Planting boxwood and caring for evergreen shrubs. Boxwood - a unique evergreen plant for your garden Boxwood evergreen planting and care

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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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 a 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 to form any figure from boxwood or you yourself can’t manage the composition, 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.

Evergreen boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) is a perennial evergreen shrub of the genus Buxus (Buxus), with about 30 species. It grows very slowly, but can live for a very long time. In the Crimean Botanical Garden there are specimens that are more than 100 years old, and in nature there are some that may already be 500 years old.

Boxwood or buxus has long been successfully used as an ornamental plant for decorating gardens, parks, flower beds as decorative hedges, borders, balls with an appropriate haircut. Evergreen boxwood is also found in nature. Its habitat is Southern Europe, Northern Africa, Asia Minor, Crimea, some areas of the Caucasus.

Valuable buxus wood.

The exceptional decorative properties of the plant are associated with its biological characteristics. It has beautiful small, shiny, densely growing leaves. Buxus sempervirens is sheared, giving the shrub various forms (pyramids, balls, curls, arabesques), which can be observed in the most famous palace parks and estates. You can also cut out any other desired shape from the bush. The very name boxwood - buxus - in Greek means "dense".

The plant is frost-resistant, which is very convenient in our latitudes.

A multi-branched tree-like boxwood shrub, provided that it is not pruned, can reach 6–8 m in height, and the tree itself with a dense crown in nature can even reach 15 m.

The trunk of boxwood has a light yellow bark on young trunks and grayish with small cracks on old ones. On young shoots, the bark is smooth. The shoots of the shrub are tetrahedral and slightly pubescent.

Dark green smooth leaves are opposite, leathery, short-petiolate. The length of the leaves is up to 3 cm. They are elliptical in shape, oblong.

Flowers inconspicuous, small, dioecious. They develop in inflorescences in the axils of the leaves. Flowering occurs in May. If the shrub is regularly trimmed, then there may not be flowering.

The fruit of evergreen boxwood is a small trihedral box, which contains 6 black seeds. Ripening occurs in August-September.

The root system is taproot, well branched.

All parts of the boxwood are poisonous.

Main types

The following types of buxus are currently cultivated, which differ slightly in their decorative properties:

• Buxus sempervirens Arborescens;
• Buxus sempervirens Blauer Heinz;
• Buxus sempervirens Elegans;
• Buxus sempervirens Marginata;
• Buxus sempervirens Suffruticosa.

How to grow boxwood

As already noted, evergreen boxwood is frost-resistant and shade-tolerant, it takes root well on neutral, nutritious, well-drained soil. Loves moisture, but normally tolerates heat and drought. Withstands city conditions. Resistant to strong winds. However, with all these positive qualities of the axle box, you should know what features its landing and care have.

Of particular importance is the proper care of the plant in a protracted spring with changes in air temperature and insufficiently warmed earth. But if the plant is covered in time, fertilized and watered normally, everything will go well.

The plant can be purchased ready-made in a pot with soil and planted as a border at a distance of 20 cm between plants. In this case, the height of the bushes will be up to 35 cm. If a higher hedge is planned, then it is necessary to plant at a distance of 25 cm between the bushes. It is advisable to purchase boxwood bushes grown in our latitudes, since boxwood brought from Europe is less frost-resistant and more demanding to care for.

You should pay attention to some points.

reproduction

Buxus sempervirens at home is propagated by seeds or vegetatively, by cuttings.

Propagation by cuttings is simple, they take root well. Cuttings are harvested during pruning. You can root both summer and winter, more stiff cuttings. Cuttings should have 2-3 internodes. They are planted in loose soil, in which peat and garden soil are equally divided. Planted cuttings should be covered with a film or a jar and watered regularly, so that the soil is always wet. Rooting occurs in 3-4 weeks.

Topiary

Topiary is a curly haircut of trees or shrubs to decorate the landscape. Evergreen boxwood is the best material for topiary. You can invent various images and shapes and cut boxwood in this way. However, the best for the plant itself and for decorating landscapes will still be pyramids, cones, balls, rectangles and other geometric shapes.

Even when choosing the shape of boxwood, you need to take into account the fact that its trunk should be covered with branches. Then it will be better preserved in winter during frosts.

The more often the plant is cut, the more actively it grows, the denser its branches become. Trim new growths as the plant is slow growing.

Boxwood bushes, if desired, can not be cut.

Boxwood care in winter

For the winter, standard trees and free-standing boxwood bushes need to be tied up so that the snow does not break them, and covered with non-woven material.

In autumn, before winter, water-charging watering is needed to saturate the plant with moisture.

It is necessary to mulch the soil with peat.

The plant requires shading in early spring or winter.

With properly organized boxwood planting and caring for this plant, you can get a wonderful evergreen garden decoration. The unpretentious handsome man will perfectly complement the most sophisticated design solutions of the infield.

plant description

Boxwood evergreen (Buxus sempervirens) is a genus of evergreen shrubs and small trees from the Boxwood family. Under favorable conditions, the plant can live up to 600 years. Buxus grows slowly.

Medium-sized juicy leaves have the shape of an ellipse and a characteristic smell. Most species with green foliage, but there are also variegated varieties. Spikelets of greenish-yellow flowers appear in the axils of the leaves in March or April. They are inconspicuous and fragrant. In place of flowers, boxes with black seeds are formed. Over time, these fruits crack, and their contents are scattered around.

Variety of varieties

Boxwood is used for growing in open ground and in indoor floriculture. About 30 species of this plant grow in different regions. Numerous varieties differ in growth intensity and external data.

• For the formation of small sheared figures and balls, slow-growing varieties Suffruticosa and Blauer Heinz are suitable. The second option has another important advantage - high frost resistance.
• Buxus sempervirens is a wild species of evergreen boxwood for tall hedges.
• For large plantings, the vigorous varieties Rotundifolia and Handsworthiensis are also suitable.
• Elegantissima is a beautiful variegated variety sensitive to low temperatures. This variety is best planted in a site protected from the wind and carefully covered for the winter.
• Some slow-growing varieties of boxwood make wonderful bonsai - indoor "trees in a pot." For these purposes, use, for example, Buxus harlandii Hance.

Buxus reproduction

Three methods are used to obtain new specimens of an evergreen plant.

• Cuttings.

The easiest and most affordable breeding option. The best time for such an operation is July or August. Young bushes planted during this period will have time to take root and grow stronger before frost. This will help them get through the winter easily. It is possible to carry out cuttings in September, but then the survival rate of the buxus decreases.

The beds for young plants are preliminarily dug up, weeds are removed and the soil is watered abundantly. The site should be in the shade or partial shade. The soil needs clay and loose, with a high content of humus.

Choose branches with a length of at least 20-30 cm. Cuttings are harvested by cutting at an angle with secateurs or sharp scissors one- or two-year-old shoots on boxwood immediately before rooting. Blanks can not be placed in water and dried in the sun. The shoots are shortened by removing the third part of the cutting. The leaves are left. Then planted in a place protected from the wind in partial shade. The interval between plants is about 8 cm, the row spacing is about 15-20 cm. Young plantings can not be covered with a film, the ground around them is slightly compacted.

In autumn, the bushes will reach a height of about 15 cm. They need to be covered with leaves for the winter, and in the spring they should be placed in a permanent place of cultivation.

When cuttings are carried out in autumn, rooted bushes can be transplanted into a container of a suitable size and transferred to wintering in a cool place until spring.

• Reproduction by seeds.

The seed is pre-soaked for a day in water, it is advisable to add a growth stimulator to the liquid. The seeds are then placed on a damp cloth and kept in a warm place. Do not allow material to dry out. After about a month, the first sprouts hatch. They are sown in soil from equal parts of peat and sand. Seeds are placed in the ground, directing the sprouts down. Cover with glass or plastic wrap and clean in a warm place without access to the bright sun. Shoots appear in about 15-20 days. After that, the glass or film is removed and regular care is provided: timely watering, loosening and top dressing with a very weak solution of fertilizers. Transplanted outdoors when there is no threat of return frosts.

• layering.

In the spring, branches located near the surface of the soil are pressed to the ground. They need to be fixed and sprinkled with a little soil. Layers are watered all summer. It can be planted when the root system is formed and the "baby" begins to grow.

How to plant boxwood correctly?

It is believed that the best time for planting boxwood in open ground is from mid-September to early October. In this case, before the onset of frost, the plant has time to take root well. However, some gardeners plant buksus both in spring and summer. Pre-prepare the site: carefully dig and level the soil, remove weeds and, if necessary, make compost.

Small specimens of buxus are sold in containers with earth or with an open root system. Seedlings are previously placed in a bucket of water for a day. Planted after sunset or on a cloudy day. Large holes are prepared in which the roots will easily spread. Sand, leaf humus and soddy soil are placed at the bottom in a ratio of 1:4:2.

The interval between plants when planting will depend on the type of boxwood and how the bush is used. To form a border per square meter, about 10 young plants about 13 cm high are planted. The bushes are watered and shortened by a third.

Bushes for rooting need about a month. At this time, they should be watered weekly, the ground should be constantly moist. Gradually, the number of waterings is reduced, and at the beginning of summer they are fed for the first time with complex fertilizer.

Cultivation Secrets

Buxus is an unpretentious plant. In care, you should follow simple rules.

• It is better to underfill than to overfill - this is a drought-resistant shrub. However, if boxwood grows outdoors in a pot, then in dry hot weather it will have to be watered almost daily. From time to time the plant is sprayed.
• Buxus is resistant to cold, however, shelter will be required if the temperature in winter drops below -20 degrees.
• Need loose soil with good drainage and neutral acidity. Clay earth containing lime is best suited. Mature compost is additionally added to the depleted sandy soil. Soil with a high location of groundwater and areas where water stagnates for a long time after rains will not work. Excess moisture can lead to root rot.
• The plant does not like direct sunlight and hot southern parts of the garden. In such a place, the leaves are quickly damaged, the buxus may even die. It is better to plant an evergreen handsome man in partial shade.
• Pruning is an important part of boxwood care. It is carried out with sharp garden shears about once a month from April to September. The more often you trim an evergreen handsome man, the thicker and more magnificent his crown will be. As a result of shortening, the plant loses some of the nutrients that were located in the sheared branches. The more often the plant is reduced in size, the more moisture and nutrients it needs. Such specimens are watered and fertilized more than others.
• In November, water-charging watering of the buxus is carried out. Before the onset of frost, the bushes are saturated with moisture before the long winter period.
• In the spring, it is useful to apply nitrogen-based fertilizing under the boxwood, and organic fertilizers in late spring. To increase winter hardiness, potassium is fertilized in September - it accelerates the lignification of shoots, helping the plant to better survive the winter cold.

When choosing pinnate boxwood, you need to know that such varieties are more demanding on the conditions of detention. They are less resistant to low temperatures and other adverse factors.

Diseases and pests

• When boxwood gall midge attacks, swellings appear on the lower part of the leaves with convex yellowish spots. The plant quickly loses its former beauty and may die if left untreated.
• From the boxwood flea, the leaves become whitish and sticky.
• Buxus can also damage felt and spider mites.
• Boxwood moth likes to eat boxwood leaves. One caterpillar completely eats a medium-sized leaf in four hours.

Usually the development cycle of pests is longer than the time of action of the insecticide, therefore, two, and sometimes three treatments are carried out with an interval of 2-3 weeks.

The plant is sprayed on both sides, it is also necessary to wet the soil under plantings with pests. Work is best done in the evening after sunset: many chemicals at temperatures above +25 degrees are highly toxic to humans.
Boxwood branches are damaged by rust. The spores of this fungus can migrate to a plant from a pear, so it is not recommended to grow representatives of Pink and Boxwood nearby. Affected branches are removed. To prevent the disease, boxwood is sprayed with copper-containing agents, the diseased plant is treated with immunity-supporting drugs.

On the shoots of boxwood damaged by necrosis, the tops of the branches die off. This disease is controlled with fungicides. In case of cancer, areas with diseased wood are completely removed, and the wounds are treated with Fundazol.

Wintering

If in winter the temperature drops below 10 degrees below zero, it is advisable to throw a shelter of two layers of burlap on borders and boxwood hedges and fix it well.

Plants growing outdoors in a container should also be protected from the cold. It is convenient to use the "pot in a pot" method. The container in which the boxwood is located is placed in a larger container. The space between the pots is filled with fine bark. The plant itself is placed on a small wooden elevation.

• In the Leningrad region, the boxwood transplantation period is shorter than in the southern regions. It is held from the end of April to the beginning of October. In this region, the most crucial time for growing a plant is winter. Care must be taken to protect the axle box from low temperatures. It is advisable to mulch the land under plantings with needles of coniferous trees, and when the temperature drops to -10 degrees, insulate the trunk and branches. To do this, large specimens are covered with boxes made of plastic or wood, and small bushes are wrapped with non-woven material and fixed.
• Over many decades, varieties have been created that can be grown in Siberia, the Far East and the Urals. For example, Buxus Sempervirens can withstand temperatures as low as -40 degrees. To protect against cold winds and frost, boxwood in these regions is planted on the southern slopes. In winter, they bend it closer to the ground and cover it with spruce branches. Definitely covered in snow. Do this carefully so that the branches of the plant do not break.

For mulching, it is better to use coniferous needles or the bark of coniferous trees. Leaves can cause rot.

Boxwood is easily shaped. To decorate southern parks and gardens, artists create amazing evergreen sculptures from this plant. It is ideal for forming borders and hedges. A dense crown with shiny leaves is shaped into various geometric shapes: a cube, a cone, a ball.

Boxwood can be grown as a standard tree, leaving only the central shoot of the plant.

Medicinal properties and contraindications

The chemical composition of all parts of evergreen boxwood contains a lot of tannins, alkaloids, bioflavonoids and resins. Preparations from the leaves and bark of the plant have been used since antiquity to treat coughs and indigestion.

Boxwood has a diuretic, diaphoretic, hypotensive and antiseptic effect. An infusion of the leaves gives an analgesic effect, a decoction can be washed with infected wounds and abrasions. In homeopathy, buxus is used to treat worm infestation and rheumatism.

Official medicine practically does not use boxwood for the production of medicines, as it is a poisonous plant. In case of poisoning, convulsions, involuntary trembling of the limbs, skin hyperemia, breathing problems, vomiting and diarrhea are observed. If the victim is not provided with urgent medical care, then death from respiratory arrest is possible.

The plant is credited with mystical powers. It is believed that a branch of boxwood under the pillow protects against evil forces and drives away nightmares. Buxus has a strong and heavy wood, which is used in carpentry.

Evergreen boxwood is the choice of lovers to enjoy greenery at any time of the year. It will become a bright spot in the garden even on the most cloudy gray days.

A long-lived shrub with small smooth leaves, so often found in the form of hedges and borders on the streets of the resort towns of the Black Sea coast, is a handsome evergreen boxwood. Planting and caring for this plant is quite simple, and few people can remain indifferent to its appearance.

What is

Boxwood is an evergreen, slow-growing shrub of the Boxwood family. The homeland of the plant is western India and the countries of Southeast Asia. It is distributed throughout the globe: there are colonies in the south of Europe, and in the north of the African continent, and in the west of Transcaucasia.

This is one of the most ancient plants that is grown for decorative purposes. In another way they call the box (from the Latin "buxus"), green tree, gevan or bukshan. There is also the name shamshit.

It is believed that boxwood appeared about 30 million years ago and has survived to this day with virtually no evolutionary changes. Bux in natural conditions grows in the form of trees, which rarely reach a length of more than 10-12 meters. Some specimens live more than 500 years.

plant description

• Leaves leathery, opposite, elliptical in shape. The young leaves have a greenish-olive tint, becoming woody and brown with age.
• blooms only adult boxwood at the age of 15–20 years with small flowers, unisexual, collected in inflorescences. During the flowering period, the plant exudes a very intense aroma.
• Fruit greengreen trees look like a small spherical box filled with black seeds. As the fruit ripens, it opens, shooting seeds into the ground.

Buxus can grow in conditions of one hundredth of the illumination of the required. This is one of the most shade-tolerant trees. In ancient times, the tree was considered precious for the similarity of wood to amber.

Boxwood is also called an iron tree because of its weight: the trunks of mature trees even sink in water. Household items of special strength are made from axle box wood: canes, looms, chess pieces, measuring instruments, caskets, musical instruments.

Boxwood, as a valuable type of wood, is mentioned in Homer's Iliad, myths and legends of Ancient Rome, folklore works of the Georgian people.

Contains alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids and coumarins. The bark and leaves are used in folk medicine as a laxative and diaphoretic.

Species and varieties

There are many types of plants, about 30 in total, but not all of them are decorative. The most famous varieties of buxus are evergreen, Colchis, small-leaved and Balearic.

Boxwood evergreen (Caucasian palm)

In its natural habitat (the Caucasus, the Mediterranean) it has the shape of a tree about 12–15 meters high, less often a shrub. Grows in the undergrowth of deciduous forests. Most often, this particular species is used in gardening and landscape design. In open ground conditions, without pruning, it can reach a maximum height of 3 m.

Despite the fact that evergreen boxwood is a honey plant, honey from its pollen cannot be consumed. All parts of the box are poisonous.

The leaves of this species are elongated, 1.5 to 3 cm long, shiny, devoid of fluffiness, opposite, practically without petioles. The flowers are small, greenish.

The most popular varieties:

• Suffruticosis(ideal for hedges and borders)
• Blauer Heinz(relatively new variety, perfect for planting in the form of carpets)
• elegans(highly drought tolerant)

small-leaved

small-leaved

Dwarf shrub, its maximum height rarely exceeds 1.5 m. The leaves are also very small - from 1.5 to 2.5 cm. It is highly frost-resistant - it can survive colds of -30 degrees, but is very sensitive to early spring sunlight.

A distinctive feature is the compact shape and decorative crown. Considered a Japanese or Korean descendant of Buxus, it is also common in Taiwan. Popular varieties: Winter Jam(fast growing) Faulkner(with a natural spherical shape of the crown).

Balearic

Balearic

The largest representative of the Samshitov family. The name was given to the source of distribution - the Balearic Islands in Spain, grows mainly in the Mediterranean.

This variety has the largest leaves - from 3 to 4 cm long and 2-2.5 cm wide. It grows faster than its counterparts, but is not at all adapted to a cold climate. Needs constantly moist soil and thrives in direct sunlight for several hours a day.

Colchis

Colchis

A slow growing shrub, it is a relic plant of the Tertiary period. It is listed in the Red Book of Russia, distributed in the highlands of Asia Minor and Transcaucasia.

Compared to other species, it has the smallest leaves (lanceolate form only 1-3 cm long), the highest level of frost resistance and a long lifespan.

It reaches a height of 15–20 m and more than 25 cm in trunk diameter.

Landing in open ground

Planting and plant care

Boxwood is an unpretentious plant, easy both to plant and to care for. It can survive in indirect sunlight, and in conditions of lack of watering and nutrients in the soil.

When choosing a seedling, you need to pay attention to the color (ideally juicy green), the condition of the leaves and shoots.

Soil Requirements

The ideal growing medium for boxwood is clayey, permeable soil with a high lime content. Soil moisture is a key factor in good rooting of axle box. In heavy and excessively saline soils will not be accepted.

Boxwood does not like wetlands or places where water stagnates. Slightly acidic or neutral soils are an excellent environment for rooting and growth of shrubs.

Homemade soil, collected from deciduous and coniferous soil in a ratio of 2 to 1 and 1 part of sand, is also suitable. Birch charcoal is added as a nutrient component to the mixture.

Disembarkation time

It is better to plant bukshan in autumn, a month before the onset of cold weather - in September or early October, so that the plant can take root in a month.

Best of all, it will be taken in a dark place where the sun's rays do not fall.

Planting process

It is better to start preparing the plant for planting a day in advance. It is necessary to water the shrub with a closed root system abundantly in order to facilitate the extraction of the seedling from the container without destroying the earthen clod. It is possible to completely place the roots of the planted shrub in the water for 24 hours.

A pit for planting is dug out with a size three times the volume of an earthen ball of box. A drainage layer of perlite or expanded clay 3-4 cm thick is laid out at the bottom to remove excess moisture. The seedling is placed in the hole strictly vertically, the roots are carefully leveled.

Cover the shrub with a mixture of earth and perlite in equal proportions. The soil under the boxwood is compacted to remove voids in the soil layer. Then the seedling is watered not too abundantly, on average, half a bucket of settled rain water per 20-centimeter bush.

The ground around the trunk is advised to cover with a thin layer of perlite. Repeated watering of a newly planted shrub is carried out no earlier than a week later in the absence of rain.

Around the trunk at a distance of 25–35 cm, a low earthen rampart should be formed so that when watering, the water does not spread over the ground, but is concentrated in the root zone.

Disembarkation order

For planting in one row in the form of a hedge, 4–5 shrubs are planted at a distance of 25–30 cm. If it is necessary to form a low curb or carpet composition on the site, then 10–12 boxwood bushes are planted at a right angle in a checkerboard pattern at a distance of 15–20 between the trunks.

Experienced landscape designers use trees 10-15 cm above the projected height for planting, to form the desired shape of the crown already in place. This immediately ensures the same height, and planting density, and its survival.

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plant care

Boxwood grows very slowly: in a year, the plant rarely adds more than 1 mm in trunk diameter, and only 5–7 cm in height. But such slowness is more than offset by the decorative characteristics of the shrub. Caring for him is easy even for beginner gardeners.

Watering

The plant does not need abundant watering - an average of 5-7 liters of water is spent per meter shrub. Watering is carried out in the non-hot time of the day - in the morning or in the evening. In a dry climate or under high-temperature weather conditions, the plant is watered more abundantly, but not more than 1 time per week.

From time to time, the plant is advised to carry out water cleaning procedures - to wash off the dust from the foliage with water. After moistening, the soil under the trunk must be loosened and weeds removed. Before the start of the summer season, gardeners are advised to mulch the trunk circle with a layer of peat 5–7 cm thick.

top dressing

The first top dressing is carried out only a month after planting the shrub, since the fertilizer will benefit only the plant that is firmly rooted in the soil. If ash and compost were introduced into the soil during planting, then the fertilizer is postponed for at least another six months.

Nitrogen fertilizers (they weaken the winter hardiness of the shrub), as well as complex mixtures of minerals, are introduced into the soil during the period of active bush growth - in spring and in the first half of summer.

In autumn, buxus is fed with potassium chloride and phosphorus-containing preparations, usually superphosphate. Once every three years, the shrub is advised to fertilize with organic matter - manure or compost.

Magnesium is considered a useful trace element for the health of boxwood. Studies have proven a direct dependence of the lack of this substance in the soil with the appearance of yellow spots on the foliage of the plant.

Pruning and crown shaping

The first pruning can be carried out only in the second year of the plant's life. For these purposes, sharp garden shears with short blades are used. Be sure to use clean tools when pruning - this reduces the risk of infection.

The axle box is cut most often in late spring: end of April - beginning of May. The shrub is ideal for decorative pruning - from the third year of its life, the crown can be given any shape: from geometric to intricate and fantasy. The most popular figures are a cone, a sphere or a cube.

In this case, only young shoots are pruned, old branches are cut only when the plant has completely lost its shape. Experts recommend updating every month, especially since you don’t need to make much effort for this - once you choose a form, you just need to maintain it regularly.

After such a procedure, the shrub becomes thicker, but at the same time requires more abundant watering to compensate for the loss of nutrients. In hot and dry weather, pruning should not be carried out - this can lead to foliage burns. The best time for manipulation is in the evening hours or in the morning in cloudy weather.

Transfer

Transplantation, unlike rooting, is best done in the spring - so the plant is better prepared for winter. If the plant is an adult, you need to transplant it to another place along with an earthen clod. In this case, the actions during transplantation must be performed the same as during the initial planting of a seedling.

The green tree is a fairly strong garden culture; in adulthood, it painlessly endures the "move" to a new place. Subject to the competent actions of the gardener, it continues to grow immediately after transplantation.

If the seedling was bought late in the fall, then it is not recommended to plant it before winter. It is better to dig a shrub in a shady place and cover with a shading net. It is important to prevent icing of the tree.

Caring for plants in tubs

The larger the pot, the slower the boxwood will grow. Water plants that grow in confined spaces, in hot climates, or in dry weather every day.

To feed plants in slides, tubs, flowerpots, special liquid fertilizers are used, which are added to the water for irrigation once every 10-12 days. If the foliage of the buxus turns red, then additional nitrogenous fertilizer must be added to the soil.

For the winter, a pot with a green tree is placed in a container of a larger diameter, and the space between the containers is filled with bark. Both tubs are placed on blocks to avoid contact with the soil.

Features of care in the fall

Despite all the durability and unpretentiousness of the green tree, preparing for the cold is perhaps the most important part of caring for it. You need to start the procedures in late autumn - in early November.

The first thing to do is to water the shrub abundantly, providing its root system with moisture for the cold months. Next, the trunk area is mulched with peat or rotted needles. It is important to ensure that the mulch does not touch the trunk.

It is better not to use dry leaves for mulching. In a humid environment, they will begin to rot and can cause putrefactive processes on the plant itself, and they may also contain laying eggs of insect pests.

Shelter for the winter

In the cold season, when sub-zero temperatures prevail, young tender shoots of boxwood are advised to be covered with burlap or non-woven fabric to maintain a viable microclimate.

To prevent the shelter from being blown away by the wind during the winter, it is covered with twine or ropes. When sheltering hedges, the edges of the canvas are sprinkled with earth. Boxwood bushes for the winter are tied up before sheltering, so that large volumes of snow do not break fragile branches.

It is not recommended to use the film as a coating - condensation forms under it, excessive humidity and high temperature. After removing the polyethylene, a sharp temperature drop occurs, from which the plant may even die.

As a heater, you can use wood shavings or straw, as well as fallen leaves. A frame is formed around the bush from wooden slats 20 cm higher than the plant, filled with heat-retaining materials over the foliage and covered with roofing material.

In the spring, the structure is dismantled, and the straw or shavings are shaken off the bush. But this should not be done immediately, because the plant gradually gets used to the bright sunlight. In the first few weeks of spring, a layer of burlap and mulch can be left on the bushes, artificially creating a slight darkening.

As an ornamental plant in an apartment, the buxus also feels great due to its unpretentiousness and compactness. For floriculture at home, species such as evergreen, small-leaved and Balearic boxwood are chosen.

You need to place the pot with the plant in a moderately lit place with a constantly maintained temperature and humidity. The soil around the trunk should be overlaid with pebbles or moss, and the plant is not plentiful, but regularly watered and sprayed.

Many attribute mystical properties to boxwood, supposedly the plant helps protect its owner and his house from evil spirits and people with unclean thoughts.

How to form a stem tree from a box

For decorative purposes, very beautiful stem trees in pots and tubs are obtained from boxwood, which serve as decoration for a garden plot or terrace. A bare long trunk that ends in a spreading crown of identical small leaves - this shape will appeal to all lovers of landscape design. Moreover, creating this beauty yourself is quite simple.

To form such a shape when growing boxwood, you must follow these instructions:

1 As the plant grows, methodically remove side shoots exactly to the height where, at the request of the grower, the crown should begin.

2 As the side branches grow, pinch or cut them to give the desired shape.

3 As soon as the shrub reaches the desired height, the trunk must be cut to stop growth.

4 Pot or tub with a plant periodically turn different sides to the sun to form a symmetrical crown.

5 As the plant grows, you need to tie it to a vertical support - so the trunk will turn out to be even.

For the winter, standard trees are completely wrapped in non-woven material. If the stem has a whitewashed trunk, then only the crown can be covered.

reproduction

Most often, the green tree is propagated vegetatively, but growing boxwood from seeds is also quite realistic. Which method to choose, the gardener must decide based on the desire and ability to devote enough time and effort to the plant.

seed

Smooth shiny boxwood seeds quickly lose their germination capacity after ejection from the fruit. Therefore, for planting it is recommended to choose fresh, only ripe seeds.

For 24 hours they are soaked in a solution of growth preparations - Epin or Zircon in water. Then the seeds are germinated by placing them between two layers of damp cloth or gauze for 30-35 days. You need to moisten the rags regularly, then white seedlings will appear from the seeds.

If sprouts do not appear after a specified period, you can speed up this process by arranging a “shock therapy” for seeds. To do this, the fabric with them from a warm room is placed for two days in the lower compartment of the refrigerator, and then again returned to favorable conditions.

Sprouted seeds are sown in a container filled with a mixture of sand and peat in equal proportions with sprouts in the ground. From above, the soil is covered with glass or tightened with a film to create a greenhouse effect. Within 15–20 days, under favorable conditions (a warm, dark place), the first shoots will appear, the film or glass is removed.

Feeding is applied to the soil in a small amount, watered regularly, and seedlings are planted in open ground in the spring, when the risk of returning night frosts is gone.

cuttings

The green tree is best propagated by cuttings. For seating, the branches left after pruning are used. Cuttings can be cut at any time of the year, but it is best to do this from July to March. Young shoots cut from April to June are too tender and need to be shaded from the sun.

Cuttings of a green tree - the easiest and most reliable way to propagate a relic shrub

To reproduce in this way, you must perform the following steps:

1 Cut 10 cm long twigs from young healthy shoots with secateurs. You can also tear off the stalk with your hands, but it is best to do this so that part of the shoot remains.

2 Pour a mixture of universal soil for ornamental plants and sand into the container in equal proportions, make small holes.

3 Remove a few lower leaves from the cuttings, dip the cut point in the rooting preparation Kornevin and gently lower it into the holes.

4 Press the small trunks of the future plant with soil.

5 Water the seedlings well and place the container in a shady spot. In winter - in a lighted basement or greenhouse without heating, in summer - just in a dark corner, but then the container must be covered with polyethylene.

The cuttings must be placed strictly in the holes, and not just stuck into the ground, otherwise the meaning of processing the cut with an active preparation will be lost.

Rooting of cuttings occurs within 1-2 months, then they, together with an earthen clod, can be transplanted or planted in open ground. Planted branches should be sprayed and watered every other day.

layering

A fairly simple but effective way to get a new shrub. For such reproduction, a healthy lateral branch of boxwood is bent to the ground, dug in and watered, fed in the same way as the mother plant.

When the layering takes root, it is separated from its native bush, dug out together with an earthen clod and transplanted to another place.

Pests and diseases

Buxus has quite a few natural pests that cause severe damage to the plant. The shrub is also easily susceptible to fungal diseases and, without timely treatment, may even die.

Dangerous insect pests

The main danger for the green tree is the box midge, which is also called the mining fly. The insect lays eggs in the young leaves of new shoots in early summer.

Orange small larvae, eating into the tissues of the leaves, pupate and overwinter in the plant. In May, the pupae hatch into adults, which again infect the bush.

A plant affected by gall midge turns yellow, dries, loses leaves, swollen galls filled with larvae form in the affected areas. The treatment against the mining fly is carried out using the preparations Bitoksibacellin, Aktara and Karbofos-500 with a frequency of 1 time in 10 days.

Other pests of boxwood and ways to deal with them are presented in the table.

During preparations for the Olympics in Sochi, a pest was introduced - boxwood moth, which struck 16 hectares of relict plants. In order to preserve the Colchis boxwood, a buxus reserve is being created in Adygea and the Kuban.

Box orderlies

The main assistants are collected in the table.

For many beneficial insects, you can create a shelter in the garden for the winter by hanging a container filled with straw from a tree branch. In the spring, the contents are changed and filled with fresh grass.

A healthy plant has rich green leaves.

Among the diseases that affect the green tree, the greatest danger is:

• Fungal disease. It is characterized by the appearance of orange spots on the foliage. You can cure a plant only by removing the affected shoots completely. Yellowed leaves are taken out of the garden and burned.
• Shoot necrosis. With this disease, the ends of the branches die off, and spots appear on the foliage. Treatment is carried out by repeated treatment with fungicide preparations.
• Boxwood cancer. It is necessary to carry out a total pruning of the affected areas, capturing healthy cuttings. The cut sites should be treated with Fundazol.

Use in landscape design

In landscape design, the green tree is widely used: in warm climates - as borders and hedges, everywhere - to create mixborders, alpine slides and rockeries.

Buxus is also used in the formation of living green walls, filling the space between stone paths, or as a border for garden paths.

Evergreen boxwood has recently been gaining more and more popularity as the main design solution for any farmstead. This beautiful evergreen shrub has very strong wood and a bright green crown. Our flower growers have long chosen boxwood and grow it both at home and in garden plots.

Boxwood photo

Boxwood: planting and care in the open field

Landing Rules

The best time to plant a plant in your area is from mid-September to early October. Starting from this moment, there is still a little time before the cold weather, so that the plant has time to take root.

Planting boxwood requires two important rules:

1. The place for the permanent residence of the shrub should be in partial shade. Direct sunlight is not allowed.
2. The soil should be clayey, well permeable to water and containing lime in the composition.

Landing takes place according to the following algorithm:

• Before planting in open ground, the plant is watered abundantly. This is necessary so that the earthen lump comes out of the pot without any problems, without affecting or damaging the roots.
• The ideal option is the ability to remove the seedling from the pot and put it in a container of water for a day.
• We dig a hole that will be three times larger than the root system in an earthen coma.
• We lay drainage at the bottom of the pit. In this case, it is good to use perlite. By the way, we also mix the earth dug out of the pit with perlite.
• When planting, it is important to straighten the roots and gradually cover them with earth, avoiding air voids.
• After planting, we trample the ground a little and water it with well-settled rainwater.
• After the soil settles, it is necessary to add more.

Boxwood, shrub photo

Basics of care

Caring for a plant does not require large investments. It is enough to follow simple recommendations to make your shrub feel great.

• After planting, it is watered only after a week. A meter-high tree takes about one bucket of water. Water should be poured strictly under the root, after surrounding it with an earthen roller. We water in the morning and evening. If there is a drought, then we increase not the number of waterings, but their volume. After watering, each time loosening of the soil is required.
• In early May, the shrub is mulched with peat 5-6 cm thick. It is important to avoid contact of the mulch with the shoots and trunk.
• The plant requires systematic fertilizing from the moment of planting. The first feeding is carried out in a month. But this is only if you planted it in the spring. Feed only well-rooted plants. For active growth, organic and mineral fertilizers are used.
• Transplant the shrub in the spring.
• In late April - early May, we trim the crown in order to form it.

Video: A few words about pruning shrubs

How to propagate boxwood

Reproduction is possible in two ways:

1. cuttings
2. seeds

Reproduction of boxwood cuttings takes place in the spring. Young shoots 10-15 cm long are suitable as cuttings. We cut them obliquely, tear off the bottom sheets and soak in a rooting solution.

Video: Important points when cutting a plant

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