Which boxwood is best for shade?
Which boxwood is best for shade?
- North Star (B.
- Jensen is another American boxwood but has a rounded shape that resembles some English boxwood varieties.
- Elegantissima has creamy white edges around its green foliage and does best with afternoon shade in zones 6 through 8.
Do boxwoods need a lot of Sun?
Once established, boxwood shrubs are very drought-tolerant. Most cultivars will grow in full sun to a half day of shade. Click to see full answer. People also ask, do boxwoods need full sun? Although boxwood will grow in full sun, some varieties are prone to losing their green color. Most boxwood prefer to grow in part shade, such as the dappled light shining through overhanging foliage or a few hours of direct sunlight in the morning or afternoon.
How much sun does a boxwood need?
How much sun does a boxwood need? Full sun and partial shade are best for this shrub, meaning it prefers a minimum of 4 hours of direct, unfiltered sunlight each day. How many boxwoods do I need? If the intention is to grow a small and formal hedge, plant the boxwoods 6 to 8 inches apart. If using the larger-growing varieties that have taller ...
What bushes grow well in shade?
Many shrubs that grow in shade are toxic, including:
- Aucuba
- Azaleas and rhododendrons
- Daphne
- Chinese yew
- Heavenly bamboo
- Japanese pieris
- Mountain laurel
- Red buckeye
- Skimmia

What boxwoods do well in shade?
English BoxwoodNorth Star (B. ... Jensen is another American boxwood but has a rounded shape that resembles some English boxwood varieties. ... Elegantissima has creamy white edges around its green foliage and does best with afternoon shade in zones 6 through 8.
Do boxwoods grow in deep shade?
Shade Tolerance Most boxwood prefer to grow in part shade, such as the dappled light shining through overhanging foliage or a few hours of direct sunlight in the morning or afternoon. Certain varieties will tolerate heavy shade.
How much sun does a boxwood shrub need?
Boxwood shrubs can be grown in just about any light condition, tolerating heavy shade to full sunlight. A blend of the two is best, ideally in a location that provides dappled sunlight or light shade with a few hours of morning or early afternoon sun.
Can boxwoods grow under trees?
These evergreen shrubs are easy to grow in a natural form or to prune into hedges. Boxwood shrubs tolerate full sun but do best in partial shade, making them suitable for planting around trees where tree branches provide filtered shade.
What is a good shade plant?
10 Great Plants for ShadeHeuchera (Coral Bells)Lamium Maculatum (Dead Nettle)Tiarella cordifolia (Foamflower)Pulmonaria (Lungwort)Astilbe.Digitalis (Foxglove)Hakonechloa (Japanese forest grass)Primula (Primrose)More items...•
Does green velvet boxwood grow in shade?
Full sun and partial shade are best for this shrub, meaning it prefers a minimum of 4 hours of direct, unfiltered sunlight each day.
What Evergreen is best for shade?
3 Evergreens For ShadeYew. A very hardy evergreen choice for shaded areas is the yew. ... Boxwood. A longtime favorite in landscapes, the boxwood was first brought to North America from Europe in the 1600s. ... Hemlock.
Why do my boxwoods keep dying?
If your boxwood shrubs are suffering from stress – like improper pruning, inadequate drainage, or cold injury – they may contract boxwood decline. This disorder can discolor and damage your mature plants. It can be caused by the fungus Macrophoma, which causes the oldest foliage to turn yellow.
Do boxwoods need a lot of water?
Watering Boxwood Shrubs As a general rule, one or two deep waterings per week is plenty during the plant's first year, decreasing to once a week during the shrub's second growing season. Thereafter, watering a boxwood is necessary only during periods of hot, dry weather.
Can boxwood grow under pine trees?
Pines tend to have a high enough canopy that most shade and partial shade tolerant shrubs do well. Cleyera, aucuba, fatsia, hollies and boxwoods are all possible choices, but there are numerous others. Soil acidity can be a long-term concern under pines, but most of these plants are pretty tolerant.
What time of the year should you plant boxwoods?
When to Plant Boxwoods. Shrub planting is best done in spring or summer so that it can get well established before winter. Spring is best because while a new planting is becoming acclimated to its new environment, extreme weather conditions like heat or drought can cause undue stress.
How quickly do boxwoods grow?
How fast do boxwood grow? Overall, boxwood has a very slow growth rate that's typically 6 inches or less per year. Boxwoods can be broken down into growth rates of slow, medium and fast — although keep in mind that even the fast growth rate of boxwood varieties is quite slow in comparison to other landscape shrubs.
Light
Most boxwood species are cold hardy to U.S. Department of Agriculture zone 5, although some cultivars grow in zone 4. Boxwood plants do best when grown in partial shade rather than full shade or full sunlight.
Soil
For best results, plant boxwood in a well-draining, slightly acidic sandy loam. Shrubs are also tolerant of average soils, so long the area has good drainage. Water whenever the soil is dry, and fertilize if needed. Plants that produce yellowing leaves that drop prematurely may be suffering from a nitrogen deficiency.
Pruning
Thinning of branches is crucial to the health of boxwood shrubs, particularly common boxwood (Buxus sempervirens). Thinning, which can be done any time of year, helps to allow light and air into the inner foliage of the shrub, which can die if left in perpetual darkness.
Problems
Fungal diseases such as canker and root rot may occur. Root rot, which causes overall plant decline, rotten roots and dark leaves, is common in poorly draining, clay-based soils. Reduce watering and apply a fungicide to the soil. Increase soil drainage if necessary.
Which boxwood grows faster?
There are hundreds of varieties that fall into either the American, English or Japanese families of boxwoods. American boxwood ( Buxus sempervirens) tends to be larger and grows faster than English boxwood ( Buxus sempervirens ‘Suffruticosa’).
How big do boxwoods get?
Without pruning, it will become a wide shrub or small tree reaching 15 or more feet and has a more irregular shape than its English cousin with its more compact shape. Also, the American’s leaves are dark green and pointy, while the English boxwood's leaves are more rounded and more dense.
How big do Japanese boxwoods get?
They also are more compact and can grow to about 8 feet tall and about 6 feet wide.
How tall does a boxwood hedge get?
They also are more compact and can grow to about 8 feet tall and about 6 feet wide. ‘Wintergreen’ – great for hedges up to 4 feet tall. ‘Morris Dwarf’ – hedges up to 1 foot tall and 1 foot wide. ‘Morris Midget’ – extremely dwarf, sun tolerant. ‘Green Beauty’ – good substitute for English boxwood, up to 3 feet tall.
Why are Japanese boxwoods so popular?
Because of their dense foliage, Japanese boxwoods make great hedges and topiary forms. Boxwoods have long been considered the most popular shrub in the American landscape and with good reason. Few other shrubs can take both sun and shade, providing both evergreen structure in winter and a backdrop for flowers in summer.
What is the name of the shrub that produces lilac blue flowers?
African scurf pea is a medium-size shrub (you can also train it into a small tree) that produces lilac-blue flowers that may remind you of sweet pea. It is nicknamed "Kool-Aid bush" because the fragrance can be reminiscent of grape Kool-Aid. The foliage, which looks something like rosemary, has a fine texture.
How tall does Chinese fringe flower grow?
Like witch hazel, it has fringe-like flowers that bloom very early in the spring. Chinese fringe-flower has a spreading form, and can grow up to 12 feet in height. Its foliage is usually green, though some varieties feature purple leaves. Mulch the soil heavily to keep it moist.
What is a gold euonymus?
Emerald and Gold euonymus is a bush with bi-colored leaves; in this case, the name tells you exactly what those two colors are. The gold color gets brighter with sun exposure, but this plant is plenty attractive in shade. There are many kinds of euonymus. One is quite notorious as an invasive plant and is called, in common parlance, " burning bush ." While this is a shrub that grows in shade, lack of sufficient sunlight may rob it of its primary selling point: its fall color. Euonymus can be a very fast-growing plant; you can control it with hard pruning in the spring.
What is a sky pencil holly?
Sky Pencil holly is a variety of Japanese holly with a distinctive tall, columnar shape. You can't miss this "architectural plant," and once you have identified it, you will never forget it. Sky pencil, with its smooth-edged leaves, works well in corners and tight spaces. Its black berries attract a wide range of birds. Unlike some hollies, this one does not require much pruning, but if you do choose to trim it, do so in winter, when the shrub is dormant.
Is Andromeda a shrub or a shrub?
Andromeda (Pieris japonica) The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova. This shade-tolerant bush offers the best of both worlds; it is not only a flowering shrub but also an evergreen. Andromeda shrubs may offer something else, too: fragrant flowers.
Is Euonymus an invasive plant?
There are many kinds of euonymus. One is quite notorious as an invasive plant and is called, in common parlance, " burning bush .". While this is a shrub that grows in shade, lack of sufficient sunlight may rob it of its primary selling point: its fall color.
