American Boxwood Buxus - An Ornamental Shrub



Posted: Wednesday, October 07, 2009

by
tn nursery

The American Boxwood Buxus is a fast growing shrub. You can easily find it in New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas and the near by states. These are the native shrubs of Northern America, Southern and Western Europe and Southern and Eastern Asia. It belongs to the Buxus family that has 70 other members in its family. They grow best in tropical and subtropical regions. Owing to its density, the nursery suggests growing it for hedges and they are the best for making ornamental landscapes. You need to take the proper guidelines from a nursery to grow these plants for maximum thriving.

American boxwood Buxus normally grows to a height of 8-10 feet, but if we take proper care and the life span is longer it can grow up to a height of 12-18 feet also. You must plant it in a hole that fits the root ball completely and not more. If the hole is, too deep it may lead to the death of the plant. The width of hole should be wider to support the leggy-ness. Cover the sides with top soil that is porous, for rapid growth. Water these plants regularly to keep the soil moist, as we normally do with the garden plants . Many people simply sprinkle water to keep the soil moist, which will lead to nutritional stress and the plant would not be able to sustain itself in the conditions of drought. It will also encourage the development of salts in the soil, which will cause the plant death. It demands regular watering after regular intervals in the early summer and spring season, as the soil suffers from lack of moisture at this time.

The American boxwood may reproduce through seeds but the method of propagation through cutting is widely accepted. It is a general advice to grow them through seeds as the seedlings have far more variations and are not susceptible to cold winters. For this plantation, take a cutting approximately 6-8 inches and put in a hole that has shade for maximum time of the day. Also, take care that the winds do not disturb it. This plant grows faster in partial shaded areas. Give it a few weeks to develop a strong root system and then you can transplant it in a row in your garden or landscape .

The leaves of this shrub are yellowish green at the base and dark green at the top. They are pointed and look like a pear. They are oval and extend to 1-1.5 inches in length. Take lot of care while adding fertilizers to these plants as the leaves and stem cannot withstand these. While sprinkling the fertilizers, keep a distance of about 6 inches. In addition, always wash them after fertilization, thoroughly with water. In the winter season, protect them from direct sunlight as the leaves may turn to orange or bronze color. It just makes the plant less attractive however; there is no danger to the plant as such. Nevertheless, it is always better to grow them in partially shaded areas.

This Article has been viewed 1,085 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.