main pest of the plant is boxwood psyllid, which damages young leaves. To combat it, an insecticide is used, which is sprayed on boxwood in the spring.

It can also be damaged by the fungal disease Cylindrocladium buxicola. Dark brown spots and white bloom appear on the leaves. Branches and leaves affected by the fungus must be removed.

Plants in winter. The best protection for boxwood in winter is choosing frost-resistant varieties and planting in semi-shaded areas. First of all, boxwood bushes suffer from the winter sun, so covering the plants with shading nets, non-woven fabric or burlap does not hurt. In the spring, the shelter is removed to avoid rotting plants.

Before frosts, you need to carry out abundant watering, which will saturate the plants with moisture for the winter period. It is advisable to mulch the soil around the trunks and kuts. Tall bushes and standard trees must be tied to supports to avoid breaking off from wet snow.

This evergreen shrub looks great even in winter. Take a look at the photo, its glossy bright green, rounded leaves confidently peek out from under the snowdrifts, symbolizing life. It is believed that evergreen boxwood is able to protect from evil spells and fulfill wishes. This article is all about the variety of varieties, planting, proper care, the intricacies of growing, methods of propagating buxus.

Varieties and varieties of evergreen boxwood

Three areas of growth of boxwood (buxus) in nature are known: on the African continent; northern Mexico and Cuba. The largest natural distribution area of buxus is the southern regions of the European continent, the foothills of the Caucasus, China and Japan.

Colchis boxwood

In Russia, buxus grows wild in the Krasnodar Territory, in Adygea, in the gorges of the Caucasus Mountains, where mountain rivers flow. The only species of boxwood found here is Colchis (Buxus colchica). Unfortunately, the natural habitat of boxwood in Russia is constantly declining, the reason for this is the barbaric deforestation of shrubs and the deterioration of the environmental situation: the culture is listed in the Red Book.

Only about 30 types of buxus are known, but only a few of them are widely used for ornamental gardening. Boxwoods are long-lived in the world of shrubs. The life expectancy of one bush can be 500 years.

For landscaping the territories of gardens and parks, the following varieties of evergreen buxus (Buxus semperv irens) are used:

Suffruticosis - characterized by a strictly vertical direction of growth;

Variety Suffruticosis

Blauer Heinz - rigid shoots are directed strictly upwards, grows very slowly, the color of the leaves is bluish;

Variety Blauer Heinz

Elegans - used in landscape design to form spherical garden forms. The bush is naturally spherical in shape, the leaves are green;

Sort Elegans

Buxus treelike - in shape resembles a large bush or a small tree. The leaves are dark green. The tallest of all varieties;

Buxus arborescens

Winter Gem is a low growing, slow growing shrub with small leaves suitable for garden topiary and container growing.

Variety Winter Gem

Proper planting is the key to good growth of boxwood bushes

The place for landing the axle box must meet a number of requirements. The thing is that the culture grows well and develops on moderately moist soils. Ideal for planting areas with sandy or loamy soils. Heavy, acidic soil is not suitable for planting evergreen boxwood bushes, therefore, in such areas, measures should be taken to improve the soil structure in advance.

A high level of groundwater will adversely affect the development of the boxwood root system. Considering that the culture has been growing in one place for over 500 years, the site should be selected carefully, taking into account the existing topography, soil composition and groundwater level.

Soil composition is very important for boxwood

Boxwood has a special relationship to the effects of sunlight. The plant prefers to grow in partial shade. Of course, it is difficult to avoid plantings from the sun if boxwood bushes are used to create hedges. But, ideally, the plant grows well and develops in the presence of shading from direct sunlight.

Evergreens continue to grow in the winter, when they can become dehydrated in deeply frozen soil, which is exacerbated when plants are planted in full sun. A dehydrated boxwood bush can lose most of its leaves and even die.

Boxwood seedlings

Usually, buxus is planted in the garden in the spring, decorating them with alpine slides or rockeries. Particular attention should be paid to the condition of the crown and root system of seedlings. The roots should not be dried and broken, and the crown should not have bare spots and yellow leaves.

For planting bushes, separate pits or trenches are made (when arranging hedges), the depth of the prepared pits should be twice the length of the roots of the seedlings.

Advice! The distance between planted boxwood bushes in a row should be at least 30 cm.

Young plantings of boxwood respond well to watering and spraying the bushes on the leaves.

Boxwood care: some subtleties of growing a crop

Planting and caring for the crop, performed correctly, in compliance with agrotechnical requirements, will allow you to grow a healthy plant that can decorate the garden for many years.

Cultural care includes:

Periodic watering.
Soil loosening.
Timely removal of weeds.
Creating shading over plants from the scorching sun during the summer months.
Regular top dressing, seasonal fertilization.

Boxwood requires regular care

Diseased plants that have been attacked by pests should be treated with special preparations. To prevent the development of diseases, it is necessary to periodically inspect the growing boxwood bushes.

Separately, it should be noted the rules for caring for boxwood when performing formative pruning of bushes and creating curly trees. It is allowed to carry out pruning in the warm season during the period of plant growth - from April to September. The cutting of the bushes is repeated at intervals of 4 weeks, while it is necessary to fertilize and feed the emerging plants.

Advice! In winter, in severe frosts, it is useful to snatch the bushes of wintering boxwood with special films that conduct light.

Fertilizer and top dressing of Buxus evergreen

From April to August, boxwood needs regular feeding. Best of all, plants absorb special fertilizers in liquid form, which are applied weekly under the root, or in the form of foliar top dressing on the leaves.

Boxwood needs to be fed several times a year.

The plant itself is able to signal a lack of nitrogen: its leaves acquire a reddish color with a hint of bronze.

When planting boxwood bushes, granular organic and mineral fertilizers are added to the planting pits. In autumn, it is useful to feed boxwood with potash fertilizers.

Boxwood breeding methods

If necessary, you can get young boxwood plants yourself. For this there is cutting method plants. Although the growth of the culture is not very fast, the boxwood stalk takes root and forms a young plant during the warm period.

Rooted cuttings of boxwood

Cuttings with a length of at least 20-30 cm should be harvested from healthy plants. It is best not to cut them off from the mother stem, but to break them out “with a heel”. Cuttings are planted in humus-rich soil in special boxes, which are located in a greenhouse or greenhouse. It is not necessary to cover the planted boxwood cuttings with foil.

seed method culture propagation is rarely used, given the slow growth.

Diseases and pests: how to properly protect boxwood

The presence of alkaloids in the leaves of the buxus greatly reduces the risk of damage to the plant by pests and the development of diseases on the shrub. However, some pests are so stubborn that they can harm the plant, despite its dense glossy leaves.

The mining boxwood fly (boxwood gall midge) causes great harm to the plant. Timely detection of a pest on the leaves of a plant and treatment with special preparations will save the plant from damage by these pests. The fly, remaining on the plant, reproduces rapidly, the larvae of this pest do not die even in winter. They penetrate inside the leaf blades, form swellings, hibernate, settling in the spring on unaffected leaves.

box fly

Boxwood felt is another crop pest that infects the crown of the plant, penetrating the leaves and young shoots. The affected parts of the bush are cut out and burned.
The spider mite colonizes the plant during the dry summer months. Systematic spraying of the plant on the leaves can prevent the appearance of the pest. Treatment - treatment with Fufanon, Actellik, Neoron, Fitoverm.

Advice! Spray plants more often in the summer.

Often shoots with dried tips appear on boxwood bushes. The disease is caused by the fungus Volutella buxi. Control measures - pruning and treatment with systemic fungicides.

Volutella buxi infestation

Boxwood is also sick with cancer, which develops on broken or old branches. Such shoots need to be cut to healthy wood.

Correct pruning of boxwood: video

Boxwood in landscape design: photo

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