Boxwood planting and care in the open field in the Rostov region

This evergreen shrub looks great even in winter. Take a look at the photo, its glossy bright green, rounded leaves confidently peek out from under the snowdrifts, symbolizing life. It is believed that evergreen boxwood is able to protect from evil spells and fulfill wishes. In this article, everything about the variety of varieties, planting, proper care, the intricacies of growing, methods of reproduction of the buxus.

Varieties and varieties of evergreen boxwood

There are three known areas of growth of boxwood (buxus) in nature: on the African continent; in the north of Mexico and the island of Cuba. The largest natural area of ​​distribution of buxus is the southern regions of the European continent, the foothills of the Caucasus, China and Japan.

Colchis boxwood

In Russia, buxus grows in the wild on the territory of the Krasnodar Territory, in Adygea, in the gorges of the Caucasus mountains, where mountain rivers flow. The only species of boxwood is found here - the Colchian (Buxus colchica). Unfortunately, the natural area of ​​growth of boxwood in Russia is constantly decreasing, the reason for this is the barbaric felling of shrubs and the deterioration of the ecological situation: the culture is listed in the Red Book.

Only about 30 types of bux are known, but only some of them are widely used for ornamental gardening. Boxwoods are long-livers in the world of shrubs. The life span of one bush can be equal to 500 years.

For landscaping the territories of gardens and parks, the following varieties of evergreen buxus (Buxus semperv irens) are used:

• Suffruticosis - characterized by a strictly vertical direction of growth;

Suffrutikoza variety

• Blauer Heinz - tough shoots are directed straight up, grows very slowly, the color of the leaves is bluish;

Blauer Heinz variety

• Elegans - used in landscaping to form spherical garden forms. The bush is naturally spherical, the leaves are green;

Elegans variety

• Treelike buxus - resembles a large bush or small tree in shape. The leaves are dark green. Highest of all grades;

Treelike buxus

• Winter Gem is a low-growing, slow-growing shrub with small leaves, suitable for garden topiary forms and container growing.

Winter Gem variety

Proper planting is the key to good growth of boxwood bushes

The seat for the landing gear box must meet a number of requirements. The thing is that the culture grows well and develops on moderately moist soils. Areas with sandy or loamy soil are ideal for planting. Heavy, acidic soil is not suitable for planting evergreen boxwood bushes, therefore, measures should be taken to improve the structure of the soil in such areas.

A high water table will adversely affect the development of the boxwood root system. Considering that the culture has been growing in one place for over 500 years, the site should be selected carefully, taking into account the existing relief, soil composition and groundwater level.

The composition of the soil is very important for boxwood.

The boxwood has a special relationship to the effects of sunlight. The plant prefers to grow in partial shade. Of course, it is difficult to avoid sunlit plantings if boxwood bushes are used to create hedges. But, ideally, the plant grows well and develops in the presence of shading from direct sunlight.

Evergreens continue to grow during winter when they may lack moisture in deeply frozen soil, which is exacerbated by planting in full sun. A dehydrated boxwood bush can lose most of its leaves and even die.

Boxwood seedlings

Usually, the planting of the buxus in the garden is carried out in the spring, decorating them with alpine slides or rockeries. Particular attention should be paid to the condition of the crown and root system of seedlings. The roots should not be dry and broken, and the crown should not have bare spots and yellow leaves.

For planting the bushes, separate pits or trenches are made (when arranging hedges), the depth of the prepared pits should be twice the length of the roots of the seedlings.

Advice! The distance between the planted boxwood bushes in a row should be at least 30 cm.

Young boxwood plantings respond well to watering and spraying the bushes on the leaves.

Boxwood care: some of the intricacies of growing a crop

Planting and caring for the crop, done correctly, in compliance with agrotechnical requirements, will allow you to grow a healthy plant that will be able to decorate the garden for many years.

Crop care includes:

1. Periodic watering.
2. Loosening the soil.
3. Timely weed removal.
4. Create shading over plants from the scorching sun in the summer months.
5. Regular feeding, seasonal fertilization.

Boxwood requires regular maintenance

Diseased plants that have been attacked by pests should be treated with special preparations. To prevent the development of diseases, it is necessary to periodically inspect the growing boxwood bushes.

Separately, it should be noted the rules for caring for boxwood when performing formative pruning of bushes and creating curly trees. It is allowed to carry out pruning in the warm season during the period of plant growth - from April to September. The cutting of the bushes is repeated at intervals of 4 weeks, while it is necessary to fertilize and feed the forming plants.

Advice! In winter, in severe frosts, it is useful to snatch the hibernating boxwood bushes with special films that conduct light.

Fertilization and feeding of evergreen buxus

From April to August, boxwood needs regular feeding. Best of all, plants absorb special fertilizers in liquid form, which are applied weekly under the root, or in the form of foliar feeding on the leaves.

Boxwood needs to be fed several times a year.

The plant itself is capable of signaling a lack of nitrogen: its leaves acquire a reddish color with a tinge of bronze.

When planting boxwood bushes, granular organic and mineral fertilizers are added to the planting pits.In the fall, it is useful to feed boxwood with potash fertilizers.

Breeding methods for boxwood

If necessary, you can get young boxwood plants yourself. For this there is method of grafting plants. Although the crop does not grow rapidly, the boxwood stalk takes root and forms a young plant during the warm season.

Rooted boxwood cuttings

Cuttings at least 20-30 cm long should be harvested from healthy plants. It is best not to cut them off from the mother's stem, but to break them out "with a heel." Cuttings are planted in humus-rich soil in special boxes, which are located in a greenhouse or greenhouse. It is not necessary to cover planted boxwood cuttings with foil.

Seed method propagation culture is rarely used, given the slow growth.

Diseases and pests: how to properly protect boxwood

The presence of alkaloids in the leaves of the buxus greatly reduces the risk of damage to the plant by pests and the development of diseases on the bush. However, some pests are so persistent that they can harm the plant, despite its dense glossy leaves.

• Great harm to the plant is caused by the mining boxwood fly (boxwood gall midge). Timely detection of the pest on the leaves of the plant and treatment with special preparations will save the plant from damage by these pests. The fly, remaining on the plant, multiplies rapidly, the larvae of this pest do not die even in winter. They take root inside the leaf blades, form swellings, hibernate, settling in the spring on unaffected leaves.

Boxwood fly

• Boxwood felt is another crop pest that infects the crown of the plant, penetrating the leaves and young shoots. The affected parts of the bush are cut out and burned.
• The spider mite colonizes the plant during the dry summer months. Systematic spraying of the plant over the leaves can prevent the appearance of the pest. Treatment - treatment with fufanon, actellik, neoron, phytoverm.

Advice! Spray the plants more often during the summer.

• Often shoots with dried tips appear on boxwood bushes. The disease is caused by the fungus Volutella buxi. Control measures - pruning and treatment with systemic fungicides.

Damage by the fungus Volutella buxi

• Sick boxwood and cancer that develops on broken or old branches. Such shoots must be cut to a healthy wood.

Correct pruning of boxwood: video

Boxwoods in landscape design: photo

A neat garden with an English lawn, flower beds and evergreen shrubs is the dream of any homeowner or summer resident. Creating your own special landscape design is not an easy task. But it is quite realizable if the main emphasis is placed on the boxwood plant, appreciated for such qualities as unpretentiousness, decorativeness and plasticity when cutting.

From time immemorial, growing in the nature of the Mediterranean and the Caucasus, in the 21st century boxwood has firmly settled in areas not only in the relatively warm Moscow region, but also penetrated the gardens of the Urals, Siberia and the Far East.

1 General information about boxwood and its description

Boxwood, or buxus in Greek-Latin terminology, is a relict plant, rooted in prehistoric times. It is an evergreen tree-like shrub or tree with an average height of 12-15 meters. It grows slowly and for a long time. Some species are capable of an annual growth of only 2-3 mm. If a tree adds 10 cm per year, then it is considered that it is growing rapidly. The lifespan of a boxwood tree is measured in centuries.

The shrub is unpretentious to growing conditions. It grows on rocky soils, on forest edges, in warm dark corners of the garden. Shows sufficient resistance to winter cold, but can die from the scorching rays of the spring sun.

Small flowers, exuding an intoxicating aroma, attract bees and insects.However, the honey obtained from its flowers is considered poisonous, since all parts of the plant, from seeds to fruits, contain up to 3% alkaloids. The fruit is a spherical capsule that opens and ejects seeds.

The buxus owes its beauty to the structure of the leaf, which, depending on the species, can have a different shape: elliptical, ovoid, round, elongated. The bushes, formed in the form of balls, trapeziums or triangles, from the time of the Roman Empire to the present day, served and serve as an excellent decor for decorating gardens and parks.

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2 Adaptation to climatic zones in Russia

The areas of natural growth are considered to be the warm regions of Southeast Asia, the foothills of the Caucasus, the Mediterranean coast from Morocco to Turkey, the coast of Japan and Korea. In Russia, boxwood itself grows in the Rostov region, on the Black Sea shores of the Krasnodar Territory, in the Stavropol Territory and in the lower Volga region.

Over the past couple of centuries, boxwood has also settled in the temperate zone of Russia. Having adapted well to the peculiarities of the continental climate, the plant from the greenhouse moved to open ground, where it fully showed its decorative qualities.

Of course, not all species fell in love with Russia's changeable weather and the sharp change of seasons. So, neither the Colchian nor the Balearic giants took root in the northern country. But many varieties of boxwood evergreen not only found their second home in Russia, but also played with new shades of the north.

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3 Varieties, zoned for the regions of Russia

Boxwood growing on the street can increasingly be found in the Moscow region, the Volga region, the Vologda region, the Trans-Urals, the southern part of Siberia, the Far East and Primorye. These are varieties such as:

• Oreo Variegata. The variety has a gorgeous emerald foliage with small yellow blotches. Looks like a mini fireworks in a flower garden.
• Latifolia Makulata. The golden hue of a dwarf-looking boxwood leaf gives it solemnity and luxury.
• Curly Locks, or Curly Boxwood... A tree with bright green glossy rounded foliage and slightly twisted branches never ceases to amaze its viewers.
• Suffruticosis... It is a dwarf, slow-growing variety with glossy green leaves that does not grow more than 1 meter upwards.
• Oreo Marginata... A bush with excellent branching amazes with the decorativeness of a leaf with a light yellow border along the edge.

All these varieties are easily amenable to seasonal processing and pruning, do not require long or diligent care, and, most importantly, they successfully fill the country or park space, creating beautiful landscape landscapes.

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4 Features of the growth of boxwood in the Moscow region

As practice has shown, the Moscow region is a quite suitable area for growing evergreen boxwood species. Most likely, it will not grow into a tree 15 meters long here, but it will be quite suitable for creating labyrinths and geometric shapes.

The main agrotechnical conditions for the successful existence of a plant are considered to be reasonable care during the growing season and ensuring winter sleep during the snowy season. If you remove the winter shelter from the plant in time, provide it with the correct dosage of sun and shade, harmoniously alternate watering and loosening, do not be late with sanitary and decorative pruning, then it will fully respond to care and attention.

5 Features of growing boxwood in Siberia and the Far East

Although these regions are positioned as territories of frost and snow, they are also quite suitable for breeding thermophilic buxus.Over the years, breeders have created varieties that can withstand the snowiest and gloomiest winters. Even frost below 25 ° C turns out to be not scary for many of them, if the place for planting the relic is chosen correctly.

Here are some criteria that will help you grow a boxwood bush in difficult weather conditions in Siberia and the Far East:

• The place for planting should not be a space open to the wind, but a slope or corner in the southern part of the garden plot, protected by an earthen rampart, stone or wall. A hole or a hollow will not work, since the spring waters flowing into them pose a threat of waterlogging and threaten the death of the plant.
• After snowfalls, it is imperative to shake off the lumps of snow from the covered bushes, thereby preventing pressure on the branches and their subsequent destruction.
• The last seasonal haircut should be done no later than the first ten days of September in order to give the bush time to rehabilitate and accumulate a supply of juices for the winter.
• In springtime, when the bright sun is burning, it is recommended to shade the immature plant with a protective reflective screen.
• Arranging a good drainage system will play an important role in the life of the boxwood, because it does not tolerate strong moisture.

Compliance with all these criteria and rules will help to grow a beautiful branchy bush without exposing it to the shock effects of the dramatically changing temperature regime typical of the Russian climate.

6 Agricultural technology in open ground

All types of boxwood cultivated in Russia are considered unpretentious, frost-resistant, adapted to pruning and crown formation. But this does not mean that having attached a young shoot to the hole, you should forget about it once and for all. On the contrary, the plant will need to be cared for throughout its life.

Below is a summary table that defines the terms and types of work with the buxus to be performed during the growing season:

Month	Outside air temperature, 0 С	Agrotechnical actions
End of April - beginning of May	Night t not lower than 00 С	Removing winter shelters
First half of May	0 to +10	Spring pruning of dry and diseased branches
Early may	0 to +10	Planting new seedlings in open ground
June	10 to 30	First summer haircut and crown shaping
August	+10 to +30	Second summer haircut with corrective purpose
All summer months	+15 to +30	As needed: watering, loosening, weeding, pest and disease control
First half of September	+5 to +30	Autumn pruning to correct the contour of the figure and remove dried-up branches
Last decade of October	-5 to +10	Application of potassium-phosphate mixture, abundant watering, mulching, whitewashing the trunk, garter to the support
The beginning of November	-10 to 0	Binding of trunks with non-woven fabric or spruce branches

7 Choosing a landing site

It is a paradox, but the plant is native to the southern sunny shores, prefers semi-shady places for growth. The foliage of the boxwood is so delicate that in bright rays it can burn and lose its decorative effect.

It follows from this that open space with maximum solar flux is not the option that is required for the boxwood genus. You cannot overdo it with an excessive shadow. It is important to remember that a 25 ° shadow in the Sochi region and a 15 ° shadow in Siberia are two big differences. If you plant boxwood in a remote place, shaded to the degree of eternal twilight and cold, then the delicate plant will not receive the necessary doses of light and nutrition, and, therefore, will wither, thin out and lose decorativeness. In the event of a shortage of nutrients over the summer, it most likely will not overwinter as it should.

That is why, when choosing the right place for planting, one should give preference to penumbra, where the diffused stream of light will favorably affect its vegetative qualities.

As for the composition of the soil at the planting site, a slightly acidic environment rich in mineral fertilizers is suitable.If we neglect these conditions, then at best you can get a bush with poor branching, at worst - to witness its gradual extinction.

8 Landing technique

It is advisable to plant boxwood in open ground in the spring, so that by November he has taken everything he can from the growing season, and full of energy spent the hibernation time without harming himself.

If a specimen grown in a container is transplanted, then it is necessary to carefully remove it from the pot along with a lump of earth and place it in a previously dug hole with a substrate. It can consist of humus, peat, dry humus. Further fertilization is not at all necessary, because boxwood, without losing its decorative effect, can grow on poor sandy or stony soils. The main thing is that the water from precipitation does not stagnate around the bush. For this, clay soils are either deflected or high-quality drainage is provided.

The planting hole is drained with agroperlite or vermiculite. After placing the plant in the hole, it must be lightly sprinkled with earth and watered abundantly at the rate of 2.5-3 liters of water per seedling 30-35 cm. After the water is absorbed, the hole is completely filled up to the base of the root collar of the plant and compacted.

If the sprout is acquired with an open root system, then before transplanting it is recommended to keep its roots in a solution with stimulating additives for 3 to 24 hours. This will help the plant recover from the shock in which it was without water, earth, or any nutrients.

9 Care: from watering to feeding

In the first year of the growing season, the plant will need regular watering. To prevent water from escaping from the near-trunk circle and spreading over the surface of the earth, it is recommended to build an earthen rampart at a distance of 30–40 cm from the fragile trunk, and fill the space inside it with agroperlite, sawdust or dry needles. They will preserve soil moisture and serve as a natural mulch, filling the area around the bush picturesquely.

In order not to damage the delicate trunk of the plant with burns from the combination of water and the sun, it is recommended to water it either in the morning or in the evening with a sufficient amount of clean water. After watering, loosening and cleaning of weeds in the near-trunk circle are mandatory.

Boxwood does not require special feeding in the first year. Complex mineral fertilizers can be applied once per growing season for better growth.

10 Pests and diseases

Boxwood foliage should be periodically inspected for traces of a gall midge. This insect, together with its many-thousand-strong brood of larvae, can destroy the entire crown of a tree. From their invasion, the leaves turn yellow, dry and fall off.

Felting, or mealybug, is another equally dangerous enemy of the boxwood. The felt female is very fertile. Having taken possession of the plant, she, together with her offspring, covers all parts of the plant with a white bloom. If the leaf has turned yellow or swollen with a bubble, it is necessary to look for a pest in the crown.

The drugs Karbofos, Fufanon, Aktara help to fight gall midge and felt. Spraying is done in two passes with an interval of 10 days between them.

Shoot necrosis and cancer are considered common diseases. You can somehow cope with necrosis by cutting off infected branches and repeatedly treating healthy shoots with fungicides. The cancer will practically eat the plant. Having found this disease, it is necessary to completely remove the affected areas with the capture of healthy tissue. If there are a lot of diseased shoots on a tree, then it is better to uproot it completely and burn it than to allow the disease to spread to other bushes.

11 Pruning with crown formation

Pruning boxwood is a must to achieve a decorative plant. Without a haircut, there will be no hedges, no figures, no labyrinths. In addition, shearing promotes accelerated growth and the formation of new shoots, which has a beneficial effect on the plant.

If the purpose of trimming is to create shapes, then it is carried out 3 or 4 times a season using the appropriate patterns that help align the shape of the shrub under a ball, cube, cone or triangle. The first pruning is performed in early spring before the beginning of the growing season, the second and third - in the summer with an interval of at least one month, the fourth - in the first half of September. Since the buxus grows very slowly, the third and fourth haircuts will be purely corrective, in order to correct individual leaves that have come out of the frame.

If a standard tree is formed from boxwood, then the pruning scheme is aimed at creating a strong central trunk with many lateral branches in the upper part of the plant. All secondary shoots at the root and at a height of up to 25–30 cm are cut out, and a geometrical figure that attracts vending is formed from the top.

To make a topiary haircut of a boxwood and turn it into a bird or an animal, a special forming mesh is used. An experienced craftsman, like a sculptor, cuts off everything unnecessary from the bush with precise movements, leaving only the conceived outline. Such work is not up to a beginner.

After each pruning, so that the plant can more easily tolerate innovations in the crown, it is strongly recommended to carry out foliar and root dressings with growth stimulants.

With the onset of the second half of September, street specimens and indoor trees are left alone so that the shoots have time to harden before the cold weather begins.

12 Preparation for the resting stage and shelter for the winter

Since the plant is thermophilic, it is necessary to pay maximum attention to it before the onset of cold weather. The algorithm for caring for a bush in the last decade of October should be reduced to the following actions:

1. 1. Abundant watering and application of potassium-phosphate mixture. This will saturate the plants with moisture and hold out with a decent supply of food until the new growing season.
2. 2. Mulching the ground near the trunk circles with natural material: peat, sawdust, needles, rotted foliage, straw with a layer of up to 10 cm. By thus creating a microclimate on the soil, we (personal pronouns should not be used) do not allow the roots to freeze out.
3. 3. Binding of standard plants and seedlings with a fragile trunk to the support. Then neither wind nor heavy precipitation will be able to break them.
4. 4. Whitewashing of the lower part of the trunks. It will protect the bark of the tree from the scalding rays of spring.
5. 5. Binding of trunks with non-woven material or spruce branches. Such work is performed under conditions of a stable outdoor temperature of -5o -10o C.

They cover not only free-standing standard trees, but also live boxwood hedges. Spunbond, lutrasil or burlap can serve as a tent for plants. Previously, the bushes are tied, forming huge bouquets of them. With this support, the branches will not bend or break from the onslaught of snow masses.

In spring, when the night temperatures reach 0 ° C, all the insulation material should be removed so that the branches do not get blocked. It is advisable to do this on a warm but cloudy day.

13 Reproduction at home

There are two ways to breed boxwood at home:

• cuttings;
• growing from seeds.

Both are quite accessible to most gardeners and do not require special knowledge and skills. Cuttings are considered more productive and acceptable, as the survival rate reaches 80–85%.

14 Cutting

Anyone can grow a seedling from a twig. To do this, in August-September, twigs 15-18 cm long are cut from an adult, well-developed plant. The stalk should have 4-5 buds, not be very stiff or very green, since these extremes will slow down the formation of roots. All leaves and shoots are removed from the lower part of the stalk, and only after that the stalk is placed in a container with water with a diluted growth biostimulant.Experienced growers, instead of stimulants, use the furrow method, which involves the creation of small grooves on a branch by drawing the tip of a nail along it. Under pressure, the bark is damaged, exposing small tubercles. These are the embryos of the roots. Roots will subsequently appear from them.

At this stage, you can apply the greenhouse effect by covering the container with cuttings with foil with rare holes. This will speed up the formation of roots, which will appear no earlier than a month later. When they acquire branching, the cutting is transplanted into a greenhouse or indoor pot with a nutrient substrate and placed in a warm, but not overdried place, observing all the rules of agricultural technology for boxwood.

Here the young plant will spend all autumn, winter and part of spring. The main task for this period is moderate watering - the soil should not dry out and should not turn into a swamp.

The seedling grows very slowly. If, before the onset of spring, he gained poorly in weight and height, then it is better to keep him all summer at home on the windowsill, and plant it in open ground only in September.

15 Growing from seed

This method is recognized as the most unproductive and time consuming. Of 10 seeds, only three survive to the stage of planting in open ground. Before planting seeds in a home pot, they must go through a stage of stratification, that is, long-term storage under conditions of low temperature. To do this, they are moistened, wrapped in layers of sphagnum moss and placed on the lower shelf of the refrigerator, where they will have to spend from 2 to 3 months. This is done in order to maximally create an imitation of the natural growing conditions for the seeds and the change of seasons, replenishing the stage of winter calm by being in the refrigerator for two months.

Only after that, the seed is planted in a closed ground with a special substrate and goes through all the further stages of vegetation, care and processing described above.

And yet, the boxwood family is so beautiful, decorative, and varied that it is well worth the effort. Let the royal labyrinths or topiary figures not turn out in the first season, but in subsequent years the plant will gain strength, and daring gardeners - the skill of caring.

Then the relict tree will not only delight others with its bizarre forms, but also stimulate all neighbors to botanical feats of its widespread breeding. The handsome Red Book will revive with renewed vigor in territories even larger than they were before large-scale logging.

Evergreens are very popular with gardeners. They do not lose their attractiveness throughout the year and are easy to care for. One of the most popular plants is boxwood. It can be seen in many home gardens, parks and gardens. It is often used for landscaping private and public areas of any size. How to grow boxwood, what are the methods of reproduction and proper care of an evergreen shrub?

Boxwood: description and photo

This plant belongs to the genus of evergreen and slow-growing shrubs and trees of the Boxwood family. In total, there are almost 100 species of these plants in nature. There are not many domesticated box trees, so only a few of them can be seen in our parks and gardens. They mainly grow in the countries of East Asia, the West Indies and the Mediterranean. In the natural environment, there are 3 large areas of boxwood:

• Central American;
• African;
• Eurasian.

This tree is one of the oldest ornamental plants on the planet. It is grown as a garden and home crop. It is most commonly grown as a shrub or tree, and in recent years has often been seen in tubs.

Throughout the year, boxwood attracts prying eyes with its beautiful and juicy greenery. The magnificent crown of shiny, hard and dense leaves slowly grows in breadth and sky.

The leaves of the boxwood are round or elliptical in shape, with a leathery surface.When crumpled and rubbed in hand, they emit a strong aroma. The flowers of the evergreen plant also have a strong scent. They are small unisexual, collected in axillary inflorescences. Inside there is a fruit in the form of a three-nested box. When it ripens, it begins to crack and scatters shiny black seeds around.

Boxwood is a melliferous plant. However, its honey cannot be eaten as it is poisonous. Depending on the variety, an evergreen shrub can grow in height from 2 to 12 meters, sometimes up to 15 meters.

Varieties and varieties

Only a few varieties of evergreen boxwood (buxus) are used as landscaping in our countries. Among the shrubs, he is considered a long-liver. Its lifespan can be up to 500 years. The following varieties are most often used for landscaping:

• evergreen - it is grown mainly as a tree, less often in the form of a shrub, the stems are decorated with shiny matte foliage with light green inflorescences, does not tolerate frosts, with the help of this species very popular varieties were bred - Suffrutikosa, Elegance, Heinz, Blauer;
• small-leaved - this species is frost-resistant, it tolerates a decrease in temperature in winter better than the evergreen species, the most popular varieties are Winter Jam and Faulkner;
• colchian - it has a very slow growth and can withstand very low temperatures, refers to long-livers;
• Balearic - it has large foliage and rapid growth, however, it does not tolerate low temperatures well, therefore it does not take root in regions with a cold climate.

Planting and care in the open field

Boxwood is one of the plants that even inexperienced gardeners can easily care for. However, the care and planting of the buxus has its own subtleties that you should know about before starting growing on your site.

Boxwood can grow well in shade and even partial shade... They tolerate hot summer days well. Almost all varieties are good withstand a drop in temperature to -20-22 ° C... In southern regions with mild and warm climates, plants do not need additional shelter for the winter. They are resistant to various adverse factors in urban conditions:

• smoke;
• increased gas content.

As we can see in the photo, boxwoods are very popular in landscape design. They are often used by many landscaping designers. If you have the skills in pruning the crown, with the help of boxwood bushes, you can create various silhouettes of animals, geometric shapes. Grooming evergreens and creating hedges is called topiary art.

The bushes easily take root after transplantation, and at any age. After pruning, they retain the shape of the crown for a long time. It is best to plant in open ground from the second half of September to October 10. During this period, the root system of the plant will be able to get stronger before the onset of cold weather and catch on to the ground. It is advisable to cover the seedlings for the winter.

The best site for planting boxwood is a shaded area with moist soil. It is also necessary to add clay-lime components to the soil. Too bright sun rays damage boxwood foliage in a very short time.

When buying a plant, you should always pay attention to the condition of its leaves. Healthy foliage is dark green in color, dense and leathery. The bush should be well branched. When planting from the container, it must be removed very carefully. On the eve of planting, the seedling should water well about a day before planting... The roots of the plant should be well saturated with moisture.

Planting and growing rules

For planting, you need to dig a hole, which will be 3 times the volume of the rhizome with a lump of earth. The bottom of the pit must be lined with special drainage. Best suited for this purpose perlite... It is covered with a layer of 2-3 cm, adding a little earth. The roots must be straightened so that they do not intertwine closely and can form qualitatively.

After filling the hole, it is advisable to water the seedling with rainwater. When the soil settles, an additional small volume of the soil mixture should be added, but without compaction. When planting, the trunk should remain as straight and vertical as possible. A small shaft of earth with a diameter of about 40 cm is formed around the seedling.This will make it possible to do high-quality watering and feeding of the plant. Only after 7 days you need to water the boxwood again, if it does not rain. The best time to water is morning and evening.

In early May, it is necessary to mulch the plant's near-stem circle. For this purpose, it is well suited peat... A 5 cm layer is made, but it should not come into contact with the trunk and root.

In order for the buxus to develop well, it is necessary to systematically feed it. Fertilization should be applied approximately 1 month after planting. It can be mineral fertilizers or productive organics... In the autumn, it is advisable to introduce another type of fertilizer:

• phosphorus;
• potassium.

At this time, nitrogenous fertilizers are not needed by the plant. Until spring comes, this will be enough for the boxwood.

Reproduction

If boxwood is already growing on the site, you can propagate it yourself. There are three ways to breed - seeds, layering and cuttings... The first is used extremely rarely, since boxwood from seeds will germinate very slowly. Reproduction of boxwood by cuttings is the most common method. Using this method, you can get young and healthy plants.

A simple layering technique is commonly used to create hedges or curbs. To do this, tilt a long branch to the ground and then root it. In the rooting field, the branch is cut off from the old one, which makes it possible to form a new plant.

Buxus bushes do not grow rapidly, but the planted stalk forms and takes root well during the warm period. Cuttings are selected only from healthy bushes in the month of February-March. Break out woody cuttings with a "heel", 5-10 cm long, since such specimens grow better. From the prepared material for propagation, you need to remove all leaves except the top two. They must be planted in prepared boxes with soil well enriched with humus. After planting, the boxes must be placed in a greenhouse or greenhouse. They do not need to be covered with foil.

Also, cuttings can be immediately planted in a permanent place. This should be an area not exposed to the sun with loose and well-moistened soil. They are buried in the ground by 3-5 cm, compacting the soil around. In the first days after planting, cuttings should be watered frequently and regularly.

Do-it-yourself boxwood pruning

To give the crown a correct and beautiful shape, the boxwood should be cut off in time. The first pruning is performed at least a year after planting the bush.... As the intensity of growth, it can be cut up to 1 time per month from April to September. For haircuts are used:

• garden shears with serrated blades;
• special scissors with serrated blades that perfectly cut dense stems to give the plant a wide variety of shapes;
• battery hedgecutter, it is necessary for large-scale pruning work.

Experienced gardeners use special semicircular nozzles for cutting shrubs. Such a nozzle is carried out along the crown and protruding branches are removed. A metal rod is also used in the cutting process. It is stuck into the ground with a specially stretched wire. It facilitates the process of guiding the haircut.

You can also cut without special tools. It is necessary to hold the equator conditionally on the bush, cutting off the strip. After that, the meridians are cut from 4 stripes, which divide the bush into 4 parts. Next, you need to navigate the strips and so, cut the bush to the ground.

Regular and correct pruning helps to give the boxwood a regular and beautiful shape. In the process of pruning, dead branches are removed.Simple but systematic care will always lead to great results.

There are 100 known species of both trees and shrubs belonging to the Boxwood family. From this family I would like to highlight the boxwood buxus - Buxus. The regions of its distribution include the Mediterranean countries, the West Indies and the east of the Asian part of the continent. Boxwood is a very ancient ornamental plant that has been cultivated for as long as mankind can remember. The name of the plant (buxus) was mentioned in ancient Greek sources. But the etymology of the word has nothing to do with the Greek language. Where the Greeks borrowed it from, what language, will remain a mystery.

Currently, scientists have identified several natural areas of growth of boxwood - these are Eurasian, African, Central American. It is known both as a garden culture and as a home culture. In regions with warm, humid climates, the plant acts as a hedge. Due to the flexibility of the shrub for painting (pruning), landscape designers love it very much and is often used as an object for decorating park and garden areas. For indoor plant lovers, boxwood is a great find for bonsai. He does not need tubs of soil, even a small pot is enough to grow a fluffy bush with small leaves, which can be pruned and obtained a work of art.

Description of boxwood

Boxwood in landscape design photo

Small, round or elliptical, boxwood leaves have a solid edge. They are located on a branch alternately, opposite each other, that is, opposite. Small flowers form an axillary inflorescence. They are same sex. The fruit of the boxwood is a three-celled capsule, which ripens and cracks. Black, shiny seeds are scattered around.

The fragrant smell of boxwood attracts bees, but boxwood honey is poisonous, like the plant itself, therefore it is forbidden to use.

Designers are attracted by the beauty of the plant, which lies in the dense elastic crown, the shine of each leaf. Experts appreciate the opportunity to work with the shape of the bush, to carry out pruning, according to a creative idea. For a simple gardener, boxwood is, first of all, an unpretentious ornamental plant that can grow in shady areas.

When and where to plant boxwood

• Boxwood blooms in spring. And, like all plants blooming in spring, it must be planted in the fall at the optimal time, which falls on September and the first decade of October. In 1 month, the culture will take root well and will perfectly endure the winter cold.
• Some gardeners manage to plant boxwood in the spring and summer. This is also possible if you adhere to certain rules. A prerequisite for planting a plant is that the soil under the boxwood is clayey, well-calcified, permeable and constantly moist.
• When planting, you need to choose only shady places, since the leaves of the boxwood dry out from the strong sun.

How to plant boxwood correctly

Boxwood photo planting Boxwood shrub photo and care when to cut boxwood

If the purchased boxwood seedling has a closed root system, then, approximately 24 hours before planting, it is necessary to moisten it strongly. This is done in order to facilitate the process of removing the plant from the container and release twisted roots. And if you manage to immediately after the purchase place the seedling in a container with settled water, for a period of 12-16 hours, then you can get a perfectly prepared material for planting.

• The volume of the hole for planting should be 3 times greater than the volume of the root system of the seedling in both depth and width.
• Before placing the plant there, it is necessary to lay out the hole with a layer of drainage. To do this, use perlite, at least 2-3 cm thick. Also, the earth extracted from the pit is mixed with perlite in equal shares.
• After that, take a seedling and spread its roots.In this form, the boxwood is placed in a prepared hole and sprinkled tightly with earth and perlite.
• When planting, you need to ensure that the trunk of the boxwood stands upright, without tilting.
• After planting, the earth is moistened.

It is good if it is rainwater, although settled water is also fine. The amount of water for irrigation must be calculated. On average, a seedling up to 20-25 cm high will require 3 liters of water. After the first watering, the land always subsides. Its deficiency is compensated by the remaining earth with perlite. So that when watering the water is concentrated near the plant and does not spread, you can build a small earthen roller around it, 20 cm from the trunk. If you sprinkle the formed circle with perlite (with a layer of no more than 2 cm), then you can minimize the loss of moisture during evaporation.

How to care for boxwood in the garden

There are certain rules for caring for boxwood, following which you can get a very good result. And intuition can come to the rescue in time. In the absence of rain, the first watering of the seedling must be carried out a week after planting.

A circle near the boxwood, bounded by a shaft, serves as a watering place. For one plant with a height of 1 meter, 8-10 liters of water is needed for a single irrigation. In case of persistent drought, it is not worthwhile to increase watering frequency. It is only necessary to increase the volume of liquid poured under the plant. Either morning or evening watering is recommended, after which the soil is loosened and weeds are removed. With the onset of stable heat, and this is the beginning or mid-May, the land near the boxwood must be mulched. This is done using peat, which is scattered in a circle so as not to touch the trunk with shoots. The thickness of the mulch can be up to 8 cm.

Boxwood needs to be fed regularly. After planting, in about a month, it will take root well and during this period the first portion of mineral nitrogen-containing additives and organic matter will be required. Exactly the same feeding is necessary for the plant during the period of its intensive growth. Digging up the soil in the fall, they prepare it for winter. Therefore, fertilizers based on elements such as phosphorus and potassium will come in handy. Nitrogen-containing minerals are excluded at this time due to their uselessness in the winter period.

Best time to transplant boxwood

Spring is the best time to transplant boxwood. Over the summer, he will get stronger, take root and safely endure the winter. If the plant is adult, then it is better to transplant it together with the ground. Younger bushes are transplanted in accordance with the principles that are followed during the initial planting of the plant. This procedure is completely painless for buxus if all actions are carried out correctly.

Pruning boxwood When to cut boxwood

How to crop a boxwood photo

Somewhere in late April and early May, boxwood is pruned... You can form a geometric shape from it. The most popular of these are the cone, ball and cube.

And you can specially grow boxwood, like a standard tree. For this, a central shoot is left, which differs from the rest in that it is very strong, resilient and durable. The rest of the shoots are cut at the root. As a rule, a ball is formed from the apical young shoots of the stem by pruning. Moreover, the figure from the plant is cut only once, then it is slightly corrected. This is explained by the fact that boxwood is not characterized by rapid growth. Only young growth is corrected, the base remains unchanged.

She is touched if the bush no longer meets the requirements of visual beauty and attractiveness. Pruning is easily and painlessly tolerated by boxwood. The thicker it is, the more often you have to resort to pruning shears and garden shears.

• How often do you prune your boxwood? According to the recommendations of professionals, the buxus needs to be cut every month in order to maintain its attractiveness and well-groomed appearance.
• There is only one note: frequent haircuts require no less frequent watering and feeding.This should be done in order to replenish the plant with nutrients, which it does not receive due to pruning of young shoots.
• It is they, young leaves and stems, that are the main suppliers of vital components.

How to cut boxwood, the video will tell:

How to deal with boxwood pests and diseases

The main pest of boxwood is considered to be boxwood gall midge.at. It begins its destructive activity by laying eggs on the leaves of young shoots in the month of June. The larvae that hatch from these eggs penetrate the leaf tissue, feed on its juices and turn into a pupa there in order to winter safely. At the end of spring, an adult hatches from the pupa, which continues its genus in the same way as the ancestors.

This expansion leads to falling foliage, baldness of the bush. With the help of preparations "Karbofos", "Fufanon", "Aktara", "Tagor" they fight boxwood gall midge. It is best to apply the treatment (by spraying) twice within 10 days.

• If swelling appears on the leaves, and the shoots wither, this means that the boxwood is infected with felt.
• Strong dryness and heat contribute to the appearance of spider mites on the plant.
• These parasites are fought with the same insecticides as against gall midges.

Diseases that plague this garden culture include shoot necrosis and cancer. With necrosis, dry spots appear on the leaves, the ends of the branches die off. For treatment, fungicides are repeatedly used. But the most terrible disease is cancer. If its symptoms are noticed, it is necessary to cut out the affected parts until healthy wood appears. Treat the cut sites with "Fundazol".

Planting and caring for boxwood in the Moscow region

Reproduction of boxwood in spring how to propagate boxwood by cuttings When to prune boxwood

• Planting rules and agricultural technology for the cultivation of boxwood in the Moscow region is identical to the agricultural technology for growing this plant in temperate latitudes.
• The only thing you need to pay attention to is the winter period, when severe frosts can destroy the plantings.
• Therefore, it is necessary to prepare for the winter: cover the bushes and tie them up so that heavy snowfalls do not break the branches, and the frost does not destroy the young shoots.
• We will tell you more about preparing for winter below.

Reproduction of boxwood

There are 2 ways to propagate a culture: the main one is vegetative and, very rarely used, seed. The reason for the unpopularity of the seed propagation method lies in the seed itself, which does not have good germination. After collecting the seeds, the germination rate becomes worse and worse every day and ultimately comes to zero. If you want to use boxwood seed for growing a crop, read the instructions on this issue in order to avoid gross mistakes.

Reproduction of boxwood by cuttings

Boxwood propagation by cuttings How to propagate boxwood

This is the most popular breeding method for boxwood. And it is better to spend it in the spring.

• For planting material, strong, without signs of lignification, young shoots are selected.
• Their optimal length is 12-15 cm. The cut of the cutting should be oblique.
• The leaves from the lower third of the shoot are removed and sent to the root solution for a period of 24 hours.
• At the next stage, the cuttings are washed with water and the exposed side of the cuttings are planted in prepared soil, which should contain equal proportions of sand, leafy soil and humus. It is important for the soil to be nutritious and light.
• The cuttings are deepened by 1/3, to the lower leaves. Each is covered with a plastic bottle prepared in a special way. The bottle must be at least 5 liters in volume. The bottom is cut off and, like a cap, the handle is covered. For watering and airing, unscrew the bottle cap and, through the hole, spray water or start air.
• You can also leave the cuttings in water, and when roots appear, plant them in grow pots.
• After about 1 month, roots begin to sprout from the cuttings planted in the ground, after 2 - a full-fledged root system will be ready. It is at this time that the bottle is removed, and the young boxwood begins to get used to the natural conditions of existence.
• To create more loyal wintering conditions for a young box tree, cover it with spruce branches.

A video will tell you about boxwood cuttings:

If you use the autumn period of time for plant propagation, then planting cuttings should not be carried out in open ground, but in a container or flower pot. An unrooted plant planted in the ground before winter will certainly die even if it is carefully covered. In the cold season, cuttings planted in a container are placed in a room in which the air temperature is kept at + 10 ° C. And only in the spring, after frosts, this planting material should be planted on the garden plot.

Reproduction of boxwood by layering

• The layering method is also very reliable.
• This method of vegetative propagation boils down to the fact that in the spring, the extreme shoots of boxwood are carefully bent to the ground and sprinkled, fixing with staples.
• In the future, nothing special is done. The cuttings receive the same watering and feeding as the mother plant.
• The fact that the layers have taken root will be made known by numerous shoots, a new bush is subsequently separated for transplantation to a new place.

Growing boxwood from seeds

How to grow boxwood from seeds How to propagate boxwood

Immediately after ripening, for a period of 24 hours, the seeds are placed in a growth stimulant solution. It can be a solution of the stimulant "Epin" or "Zircon". After a day, take 2 wet towels and place the seeds between them.

Since the seeds have to wait for a long time to hatch, the towels have to be periodically moistened. Only a month later, you can see the first white sprouts. If this does not happen, then it is worthwhile to conduct shock therapy. It consists of moving the seeds (directly in the towels) into the drawer of the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator. A few days later, they are again transferred to a warm place and await pecking.

How to plant boxwood seeds photo seedlings

• While waiting, you can take care of the soil for planting the plant. To do this, sand and peat are combined in equal shares, and the mixture is moistened.
• As soon as sprouts appear, the seeds are carefully planted one at a time in separate cups in the prepared soil. It is also possible in common containers at a distance of 4-5 cm from each other. They are planted in such a way as not to damage, the sprouts themselves should be directed towards the soil. It is best to spread the seeds over the surface and sprinkle with the substrate only lightly.
• From above, the container for germination is covered with a foil and put away in a comfortable warm
  a place. The first shoots should be expected in a couple of weeks.
• With the germination of the first green shoots, the film is removed by placing the container in a shady place.
• Before the seedlings get stronger, they are cared for, which consists in periodic watering and fertilization of the weakest concentration (half the norm).
• Boxwood is planted in the garden when the threat of spring frosts disappears.

Wintering boxwood Autumn preparations of boxwood for winter

No wonder boxwood is widespread in those countries where the concept of "severe winter" is completely absent. To cultivate a plant in temperate climates for winter conditions, you need to prepare in advance. And evergreens hibernate during the cold snap. This is especially true of their root system, which is shackled by frozen soil even at a time when the first rays of the spring sun stimulate the green crown of evergreens to life.

It is at that moment that the leaves and branches need nourishment, which the unawakened root cannot provide. For this reason, not only branches dry out, but also whole shrubs. The only way out of this situation is to plant bushes in the most shaded place.

Somewhere in the beginning of the month of November, before the upcoming onset of frost, the boxwood is watered in order to charge it with moisture for the entire winter period of time. Then, peat or matted needles are introduced into the area of ​​the trunk circle, but not dry leaves, which, in a rotted state, can cause fungal infections in boxwood.

How to properly cover boxwood for the winter

As the air temperature drops to a stable + 10 ° C, the boxwood begins to cover. The trunks are not only covered, but also tied up so that heavy snow does not cause the trunk of the bush to break. And only after that, the plant is completely tied with spruce branches or wrapped in a warm non-woven cloth. You can also whitewash the trunk of adult plants, and then you will have to cover one crown. Do not forget about the live boxwood hedge and wrap it up with sacking in 2-3 layers. Sprinkle the edges with earth.

Before you cover any bush or hedge, you need to tie them up so that the branches do not break from a large amount of snow. The cuttings, as mentioned earlier, are covered with spruce branches, the trunk circle is mulched with warm peat. With the onset of spring, they begin to slowly remove the shelter, choosing a cloudy day for this, so as not to shock the boxwood with the bright sun. You can even change the shelter to a lighter one, use it as a kind of visor from the active spring sun. It is also impossible to overdue the deadline for removing the protection, because the boxwood, under the influence of heat, will begin to rot and deteriorate.

Types and varieties of boxwood with photos and descriptions

The most attractive forms of boxwood are grown in the garden plots. Here are some of them.

Evergreen boxwood Buxus sempervirens

It is often found in natural areas of the Mediterranean and the Caucasus. It lives in the undergrowth of mixed and pure deciduous forests. Prefers places with dense shade. Evergreen boxwood is a tree (rarely a shrub), the height of which reaches 15 meters. Its straight shoots have a tetrahedral shape, they are densely covered with dark green foliage. The arrangement of the leaves is characterized by the opposite, and in appearance they are smooth, shiny.

The top side of the plate is different in color from the bottom. If the upper one is bright, glossy, then the lower one is matte, faded light green with yellowness. The shape of the leaves is elongated-elliptical, 1.5 - 3.0 cm long. Greenish small flowers of unisexual boxwood. The set fruit is a small spherical box with valves. During the ripening of the seed, the valves open. Evergreen boxwood is a poisonous plant.

Its best varieties include:

Caring for boxwood growing on the street Boxwood Blauer Heinz photo in the garden

Blauer Heinz... It is a stiff, squat shrub with bluish green leaves. It is frost-resistant and compact. It belongs to new varieties and is intended for drawing up low, up to 20 cm, ornaments for carpets.

Boxwood plant planting and care Boxwood Dwarf Sufrutikosis photo in the garden

Sufructicosis - refers to evergreen shrubs that grow very slowly and reach only 1 meter in height. The original leaves are ovoid or obovate, 2 cm long and opposite. Dotted with small flowers. Just perfect for creating living fences, curbs.

How often to prune boxwood Boxwood evergreen elegans photo

Elegance variety stands out from the rest by the color of the leaf plate (they are variegated with a white border). It is a very dense shrub with a spherical crown. The height is not great, up to 1 meter. But the shoots are straight, densely covered with foliage. Differs in drought resistance.

Small-leaved boxwood Buxus microphylla

This type of boxwood is a descendant of Japanese-Korean species, it is frost-resistant. According to observations, it can withstand and does not freeze at minus 30. But it is afraid of the spring sun, therefore it requires shelter from it. Preference is given to the following varieties of small-leaved boxwood:

When to prune boxwood Small-leaved boxwood Winter Jam photo in the garden

Winter jam... Easily pruned, although the crown is dense. The variety is frost-resistant and grows quickly, which is extremely rare in the boxwood family. Reaches a maximum height of 1.5 meters and is suitable for making topiary.

Small-leaved boxwood Faulkner Buxus microphylla ‘Faulkner’ photo

Faulkner... It grows very slowly, reaching a height of 1.5 meters. They cut it mainly under the ball, since the very shape of the bush begs for this. Colchis boxwood (Latin Buxus colchica). It is also called the Caucasian boxwood. It is the smallest and most frost-resistant boxwood of all European species. Its life span is 600 years. It grows slowly, rising only 15 - 20 meters with a trunk diameter at its lowest part of 30 cm. It is a relic of the Tertiary period.

Bolear boxwood Buxus balearica

Bolear boxwood Buxus balearica How boxwood blooms photo

Refers to the western look. Its ancestral origin is the territory of the Bolear Islands, southern Spain, as well as Portugal and northern Morocco. It is distinguished by its large leaves among all species of the Euro-Asian region. The length of its leaf can be up to 4 cm (width - 3 cm). Fantastically decorative, grows quickly. But it cannot boast of such quality as winter hardiness. These are not all types of boxwood that have adapted to the temperate climate and that can be found in the garden plots of summer residents. The rest are extremely rare.