Boxwood hedges: Greenery guide for your home

Hedges are a stylish way of adding greenery to your home and boxwood shrubs are very versatile and the best plants to use for hedges and topiary. They are mostly evergreens so are beautiful all year round for your boxwood hedges, and are easily used to create the shape that you need.

There are many boxwood shrubs to choose from, it’s as simple as choosing the variety with the ideal features for your requirements.

Boxwood shrub varieties

Let’s have a look at some of the varieties you can use for your boxwood hedges:

Dwarf:

• Sprinter (Buxus microphylla ‘Sprinter’) – is a Japanese boxwood that grows quickly and is very hardy in cold winters. It will grow between 2-4 foot tall.
• Northstar (Buxus sempervirens ‘North Star’) – grows in a more rounded way and will only grow to a maximum of 2.5 feet tall.
• Wedding Ring (Buxus microphylla var. koreana) – with variegated foliage with a glossy texture this plant grow between 1-3 foot tall.
• Nana (Buxus sinica var. insularis ‘Nana’) – grows wider that it does tall. Its new growth is lime green and it will grow up to 2 foot tall with a spread of 3 feet.

Cold-resistant:

• Green Velvet (Buxus hybrid ‘Green Velvet’) – needs to be pruned to square it off it naturally grows into a round shape. It grows to 3-4 foot tall.
• Green Mountain (Buxus hybrid ‘Green Mountain’) – grows in a natural cone shape to around 5 foot tall with bright green leaves.

Upright:

• Fastigiata (Buxus sempervirens ‘Fastigiata’) – with bluish-green foliage, this plant grows to around 6 foot tall.
• Graham Blandy (Buxus sempervirens ‘Graham Blandy’) – has very dense foliage and will grow 6-9 foot in height.

Rounded:

• Winter Gem (Buxus microphylla japonica ‘Winter Gem’) – grows quickly, is tolerant to regular shearing and will reach 4-6 foot in height.
• Golden Dream (Buxus microphylla ‘Golden Dream’) – it has lime coloured foliage and will gro to around 3 foot in height.

Fake boxwood hedges

An option, if you don’t want to wait for your boxwood hedge to grow, is to install an artificial boxwood hedge instead. A fake hedge will look just as good as a real boxed hedge because the technology they use these days to make fake hedges is advanced.

The other advantages of fake hedges include:

1. No maintenance – use the time that you save to spend with your family. No pruning, watering or fixing. Artificial hedges look their best every day of the year without any help from you except for the occasional dust.
2. Instant hedge – no need to wait years for it to grow. Boxwood hedges take time to grow, but if you choose an artificial option you have what you need as soon as it’s installed.
3. Can be portable – ideal for events like weddings, anniversaries and birthdays. Just move your hedge to wherever you need it.
4. Add greenery to areas where plants cannot grow – do you have a space that has no light yet you want to lift it with greenery? That’s easy to do with artificial hedges that can be adapted to any size space.

Ideas for your space

1. Create a welcoming hedge outside your front gate to add greenery.
2. Help define borders in your garden. Green edges are softer than wooden or other fencing yet they have the effect of creating defined areas.
3. Use boxwoods as a room or area divider. They designate the area well without being intrusive and blocking the view.
4. Block unsightly infrastructure with hedging.
5. Revamp an older fence that is looking drab and ugly by attaching artificial hedging to it.
6. Add privacy to your garden or even your balcony.

Up next: What hedging plants don’t attract bees and wasps