Looking forward to see what people with experience say. I am assuming they need to get larger first

judi, I only have experience with a square hedge too, but I'd start clipping them now in order to make them more dense. How about ringing the people you bought them from?

Judi, I have a lot of experience with topiary. In my opinion, your plants seem too overgrown to shape into a proper sphere unless you're willing to trim nearly half of the top off. Or you can start from oval shape to keep the hight and within a few years they will turn into sphere shapes.

Here’s a picture of my boxwood. It took me three years to grow them from very small, but well-proportioned plants.

I assume you are planting them now? It is too late in the season to consider pruning now and better to wait until they are somewhat established first. So next spring at the earliest.

They look a bit on the leggy side so when you do prune, first remove only about the top third and even them up. That should cause them to thicken and fill in a bit more. Then you can gradually round them off and begin to shape them.

Don't expect this to happen very rapidly :-) It can take years with box to form a good dense shape........nothing ever happens quickly with box. It is slower than molasses.

I tried twice to respond and it didn’t post. I’ll try again without photos this time. So I followed Elena’s advice and pruned them back and planted them. Then Gardengal posted saying not to prune, but I’d already done it! Thanks for all who weighed in. I’m hoping all will be well since we don’t get more than light frosts until January sometime and the new growth might be hardened off sufficiently by then. And yes, I know box is slow growing and I won’t be magically seeing perfect little globes by next spring!

Judi, I absolutely love that fountain!! Just WOW!! I think your idea of rounding the tops will look nice with your round sphere topping on the fountain. I have a cute baby elephant fountain but struggle with algae so bad here. I took it down until I can refinish the surface which I think promotes algae. The hummingbirds miss it.

We have boxwoods here. I dont do anything to them but cut them straight across when they get too tall lol. They were here when we got here. I am surprised because the previous owners let their horses (like a dozen) graze in the front yard where those boxwoods are and they are toxic to livestock. The horses must not like them.

We have two boxwoods behind our house as well. They must be dwarfs because they stay small..like 5ft. I dont water any of them and they survive on rain. I want to tear All of Them out and plant something else evergreen in their place..maybe gardenias, camellias, banana shrubs (magnolia figo), purple lorapelatum (to match our dwarf purple leafed crape myrtles) or tea olives (Osmanthus fragrans)...something nontoxic lol.

Thank you, Sultry. It’s a gift from my husband and it has given me and all my family so much pleasure. In this desert climate, the sound of water is doubly precious, and many birds and butterflies and bees stop by to drink! I love sitting in my garden just as it’s getting light in the morning to watch the hummingbirds come for a morning shower. They act so human the way they fluff their feathers and shrug their shoulders in the spray. Totally charming!

I'm curious about the outdoor bath. Looks very exciting.

It is rather exciting, Floral. A sweet neighbor of mine had this old cast iron clawfoot tub on his porch for 20 years and asked me if I wanted it… did I?? And he had already restored the inside of the tub for me so I just painted the outside and outfitted it with the faucet and a bath board and my husband plumbed it all in for me and I can bathe in style! I do hang a curtain in the doorway for the sake of privacy. 😉

If you come visit me, you can stay in my apartment and take a bath in my garden.

Eventually as in, when I can afford it and get it accomplished,there will be a door on the “castle tower” and something like this on top:

Judi, very cool!

Lovely!

Thanks for the laugh, Moses! And a compliment from you is valued highly. Our gardens are very personal things for all of us but also something we enjoy sharing with others who understand the meaning they carry. I appreciate being able to learn from you and everyone else on this forum.

Judi, forgive my seeming fickleness, but I deleted my post that was above yours because I felt it was lowering the standards of the Roses Forum. Joking, especially crudely, reduces a person's credibility. I want to be believed and truthful in communicating on our forum. I'm sorry for my lapse in judgment.

Moses

Moses, you are gladly forgiven. You have my respect for doing this.

Thank you! I am glad to know that my pruning job looks fine. Let me know if you have any tips for success.

This is an interesting topic to me - I would love to be proficient at trimming boxwoods. I have Baby Gem boxwoods which are really pretty when pruned but if not kept in bounds, can get large. I am trying some small Jason Bowers boxwoods - these so far are doing really well - very small, slow growing - like them alot. I treated myself to some expensive and very sharp pointed type pruning shears - they do a great job, but with older boxwoods - I dont know how to make a rounded shape. I have tried for find tutorials on it - hoping to hear more about this subject. Lovely fountain and am sure these boxwoods you have pruned will be lovely with time.

Judith