Other Names:  Large Leaf Boxwood, English Boxwood

Description:

This mounding variety features much larger leaves than most boxwoods; beautiful foliage is dark green and very glossy; takes pruning exceptionally well, best with some shelter from the winter wind

Ornamental Features

Bigleaf Boxwood is primarily valued in the landscape or garden for its interestingly mounded form. It has attractive dark green evergreen foliage. The large glossy oval leaves are highly ornamental and remain dark green throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Bigleaf Boxwood is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a mounded form. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

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.

Bigleaf Boxwood is recommended for the following landscape applications;

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

Planting & Growing

Bigleaf Boxwood will grow to be about 8 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 10 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. 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.

Bigleaf 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.