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Small Boxwood Hedge

10 years ago

Hello, I want to make a small boxwood hedge in front of Azaleas. I want it to only be about 1 1/2 foot high and deep. Is there a particular variety of boxwood that you would use for something like that? And, what would the proper spacing be.

I was thinking that Korean boxwoods would be what I wanted, but then I see that they can grow 4 to 5 feet wide. I have no experience with boxwoods, but I know they are pretty much made to be managed in size. So, if they can typically be planted much closer (let's say 18 to 24 inches apart) than otherwise specified, then please let me know.

Just an FYI, the house in the attached picture is not mine.

Thanks for your help.

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Comments (5)

Embothrium
10 years ago
There are many dwarf cultivars on the market, some of them pretty small. Visit your favorite independent garden center to see what they have.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
of course that's not your house ...

otherwise your gardener would know what to plant.. lol ...

do you understand how often these will need to be sheared.. to maintain the perfection ... maybe 3 times per year ... you up for that struggle???? ... call that 3 Saturdays a year .... maybe 4 in your zone ...

i grew up having to maintain mom and dads privets ... i swore.. never again...

just want you to understand what you are signing up for ...

spacing would be to budget.. and necessity of speed in creating the look ... it means addressing your expectations ....

fast means lots of plants close together ... high budget ...

cheaper is spacing them out and letting them fill in .. i usually say.. i have more time than money.. ..

all these considerations need to be decided.. then you worry about the plant itself ... [of course, you may have already done so]

good luck ... and come back if you need planting help ...

ken

ps: privet.. boxwood.. equivalence as to the need to be sheared ...
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welcome .. a pic would sure help ... i lived a nightmare of having to deal with mom and dads 65 feet of privets.. shearing them twice a year from the age i was old enough to use the electric shears ... and you are considering 3 times that length ... let me be clear.. you should think long and hard about the work involved in your dream hedge.. or the cost of hiring out the job twice a year forever ... every plant has an annual growth rate.. usually it is suggested that faster growing things.. develop problems faster ... and then peak and ebb faster ... its a fools errand to make decisions on what is fastest ... you also fail to mention the potential width of the space.... how much room do you have .... other than 140 feet long?? and there is nothing you can do .. to make things grow faster .... if snow is going to happen .. and there is plowing involved.. it is going to be problematic ... though i can understand the 'look' you are going for.. IMHO.. its a bit of a newbie dream ... reality can be a whole different universe .. short of a staff of gardeners to do the labor .... more facts .. and pix .. please ... ken
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Are we to assume you are in Towson, MD? Google "boxwood blight". Some varieties are resistant. They may nor may not have resistant varieties, but McLean Nursery on Satyr Hill Rd. usually has very reasonable prices on boxwood rooted cuttings if you want to go that route. It will require patience, of course. Don't let them talk you out of getting a resistant variety. Nurserymen can be overly optimistic about "the disease isn't going to get here". It will.
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all50
10 years ago
If you're looking for the dwarf hedge 2 ft, is the Dwarf English Boxwood. I have had lots of this hedging, easy to find. You plant about 12" apart. Shearing is minimal twice a year for the first few years. HOWEVER, I do not have most of this hedging left anymore. The picture, it died a week later. It was infected with Boxwood Blight last summer. I've thrown away over 100 plants. There is no treatment and it's very rapid spreading. If your state has Boxwood blight, I would stay away. The spraying to Prevent the blight is only available to landscapers. So the additional cost is crazy.$600 for 4 sprays, and they suggest every other week. I'm looking at alternatives...Dwarf Box leaf Euyonmus, germander, even lavender. Good luck.

This post was edited by ALL50 on Fri, Apr 4, 14 at 6:41
towsonite
Original Author
10 years ago
Never realized boxwood blight was that big of a problem until you brought it to my attention. The hedge would be fairly small, so trimming it would not been too burdensome. Plus, it's about the only thing I will have that would really require much trimming. Are there any alternatives to boxwoods for what I'm trying to do. I love lavender hedges, but I want something pretty uniform and green year-round to contrast the azaleas, which I'll allow to grow naturally.
Ashlie Neevel
10 years ago
I just planted my boxwoods and I am going to keep them around 1ft tall and wide I planted 310 plants that were 20-25cm high (7-10 inches) when I purchased them and I spaced them about 10cm apart (4 inches). My plants cost me under 300 bucks. I got them for 85 cents a plant because I bought them as bare root plants which are only available at certain times of year. The variety I purchased are regular old Buxus Sempervirens (often called English Boxwood and sometimes American Boxwood) Buxus is relatively slow growing only growing up to 6 inches (15cm) a year. They are of course susceptible to buxus blight which is a very real issue to consider. There are other alternatives to use like Lonicera Nitida which is a type of honeysuckle that resembles boxwoods when clipped neatly into a formal hedge. The downside about lonicera is that it does not like windy locations and it is very fast growing which will require more maintenance to keep it looking nice.

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