This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

Re: Boxwood Hedge

Heather,

I have a number of boxwoods and have pruned them many times as much as 4"
(10 cm) with no problems.  However, I would wait until very early spring or
very late winter to do this because it is pretty late in the season for new
growth to harden off properly for winter, and pruning generally encourages
some new growth.  If it doesn't harden off, you will have die back and
winter burn and your plants will look pretty tatty come spring. (voice of
sad experience here).  In late winter or very early spring, the plant will
form a lot of new growth buds at the pruning cuts and these will open in
mid to late spring and refurbish the plant.

Instead of 'square' you really need to prune so that the top of the hedge
is narrower than the bottom so that all the parts of the shrub face receive
light.  If you prune with absolutely straight sides or a top that is larger
than the bottom, the lower branches will eventually die out from lack of
light.   You'll notice this die out in the center of the shrub after time
when it shades its own center branches out.   Some of my big older ones
have foliage only on the outside and when I have to crawl around in them to
do clean up or what not, it is a bit weird looking!  

This kind of pruning is called, if I'm not mistaken, 'battering' and takes
a bit of practice to eye in just right.  Or, you can make a guide out of
small size wood at the correct angle you want to follow and use that. 
(Like a huge triangle of wood that you hold up to the hedge as a guide for
achieving the angle you want.)

While you can prune them as much as 4" or 6" (10 - 15 cm), it is not
something I'd recommend doing every year.  Less and more often are better
for sheared hedges, IMHO.  I have found that mine are reluctant to resprout
out of really old wood.  But, yours are young enough so that even if they
look a bit odd right after the pruning they should put out new growth and
by mid-season, you won't even know they were pruned.

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@clark.net
Editor:  Gardening in Shade
http://www.suite101.com
----------
> From: ronavar <ronavar@ibm.net>
> Date: Thursday, August 07, 1997 1:35 PM
> 
> I have been working on developing a boxwood hedge, but initially planted
> the 'Winter Gem' plants a bit farther apart than I should have.  They
> have come along nicely and are touching each other now (5 years later!).
> I would like to trim them up square (they have basically been left round
> until now), but I have just been informed by my hubby that I also have
> to take them down 4" to accommodate the sprinkler system.  Can I take 4"
> off without adversely affecting the boxwood?  I am afraid they will look
> naked!
> 
> Heather in Markham, Ontario, Canada
> CDA Zone 6 / USDA Zone 5

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE WOODYPLANTS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index