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Mon, Jan 3, 05 at 18:15
| I'm designing an herb/potager garden area for my house in which I would like to use boxwood as an edging plant. I love the color and traditional smell of buxus sempervirens, but that gets to be 6x6' tall eventually and this is a small space where I want the edging plant hedge to be no more than 18"-24" in height and width.
What is a good dwarf variety that can easily be maintained at this height and not too subject to browning out? What is a good spacing distance to plant them? Is 18" apart too wide? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by swifty_mcgee 7b/delmarva (My Page) on Sat, Jan 8, 05 at 13:07
| What is "eventually"? Box are by nature slow growers? |
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| I had...I believe...little gem. The leaves were tiny and the plant supposedly grew about 1/2" per yr. It died after a couple of yrs for some unknown reason and I don't think it grew at all. I love em but they are terrible slow growers. I'm growing candytuft and santolina which is sometimes pictured growing with boxwoods in a potager. This was my 1st yr growing it so I don't know much about it yet. |
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| G'Day! - If you can't find a boxwood of the right dimenisons, would you want to consider rosemary? Boxwood is indeed a very traditinal edging, but rosemary might be appropriate for an herb garden. i'm asuming you want an evergreen, woody plant. Lavander also makes a great edging for herb gardens, but might not be thick enough to give the effect you want - and it can be finicky with our humidity. (my being a big fan of rosemary has nothing to do with this, right?) - Just a thought! - Happy gardening, -vlad |
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- Posted by JohnFromPerryCoPA zone 6 scPA (My Page) on Mon, Jan 31, 05 at 7:32
| The true dwarf form I believe is named suffricosa or something close to that spelling. I have about 14 of them spaced about 3 foot on center at the top of a retaining wall and they are doing nicely with a north eastern exposure. They are about 8 years old and still only about 1 foot tall and perhaps 10 inches wide and easily maintained. I can find the exact spelling of the variety, but if you enter Buxus in any search engine or garden web search, you should see this variety listed. |
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- Posted by JohnFromPerryCoPA zone 6 scPA (My Page) on Tue, Feb 1, 05 at 13:40
| I think the variety is suffruticosa.. |
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| Germander is another option. Is a perennial/shrub herb, looks like boxwood, stays short, does not have to be replaced every few years and is very hardy in Baltimore. It prunes easily into the short little hedge I think you want, like to a foot or less (expatriate, now in CA). Check out your herb books, you will see it. |
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