In Zone 5 , what might I use in my yard to act like Boxwood?

I would like to cover up chain link fencing and/or create a box-wood surrounded perennial garden, anyone know what type of green shrub I might use? Can be both sun/shade - Thanks, Jill

You want an evergreen?

Hi Momo,

I'm in 4B and have had great luck with a "chicago" box wood, I've had a bit of dieback for new growth at the end of the season that is exposed to the wind and cold through the winter but mostly minor especailly if the snow cover is good. it's a beautiful deep green. I love it You should find it in your local nursery.

I have both boxwoods and inkberry hollies. I really like the inkberry hollies. They are no care shrubs, keep their shape: vase shaped, stay evergreen, and the "look" is not as stiff as boxwood: rather less formal looking. They have a very pretty green color. They also produce black drupes and some birds eat them: robins for one. Inkberries are also native to MIssouri: I like to grow natives.
Everyone seems to have boxwoods, and I like to add something a little different to my landscaped yard.

'Green Velvet' (rounded) and 'Green Mountain' (pyramidal) are both excellent, hardy cultivars of boxwood. Littleleaf boxwood (Buxus sinica insularis is very hardy, to zone 4, and gets much larger, easily to 8'. It has survived temps to -25º F. There is a cultivar of insularis called 'Wintergreen' that gets at least to 5' X 5'.

Momo theres 3 or 4 different varieties that live here in the Des Moines area. I have two huge 50 yr old Buxus koreana in my front yard that NEVER shiow ant damage even in our worst winters.Stays a nice green color. They are even blooming already because of our warm spell lately.Smell great.

Kyle
Des Moines area too

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, I'll see what I can find in des moines! Jill

I have Buxus microphylla 'Koreana' growing in my zone 4a garden in Minneapolis and it is untouched by our harsh winter weather. I noticed that my plants are blooming now with kinda cool green flowers. Buxus must be dioecious because all of the flowers appear to be female since there are no anthers anywhere on the plant.

The MN Landscape Arboretum also grows B. m. 'Koreana' without any damage. See if you can find this plant and you should have no problems growing it.

Kyle,
Thanks for the tip on Koreana being fragrant. I never thought to smell the flowers. It's been raining for a few days so I hope they're still blooming tomorrow.
Mike

Update: I removed one of my B. koreanas yesterday to make room for a dwarf conifer and I noticed that the stamens are located around the base of the pistil. The flowers (if you can call them that) are a very odd shape so maybe I'll take a photo to post here so everyone can see what they look like.

When the flowers were blooming (all parts are green) I didn't notice the stamens. Now that the stamens have dried up and are tan, I can see them everywhere. This is the first year I've noticed these plants blooming and they are covered with seed pods now.


This message was edited Apr 27, 2010 11:22 AM

Thanks again everyone, It looks like there are abundant sources where I can buy the Buxus koreana , I'll start shopping in the Des Moines area to see what I can get reasonably , I think I might like a smaller mounding type, I'll explore! Jill

Momo just avoid the English dwarf kind, its a z 6 type that will burn in bad winters here.Green mountain does well here.

Mike, Mine are huge and right next to the front door so when its warm out they really give off the fragrance.The original plant that these were cuttings off of was about 12 ft tall and 14 ft wide at the city nursery. Of course it was ancient.Too bad they took it out when the vacant building was demolished.My two large plants are over 50 yrs old now.5 ft tall and wide.A coworker did cuttings in the early 60's and had a yard full of topiary forms of it.When he sold his house he told me to pick a few and dig up, so naturally...not wanting to refuse a gift, I took em.The rest ended up bulldozed by the new owner of the property.What a history this clone has had.

Kyle :-)

Thanks, Kyle, I love stories like that. It is always more fun if the plant has a "history". (:o)

I have a dwarf Pinus resinosa (red pine) cultivar called 'State Trooper'. The owners of Edelweiss Nursery in Duluth, MN, had stopped along the side of the highway to collect scions from a broom they saw growing in a red pine. A state trooper stopped to see what was wrong and was going to offer to help them. When they said nothing was wrong and that they had just stopped to get the scions, the trooper said that stopping along a highway was for "emergencies" only and they needed to move along immediately. Debbie immediately said it WAS an emergency since her husband was a nurseryman and collected conifer brooms. The trooper was going to give them a ticket for stopping for no valid reason, but when he heard the reason Debbie gave, and with such passion and sincerity in her voice, he let them off and told them to move along as quickly as possible. And so the red pine broom was named 'State Trooper'. (:o)

I certainly hope my B. koreana do not get that big! I have no room for a plant that size. Luckily, Buxus is very easy to shear and it takes shearing quite well.
Mike

Ok, Thanks Kyle! I just didnt want something getting so high I need a latter!!!

Mike, Heres a pic of that very old boxwood plant.I agree it isn't the best pic.Thats all that remains of this plants history Well that and about 6 very big cutting grown plants that are in my yard. This old plant had a lot of dieback towards the end from neglect.Still was the biggest koreana buxus I have ever seen or heard of.Was just one main trunk. R.I.P.


Kyle :-)

I too love the gardening stories! History and other! SO cool tree lover that the trooper was nice enough not to ticket you! You know you're a gardener when.......we could ALL write a book!

Jill

Here is a photo of 100 year old boxwoods from a private property.
Years of disease and last years snow damage, here is the result.

Here are some that survived the snows better.

riley, nice pics. I luv me sum boxwoods. All kinds.

Kyle :-)