Extending boxwood hedge

last year

I was given a dozen or so pathetic boxwood ’Woodburn Select.’ I’d like to use them to make a much longer low hedge. Should I buy track down more of the same? Propagate from cuttings? Or choose something similar enough to be unnoticeable but maybe less finicky?

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floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK

last year

I was saying that box is now a liability here due to the invasive Box Moth. Not to mention blight. I have lost all the topiaries I had grown from cutting over the years. I believe the moth has now reached the US so I wouldn't invest in an entire box hedge. People recommend Ilex crenata instead but to my eye it's not that similar.

Box is easy from cuttings so if you want identical plants that would be the way to go. But I wouldn't invest much effort or money into a plant which might die on you. Maybe just do it as an experiment.

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Comments (6)

floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
last year
IdI'sd s
kitasei2
Original Author
last year
say what?
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floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
last year
Sorry. Houzz won't let me type in a full answer straight away. It'll take the first word then I have to submit and go back in to edit. Also it adds rubbish to the first word. I was doing this late last night and had retyped a long answer which then pouffed. So I gave up.
diggerdee zone 6 CT
last year
I have to agree with floral regarding the investment. I stopped buying boxwood some years ago because of blight issues. I haven't had any major problems myself with it, but I figure why buy more if it might happen? Especially if you are using them for such a large area - it would be heartbreaking to lose a whole hedge

I used to have a garden maintenance business and one of my customers had very low boxwood edgings around all her beds. They were only about a foot high, if even. One of our garden chores was to trim them and then take all the cuttings, dip them in rooting powder, and extend or fill in the edgings. I can say it worked, but I can't say how long it took her to get all the extensive edging she had, or what she started with. I guess she had an advantage because she kept them so small she had lots of cuttings.

So I would try that method first, if you have the patience.

Why are the ones you got pathetic lol? Neglected, diseased, or just small?

:)

Dee
kitasei2 thanked diggerdee zone 6 CT
prairiemoon2 z6b MA
last year
last modified: last year
I had a lot of boxwood at one time and they all succumbed to blight. I tried to keep them to the point of pruning off any dead foliage every year, but eventually, it just was not working. They looked awful most of the time and keeping them pruned back was a chore I was not looking forward to every spring. I have one left, a Green Mountain I believe, and it seems to be okay, but I need to move it into a better location.

I've stopped buying them too.

I like japanese hollies. I have a couple of Ilex crenata 'Sky Pencil' which have been trouble free for 10+ years. I didn't try to duplicate the effect of boxwood in the garden or I would have bought more varieties of the crenata varieties. It does not equal english boxwood, but it is another choice for an evergreen in the garden. And it berries too. I don't know how it would work for topiary.
kitasei2 thanked prairiemoon2 z6b MA