Lakeshore Garden Centres Plant Finder

Other Names:  Common Box

Description:

An excellent compact evergreen for low formal hedges and small topiary; shiny dark green leaves maintain good winter color; takes pruning exceptionally well, excellent cold hardiness

Ornamental Features

North Star® Boxwood is primarily valued in the garden for its ornamental globe-shaped form. It has dark green evergreen foliage. The small glossy oval leaves remain dark green throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

North Star® Boxwood is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a more or less rounded form. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which should be used to full effect.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and can be pruned at anytime. It is a good choice for attracting bees to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

North Star® Boxwood is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Topiary
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

North Star® Boxwood will grow to be about 32 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 32 inches. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 40 years or more.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type, but has a definite preference for alkaline soils. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

North Star® Boxwood makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden. Be aware that in our climate, most plants cannot be expected to survive the winter if left in containers outdoors, and this plant is no exception. Contact our experts for more information on how to protect it over the winter months.

This plant is not reliably hardy in our region, and certain restrictions may apply; contact the store for more information.