a pic is worth a thousand more words.. any chance???

use the camera/photo icon below the box you type a reply in ./.... ken

Most boxwoods are extremely sun tolerant.......and a number of common varieties are very heat and humidity tolerant as well (eg. Japanese boxwood 'Green Beauty') It is just a matter of picking the correct type for your location and making sure it gets adequate care and water while establishing. So boxwoods could still work well for your purpose :-)

If you can let us know your hardiness zone or what large city you live close to, we can make some suggestions for other evergreen hedging material as well.

The best is to go to your garden center and get the best info for your situation. IMO you probably did not water as much as was nessessary last summer so the plants did not get established properly before winter.

I also would ask at a local source about how boxwoods do in sun in your area. The thinner atmosphere at elevation make some plants behave differently. I do suspect that they may not have gotten enough moisture over the summer and going intothe cold season. You really need to investigate soil moisture and check to see if both the original root ball and the surrounding soil are adequately moist for the plants’ health.

Can you tell I’m a total newbie?! Thanks for all the comments! I took three pictures- from afar so you can see the location, up close & overhead actually shows the backside of the plants still healthy.
The extreme burning started in Aug/Sept. We did have a hot summer but I have a drip line installed and it was running 3-4 x/week (so I assume based on requests to my sprinkler guy). As soon as I noticed the burning happening I hand watered as well but probably only every other week. We’re gone a lot over the summer so I need something low maintenance. Then come November I completely neglected b/c I had decided that they needed replacing.
Other pertinent info - this was their second winter. We’re in Denver, CO so zone 5.

Thank you!!

We inherited a box wood jungle from the original home owners. In that small space if a boxwood grew well you would be doing too much hedge trimming like we are. Rip those out and replace with riverrocks and some drought tolerant native flowers or herbs. Think alpine rock garden not shrubs.

Think "Hellstrip." Not Alpine.

It's very marked that the plants at the back are ok. If it was a water issue why would they be fine and not the ones in front?

Do you get snow and ice? Was the sidewalk treated in anyway? Salt?

floral_uk - no salt or chemicals. We get some snow and ice but this burn started way before the main snow in late Jan-early March. In general we had an extremely dry fall/early winter and a couple big storms in March. But we don’t use salts on our sidewalks.

Kathleen - I agree they must come out and we need something Sun & Heat resistant. But I definitely want something green. I live in the wrong climate! Lol

Most of my neighbors have either ornamental grasses or Boxwoods. One neighbor has a weeping juniper planted in her yard above the retaining wall that then weeps over and spreads downwards.

laceyvail- thank you for the laugh!

Personally, for a tough spot like this I’d consider something like Autumn Joy sedum, barberry might be another one but they are massively prickly.

Actually, do a websearch for “Hellstrip Denver” to get some ideas of what might like that site. Hellstrip typically refers to the strip for planting between the sidewalk and the street, but many of the the plants that work there might work for you here.

That is a very narrow planting strip and will not accommodate the growth of many plants. Even if the boxwood survived/succeeded, you would need to be pruning it rather routinely to keep it from encroaching on the sidewalk.

Have you considered lavender? Something like Lavandula angustifolia 'Hidcote' (or 'Munstead', 'Wee One', Thumbelina Leigh') that stays small and relatively compact could work. Extremely heat and drought tolerant when established, doesn't mind poor, rocky soil and only needs an annual grooming. As long as drainage is good, it should thrive under your conditions!! And it has attractive, fragrant flowers, which is more than can be said for the box :-)