Boxwood: plant spacing and cut

The mix of cheerful, colorful flowering plants and the straight-cut border borders Boxwood makes the charm of the typical cottage garden. While it can be quite disordered and motley in the bed, the precisely shaped and low box hedge around it looks like a green picture frame. You won't get the optimal height and shape of the hedge overnight, but with the right one Plant spacing and regular, careful pruning will create an eye-catcher within a few years. However, a little patience is required.

Boxwood - with the right variety for dense hedge

• Boxwood - Buxus sempervirens - can be bought in over 60 varieties. When creating a hedge, you should pay attention to differences in the height and speed of growth.
• As tempting as it is to shape a faster growing strain into a dense hedge in less time, keep in mind that rapid plant growth can have its downsides. This includes that - once the hedge has reached the desired height and density - the rapid growth does not stop automatically. This means that the box hedge comes out of shape faster after the topiary than with a slow-growing variety.
  instagram viewer

Plant spacing and arrangement of the plants

• For a box hedge that should later be nice and dense, you have to calculate the planting distance so that you plant between seven and eight plants per meter. If you buy small plants, it looks very poor at first, but this is the only way for the box plants to have enough space to develop optimally. So be firm in calculating the amount you need for the correct planting distance, and don't overdo it.
• If you want to border a rectangular or square bed with box, you should provide a tree for each of the four corners and then work your way to the next corner in a straight line.


Create a boxwood hedge - this is how you proceed

The box tree makes a very effective design element in the garden. …

• To prevent the hedge from snaking later, insert four wooden sticks into the corners and connect them with a cord. Measure the distances between the opposing cords so that the Border runs at a straight angle. When planting the plants, orientate yourself on the line by aligning their root balls with them and not the crowns.

Regular cut promotes and maintains the shape

• Box trees need quite a bit of water, especially in the first few months after planting. Nevertheless, it can happen that individual branches or even entire plants die off during this time. In the first case you should remove dead things immediately, in the second case you need to replace the plant as quickly as possible so that there is no gap in the hedge.
• In principle, you can cut shoots protruding from the hedge at any time between March and September.
• It is best to make topiary cuts every year in August. You can tell when the time is right when the new, light green leaves have taken on the dark hue of the rest of the plant. The main time for new growth is over and the trimmed plants stay in shape longer.
• Depending on your skill and effort, you can cut the shape with box tree scissors or hedge trimmers. If you have trouble trimming the hedge straight, use string as an aid.
• Unfortunately, the cut leaves rot very slowly, so that the bed can be covered by slowly yellowing leaves for a long time. You can prevent this by placing foil under the hedge and carefully folding it up and pulling it out after cutting.
• You do not have to put all the cut branches on compost throw. Depending on their length, they can be used to tie wreaths or as a decorative arrangement.