very hard wood, able to decorate any landscape.
This plastic plant easily tolerates frequent shaping haircuts. In landscape design, living fences and borders form landings of boxwood, plant it as solo specimens on the lawns, and sculpt green sculptural compositions, topiary. From it form various volume geometrical figures - cubes, pyramids, spheres, create intricate labyrinths. 
The buksus grows so slowly that it perfectly keeps the shape and thickness of the crown from a haircut to a haircut. During the year it grows only 5-6 cm. It is believed that under favorable conditions, the plant of the boxwood can live up to 600 years. The slow growth and high decorativeness of the crown made it an indispensable element of interior design. Many amateur flower growers have long settled this cheerful little tree in their apartments.
In nature, boxwood grows, depending on the species, from 2 to 14 meters in height. It is found in tree and shrub form. In the wild, it can be found in the southern part of the African continent, central America, southern Europe, anterior Asia, Oceania and Japan.
We will talk about varieties, botanical features, planting and caring for boxwood below.
The varieties of boxwood
The plant has about 30 species and is poisonous. In this case, boxwood also has therapeutic antibacterial properties. It contains volatile production, which kills many pathogenic bacteria. The flowers of boxwood are small, inconspicuous, have no decorative value. The fruit is a solid three-lobed box containing small black seeds.
If you have small children in your house, then, given the poisonousness of boxwood, you better refrain from landing it in an apartment or area.
Buxus sempervirens is mainly used for decorative landscaping. On its basis, several variegated varieties are bred, alternating the green color of leaves with white and shades of yellow. However, it should be noted that the higher decoration of these plants reduced their winter resistance.
Different types of buksus differ significantly in height, growth rate, color of the crown. Therefore, in landscape design, varieties for planting are selected according to their purpose:
- Slow-growing varieties “Blauer Heinz” and “Suffruticosa” are ideal for low hedges and borders. Curb plants are planted in a row at a distance of 30-40 cm from each other.
- For small garden forms, as well as container plants, use single planting varieties, for example, "Green Gem" or "Suffruticosa".
- For large green sculptures it is better to use group plantings, 2-5 tall plants each. The best evergreen boxwood is best for this purpose.
Read also: Evergreen long-liver box colchis
Other varieties of buksus are less common, but, nevertheless, also successfully used in ornamental gardening and landscape design. The north of the growing area, the more winter-hardy varieties should be used for planting in open ground. To date, the most winter-hardy are considered varieties:
- Buxus Sempervirens;
- Handsworthiensis;
- Blauer Heinz;
- Herrenhausen
- Rotundifolia
It should also be mentioned that boxwood is an ideal plant for creating bonsai. Small leaves and slow growth allow you to create in appropriate conditions, these miniature masterpieces. The most suitable for bonsai is considered to be the Buxus harlandii Hance variety.
Soil for planting boxwood
For planting boxwood soil should be:
- loamy;
- with neutral acidity;
- nutritional;
- loose and breathable;
- well drained.
On such soils, boxwood plants grow strong, densely leafy, shiny. Boxwood can grow on poor soils, but then it will slow crown growth, although it will still remain thick and dense.
On the site where the box grows, in no case should water stagnate - the plant does not tolerate this at all. Also not suitable for boxwood heavy and acidic soil. On poor sandy soils under boxwood it is necessary to add mature compost and hydrated lime.
If the conditions of the site do not allow you to plant the box in open ground, then you can successfully cultivate it in containers by digging them in the right places in the ground. In the same containers, plants can overwinter. Young plants should also be kept in containers for the first 2-3 years before planting in a permanent place.
Planting boxwood
It is best to plant boxwood in open ground in spring, with the onset of steady heat. Such a margin of time is necessary for plants to form a branched root system. The better the roots grow on seedlings, the more chances they will have to successfully survive the first winter in the open field.
If you need to transplant adult plants, then this can be done during the entire warm season. IMPORTANT!Adults plants boxwood do not like transplant. Therefore, digging the plant, you need to take it out with a large enough lump of earth to minimize damage to the roots. It is best to allow boxwood to grow in a permanent place, replacing only the top layer of earth beneath it. This will provide the plant with an influx of new nutrition.
For planting boxwood, pits should be prepared that double the depth and width of each instance of the root system of each specimen. Half of the volume of the pit is filled with a substrate of coarse sand, leaf humus and sod land( 1: 4: 2).Potash fertilizer can be added to the substrate, then pour water abundantly. After that, a seedling is carefully installed in the hole, straightening the roots, and fall asleep, compacting the rest of the substrate.
Read also: How to prepare the ground for the lawn?
Taking care of boxwood
Boxwood is a “southerner.”It easily carries the summer sun. But bright spring rays can destroy it.
Spring sunburns, as well as freezing leaves as a result of frosty clear weather and cold winds can lead to the death of the aboveground part of the plant. To avoid this, you should take care in advance about the safety of your landings.
Depending on the shape and size of boxwood plants, you should use different ways to heat them:
- Low curb plantings can be covered for the winter with special nets, non-woven insulation or even sacking. In this case, all covering devices must be securely fastened so that the snow covering them does not break off the twigs.
- Small single forms can be covered with plywood boxes with ventilation holes.
- Plants on a shtambe should be tied with strong supports and wound with a coniferous fur twig.
- Large garden forms can be wrapped with wide nonwoven fabric in several layers.
With the onset of spring heat, all shelters from landings of boxwood are immediately removed. If this is not done, then the plants can melt.
Such protective measures have proven themselves well, but they are not always convenient. In this case, one very useful property comes to the rescue, which is successfully used in planting and caring for boxwood. This plant is shade tolerant, sometimes even shade-loving. Therefore, box plantings should be located under the cover of buildings, buildings or large trees, thus protecting them from the scorching sun rays and icy winds. Best of all, the box feels in carved penumbra, or on a plot open to the sun only one part of the day.
Seasonal care for boxwood consists of mulching with peat or humus soil around the plants, as well as regular watering. Since the box is moisture-loving, the soil around it should be kept slightly damp, preventing the upper layer from drying out. Plants can also be sprayed from the aerator to moisten the foliage. In winter, watering should be reduced.
Also care for boxwood includes preparing plants for wintering. At the end of autumn, before the onset of cold weather, planting boxwood should be watered abundantly to create a reserve of moisture for the plants. After that, the soil around them should be mulched peat or pine needles. It is not necessary to use fallen leaves for mulching. Excessive spring foliage during the spring may interfere with the air circulation in the soil and the roots of the bush will face rotting. Such preparation of planting boxwood for winter allows you to keep the roots warm and moisture evergreen foliage.
If the plant is grown in container culture, then at the age of 2-3 years it can already be left to winter on the street, placing the pot with the plant not directly into the ground, but into a large dug container filled with peat or sawdust. The soil under the plant is mulched, and the plant itself is covered.
Read also: Evergreen long-livers of the earth - coniferous trees
It is necessary to feed the tows 3-4 times in the summer using complex mineral or organic fertilizers.
An important point in the care of a boxwood plant is its haircut. It is usually produced 2-3 times a year, giving regrowth of planting the desired shape.
There are not many pests on boxwood, as the plant contains poisonous alkaloids that scare insects from it. The box may be damaged:
- front sight Monarthropalpus;
- spider mite;
- boxwood felt;
- fungal diseases.
In order to prevent damage when trimming boxwood plants, it is necessary to carefully remove all dried and withered twigs, and also handle plantings with insecticide solutions.
Propagate boxwood seed and vegetatively. The second method is preferable, since the seeds of boxwood are not very high germination. Green cuttings, by contrast, have a very high degree of rooting, and the material for breeding with an excess gives each haircut. In addition to rooting cuttings can be used rooting young layers.
Care for boxwood at home
Since usk, busus has been cultivated as indoor culture. However, taking care of boxwood at home has its own characteristics, which have created him a reputation as a capricious plant.
The window sill for boxwood should be chosen east or west, or it should be placed near the window on a separate stand. If the boxwood plant is to live on the southern window, then it is necessary to provide for shading from the midday sun.
In order for your pet not to shed its leaves, it is important to strictly observe the watering and moisturizing regime.
In no way should water accumulate in the pan - this can easily cause rotting of the root system of the crankshaft.
The plant should be watered little by little and sprayed from the aerator daily. In the autumn-winter period, watering is reduced to a minimum. The box should spend the winter at a temperature of 6-10˚ C. It can be placed between window frames in apartments with an old layout. In the presence of modern plastic windows, the boxwood plant for wintering can be lodged on the floor by the glazed balcony door.
Replace boxwood can only transshipment. As it grows extremely slowly, it is recommended to replant it every 2-3 years. Trim indoor buksus possible all year round.
If you grow bonsai, then remember that the boxwood specimen does not need transplantation. If the roots are damaged, the plant can simply lose foliage.
If these not-so-complicated rules for caring for boxwood at home are followed, this plant will delight you for many years with its inexhaustible energy and beauty.
The care of the box - video
