Gardening Ideas Outdoor Plants Perennial Plants Best Boxwoods For Every Landscape And Climate By Rebecca Bull Reed Rebecca Bull Reed Website Rebecca Koraytem (formerly Rebecca Bull Reed) is a horticulturist with over 32 years of experience in garden education, design, and the green industry. She has written for Southern Living and Coastal Living magazines, is passionate about teaching new gardeners about English Roses and is a frequent guest on podcasts like The Redneck Rosarian and Epic Gardening where she talks about David Austin Roses. She also has her own YouTube channel Rebecca on Roses. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on February 3, 2023 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Robbie Caponetto Elegant when used alone and sublime as companion plants, boxwoods offer amazing versatility in the garden. They greet our guests at the door and provide an element of delight and surprise when clipped and trained into topiaries and parterres. They look stately in pots and add a spot of green to any winter garden. Plus, deer don't usually eat them. The secret to working with these fine-textured evergreens is choosing the best selection to fit your vision, your climate, and your growing conditions (well-drained soil and protection from winter winds are key). Some grow as tall as a tree and just as wide, while others hug the ground. Find out more about our top picks that are suitable for the South, and then ooh and ahh over our most gorgeous illustrations of how you can use these shrubs in the garden. 01 of 11 American Boxwood Ralph Anderson Botanical Name: Buxus sempervirensSun Exposure: Full sun or partial shadeSoil Type: Any well-drained, moist soilSoil pH: Slightly acidic to slightly alkaline (6.0-8.0) One of the largest boxwoods, American boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) can grow to 15 or 20 feet tall and wide. It's also known as common boxwood, a label that makes more sense given its origins from southern Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa. This boxwood would be a good choice for screening, but it's also slow-growing and can be kept smaller with pruning. Plant in USDA Zones 5-8; this is not a boxwood that will tolerate the heat of the Coastal South. 02 of 11 English Boxwood Juliette Wade/Getty Images Botanical Name: B. sempervirens 'Suffruticosa'Sun Exposure: Full sun or partial shadeSoil Type: Any well-drained, moist soil, but grows best in loamSoil pH: Slightly acidic to slightly alkaline (6.0-8.0) The plant we call English boxwood is a variety of the common boxwood and requires similar growing conditions. All common boxwoods prefer a site protected from wind and full winter sun, which can dry out and bronze the leaves. 'Suffruticosa' does best in well-drained, loamy soil. This is a dwarf cultivar that grows 2 to 3 feet tall and slightly wider. 03 of 11 Littleleaf Boxwood Ralph Anderson Botanical Name: B. microphyllaSun Exposure: Full sun or partial shadeSoil Type: Any well-drained, moist soilSoil pH: Slightly acidic to slightly alkaline (6.0-8.0) A slow-growing species from Japan, Littleleaf boxwood is cold hardy and can be used in the Upper, Middle, Lower, and Coastal South. Littleleaf boxwoods have the most finely textured leaves and can easily be shaped with pruning. These shrubs can be used as accents, topiaries, small hedges, or edging, with most cultivars topping out at 3-4 feet tall. Mulch well to keep the soil cool and conserve moisture. 04 of 11 Japanese Boxwood Ralph Anderson Botanical Name: B. microphylla japonicaSun Exposure: Partial shade or dappled sunSoil Type: Any well-drained, moist soilSoil pH: 6.0-8.0 The Japanese boxwood subspecies has a more mounded form, growing 6-8 feet tall and 10-15 feet wide. The round-tipped, glossy, dark green leaves of Japanese boxwood may take on a bronze cast in cold winters when exposed to southwestern sun. It tolerates heat, humidity, and nematodes, making it the best boxwood for the Coastal South, though it does well throughout the South. Japanese boxwood prefers moist and cool soil, so mulch heavily around the roots. 05 of 11 Korean Boxwood Ralph Anderson Botanical Name: B. sinicaSun Exposure: Full to partial sunSoil Type: Well-drained, moist, sandy loamSoil pH: 6.0-8.0 An excellent choice for hedges or edging, Korean boxwood tolerates severe winters, making it an especially good choice for the Upper South as well as down in the Coastal South. 'Wintergreen' has the best winter color; other cultivars can turn bronzy in the cold. These shrubs can be grown in average soil but do best in moist, sandy loam. The mound-shaped plants can be pruned as a privacy screen, eventually growing to 10 feet tall. 06 of 11 Harland Boxwood DeAgostini/Getty Images Botanical Name: B. harlandii Sun Exposure: Full to partial sunSoil Type: Any well-drained, evenly moist soilSoil pH: 6.0-8.0 Harland boxwood is more pest-resistant, drought-resistant, and clay tolerant than most boxwoods, making it a good choice for tough sites. But this species is less cold-tolerant, hardy only to USDA Zone 7b. Plant it in a spot protected from winter winds to avoid bronzing. These boxwoods generally reach about 3 feet but occasionally grow to 5 feet tall. 07 of 11 Layer With Evergreens Helen Norman Boxwoods can be planted as single specimens but are especially eye-catching when planted in masses. Rows of clipped English boxwoods, protected from the hot afternoon sun, soften straight lines in this small front yard garden. The vibrant green foliage stands out against a holly hedge and Four box-clipped European hornbeams. 08 of 11 Make Boxwoods The Centerpiece Robbie Caponetto An elegant potager (kitchen garden) with an intricate knot of clipped boxwoods in its center acts as a focal point for the garden. At the end of this terrace rests a paved sitting area surrounding a fire pit. What better place to sip a glass of wine as the amber light from the setting sun ignites the riverside trees? 09 of 11 Plant A Parterre Laurey W. Glenn Boxwoods make up the backbone of this parterre, a formal, low garden laid out in intricate geometric designs. This impactful front yard garden surrounded with antique bricks was designed in the style of Colonial Williamsburg. 10 of 11 Shape Boxwoods Into Topiaries Robbie Caponetto; Produced: Mark Thompson Boxwoods can be made into topiaries like this lollipop-shaped standard. To train your plant into a standard, prune away side stems from the main stem, leaving about 1/3 of the growth on top. Then lightly trim the leaves to achieve the shape you want. 11 of 11 Grow A Boxwood Hedge Robbie Caponetto Boxwoods are especially suited to forming hedges tall or small, depending on the species and how aggressively you use your pruning shears. Gardener Anthony Brewington planted 300 'Wintergreen' boxwoods in this Alabama oasis and shaped them into a wavy hedge. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit