Re: boxwood

In a message dated 12/15/00 9:56:33 AM Eastern Standard Time,
msgardens@HOTMAIL.COM writes:

<< I have Green Velvet boxwood here in NW Indiana, close to Chicago. (zone 5).
 It does well here.  It is my understanding that hybridizers are making them
 more cold hardy. Just to be safe, I also spray my broadleaf evergreens with
 Wilt-Pruf.  I can see that might be hard if you had several.  Lynn >>

Here in my cold zone 4 grow several boxwoods.  One has been on the farm for
for more than forty years and has expanded considerably in the past few warm
winters.

Since they have all been grown from begged cuttings, I do not have the
cultivar or species.  We do have about twenty shiny leafed sorts.  These will
have a bit of winterkill on the tops.  You shear it off in spring and they
recover quickly.

One was given to me as "korean boxwood".  This is absolutely hardy.  There is
usually no winterkill.

The trick here is to get the plants established, maybe a cover the first
winter.  They make a huge root system in two or three years.  This root
system is compact making the plant easy to move around.  Digging up a
two/three year old plant, you will find a root system larger than the shrub.

Also necessary is drainage.  Boxwood grows well in sharp drainage.  This good
drainage brings it through the winters if you have freeze and thaw periods.
I have noticed that the boxwoods will withstand any amount of drought making
them a good all purpose small shrub (some not so small!)  Forms of English
boxwood thought to be more attractive than the others is probably not as
hardy.  I have not noticed such a significant difference that I yearn for the
English boxwoods.

Soil pH should be checked for you selection.  We have acid soils in the
Northeast.  Boxwood is supposed to be a neutral to alkaline soil native.
Nothing has been done to the soil for our boxwoods so it may not be critical.
 Adding sand or gravel to the planting area plus a mulch would probably do.

They grow in full sun here or any degree of shade.

Claire Peplowski
NYS z4
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