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Boxwood is a very ancient plant, its use in landscape design dates back several hundred, and maybe thousands of years. After all, it is difficult to imagine a plant that is as unpretentious as it is grateful for care and retains its decorative effect throughout the year. And a boxwood hedge, if desired, can become a real work of art and decorate the site no worse than flowering shrubs.
Features of boxwood hedge
Perhaps, the boxwood hedge has only one drawback – it grows too slowly. However, for the formation of boxwood borders, this disadvantage can be easily turned into a virtue. And if you really want to get a beautiful hedge as quickly as possible, then you can plant already quite mature bushes, at the age of about 8-10 years. After all, boxwood easily takes root during transplantation, if it is done in the right way on time.
Otherwise, it is difficult to imagine the best plant for a beautiful and dense hedge. It has rather small, shiny leaves, which stick around the branches in large numbers. In addition, they do not fall for the winter, which means that the site is provided with decorative effect for all 12 months of the year. In terms of density and density of growth among evergreens, boxwood has no rivals. In the literature, you can find another name for boxwood – buxus, formed from its Latin name.
Plants perfectly tolerate any haircut and crown shaping – it only begins to bush even more and grow in breadth. This property is actively used by professional phytodesigners to form garden sculptures of stunning beauty and originality from boxwood.
In addition, boxwood bushes have amazing unpretentiousness. They can successfully develop on different types of soil, they are not afraid of either the open sun or even thick shade.
Buxus belongs to plants – centenarians, it is able to live up to 500 years. This means that a hedge formed from it may well serve several generations. By the way, there is a legend among the people that a boxwood fence can protect not only from prying eyes, but also from uninvited guests in the guise of evil spirits.
The best varieties of boxwood for hedges
Despite the typical southern origin of boxwood, in recent years, small hedges from this shrub can be found in the Moscow region, and in the Volga region, and in the Urals, and even in the southern part of Siberia. Of course, the most popular species is the evergreen boxwood (buxus sempervirens). It tolerates even the Ural frosts quite steadfastly and needs only protection from the too bright spring sun.
The most beautiful and at the same time relatively stable varieties of boxwood for hedges are the following:
- Aureovariegata – against the background of emerald foliage, small yellowish blotches are clearly visible, which look like an explosion of fireworks in a flower garden.
- Latifolia Maculata – A dwarf variety of boxwood with golden hues of leaves.
- Elegans – Another very decorative variety, the festive shade of which is given by a light yellow border along the edges of the sheet.
- Suffruticosa – this is one of the representatives of dwarf slow-growing boxwoods, not exceeding 1 m in height.
- Marginata – the leaves of this variety are dotted with veins of a yellowish hue.
Of course, it should be understood that in rather harsh climatic conditions it is better not to take risks and plant the usual green form of evergreen boxwood. And varieties with bright colors are more suitable for regions with a relatively mild climate.
Planting a boxwood hedge
Planting a hedge from a buxus must be taken seriously. Indeed, as noted above, this fence can be created for centuries and it is desirable that the most optimal place in all respects be selected for it.
Site and soil preparation
Most often, a boxwood hedge is planted along an existing fence: from a chain-link or wooden fence. In this case, the dense greenery of the bushes will serve as a reliable protection from prying eyes and at the same time decorate the site. In other cases, a boxwood hedge is planted where it is necessary to divide the site into zones. For example, the separation of a residential area from utility rooms or a garden.
Boxwood does not impose special requirements on the soil, but it will still develop better and faster on medium and light soils in terms of mechanical composition. It is important that moisture is present in the soil, especially in the upper layers. But especially in regions with a humid and cold climate, when planting boxwood, special attention must be paid to good drainage in the soil. Since at a high level of standing groundwater, plants may soon die.
Soil acidity is not critical. Boxwood does not accept only highly acidified or saline soils.
In any case, before planting, it is necessary to prepare the site so that the planted hedge looks even and aesthetically pleasing, and the plants take root safely.
- To do this, first of all, mark the place of the future landing with the help of stakes and a rope stretched between them.
- A strip with a width of about 40-60 cm is determined and all grass and other vegetation are carefully mowed on it.
- Then, using a conventional bayonet shovel, a layer of turf 5-10 cm deep is removed from the mowed strip. The easiest way is to remove the turf in small pieces, approximately 25×20 cm in area.Comment! The removed sod can be used to create organic fertilizer on the compost heap.
- After removing the sod, if necessary, slightly loosen the earth in the resulting trench.
- If the earth is too dense and viscous (heavy loam), then peat or sand is added from above at the rate of one bucket per linear meter of the landing ditch. Stir.
The initial preparation of the site for planting a boxwood hedge can be considered complete.
Next, for planting, you need to prepare several wheelbarrows with compost or humus. They will act as fertilizers that will need to be added to the planting mix when planting boxwood bushes. As fertilizers to add to the planting mixture are also great:
- wood ash;
- horn shavings;
- granulated superphosphate;
- bone or blood meal.
At what distance to plant boxwood for borders and hedges
The distance between boxwood bushes when planting a hedge is chosen based on the result that they want to get. If you plan to form a very dense hedge of strict geometric shapes, then the distance between the seedlings should be no more than 30-40 cm. If you prefer to see a freely growing hedge in which you can see all the natural beauty of the shrub, then the plants are planted at a distance of 50-80 cm.
If there is an intention to get a border from dwarf forms of boxwood, then no more than 15-25 cm is left between the bushes when planting.
When calculating the distance between boxwood bushes during planting, it is also necessary to take into account the individual characteristics of a particular variety. The above are only general average recommendations. If any unique varieties of boxwood are used for planting, then the width of an adult bush must be additionally found out in the nursery.
When placing boxwood plants in two rows, the bushes must be planted in a checkerboard pattern.
Rules of landing
Boxwood tolerates transplanting quite easily at almost any age, especially if seedlings with a closed root system are used. Most often, plants aged 3 to 8 years are used for planting hedges. The older the seedling, the more attention should be paid to its preparation for planting. The fact is that in a limited volume of the container, the roots of fairly mature plants become so tangled and interfere with each other that before planting they must be untangled and relaxed so that they can immediately start growing when they come into contact with fresh soil.
The most tangled root tips can be carefully cut with scissors or secateurs. This will not damage the boxwood, but will allow the roots to quickly recover and develop further.
Even at the stage of choosing seedlings, you should pay attention to the leaves. They should be fresh, resilient and free of any stains (unless it is an ornamental variety).
You can plant boxwood bushes with a closed root system at any time, from March to November, depending on the weather conditions of the region. Of course, it is desirable to carry out this process in cloudy weather.
The hedge planting technology is as follows:
- In the prepared trench, they dig holes in the ground. Their depth roughly corresponds to the length of the roots of seedlings, and their width is 1,5-2 times greater.
- The earth removed when digging holes is mixed in equal proportions with humus or compost. Other slow-acting fertilizers are added if desired.
- Boxwood seedlings with straightened roots are placed in the recesses and carefully covered with planting mixture.
- It is important not to deepen the bushes too much so that the root collar is at the level of the soil.
- The soil around the seedlings is lightly tamped and watered.
- Then the bases of the bushes are mulched with a layer of peat, straw or rotted sawdust. There is no need to create an overly thick layer of mulch. Its thickness of 4-5 cm is enough.
Boxwood hedge care
Boxwood is an unpretentious plant and does not require anything special to care for. Watering is necessary only in hot and dry weather. Fertilizers should be applied no earlier than 12 months after planting. Loosening the soil is best replaced by the constant addition of mulching material under the bushes. This will protect the soil from weeds, keep moisture in the upper layers of the soil, and save on fertilizer application. Before the winter dormant period, boxwood hedges are abundantly shed with water to saturate the soil with moisture and better overwinter plants.
The most important procedure in caring for a boxwood hedge is a haircut.
Young boxwood plants grow very slowly, annual growth can be literally 5-8 cm. With age and with proper pruning, growth rates can increase slightly and reach 10-20 cm per year. However, much also depends on the variety chosen for planting.
In the first season after planting, boxwood plants are pruned only once, usually 1/3 or ½ of the entire height, to allow many shoots to form at the base of the bushes. Starting from the second season, the plants are pruned regularly, several times a year, with a frequency of about 6 weeks. Pruning begins at the end of April or May, with the establishment of relatively warm weather. The bushes begin to give the necessary shape even before they have time to close together or reach the desired height.
If there is a desire to decorate a boxwood hedge with alternating decorative figures (balls, pyramids, waves), then templates are made from wire or wooden slats. They are attached to plants. Later, when shearing, all branches that protrude beyond the boundaries of the established template are removed. Thus, it is possible to form any sculptural composition from boxwood.
Photo of a boxwood hedge
Boxwood hedges can be given almost any shape, as in the photo:
- rectangular;
- triangular;
- smoothed or rounded.
Boxwood hedges can be very low, more like a border:
As well as high and monumental, like walls:
They can wriggle in the form of bizarre patterns:
And even in the form of labyrinths:
They can be decorated with all kinds of sculptural forms or whole compositions:
Serve as a backdrop for taller hedges:
Or flowering walls:
And also act as separate sculptural compositions decorating the site:
Conclusion
A boxwood hedge will certainly become one of the original decorations of the site. It will help divide the territory into zones, protect it from uninvited glances, and serve more than one generation of the family.
