Re: brown and ugly Japanese Boxwood
- To: "m*@ucdavis.edu"
- Subject: Re: brown and ugly Japanese Boxwood
- From: D* L*
- Date: Wed, 06 Dec 2000 12:32 -0600
'Green Beauty'(Buxus microphylla japonica 'Green Beauty')really does hold its
color best in colder areas like yours. I found recently a variety called
'Faulkner' which has really nice orange fall color. But you said it yourself,
the English Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens)would be better overall for you. Have
you checked the soil pH?
I have in my new (to me)home garden many old specimens of both species and the
B.m.japonica is much happier than the B.sempervirens,which wants more water and
a lower pH than I am willing to provide. I'm looking for a new home for the
latter.
Deborah
____________________Reply Separator____________________
Subject: Re: brown and ugly Japanese Boxwood
Author: Hortica2@aol.com
Date: 12/6/00 1:25 PM
Dear Deborah:
Thanks for your quick response.
Well, there are 50 or so of them and they uniformly look dull through the
summer, a green/gold, healthy, but not exuberant. Then they took on this
'fall color' look of even browner, but still very much alive.
Sometimes tannins in the fir/redwood mulches can affect plants; sometimes
salts in the soil; lack of water; too much water...pinpointing the problem is
why I reached out for some suggestions. It is no wonder that the big growers
have named some of the cultivars 'Green Beauty' and the like, because this is
a common problem that selection alone hasn't solved. Realistically, I should
stay to English Boxwood here in northern California where summers aren't warm
enough to ripen tomatoes!
What do you think??
Hortica (David Johnson)
