Boxwood: the secrets of successful cultivation

Highlights when planting boxwood

Planting boxwood - A great way to decorate your garden with hedges and various green shapes. For novice gardeners it is better to start with this plant. Boxwood (Búxus) - an evergreen plant from the Boxwood family. This plant is found in the form of a bush, and in the form of trees of small size.

This plant is difficult to "kill", it calmly endures a short period of drought or waterlogging. But best of all, boxwood grows in warm, humid places, and this should be taken into account when choosing a landing site.

The optimal time for planting seedlings

Many gardeners talk about planting boxwood in different ways: some say that it should be planted in the fall,so that by spring he would already delight you with his new shoots, others - that this plant can be planted all season - with the first rays of March and until the first November frosts.

But still the majority is inclined to think that it is best to plant the boxwood in the fall. If before you were growing your plant, and now you have decided to “plant” it in a permanent place in the open soil, then it is best to carry out such a transplant of boxwood in the fall.

If it is not necessary for you that the box has grown fully to give the desired shape in the first season, then the planting of boxwood can be done in the spring - then the plant will take root better.

Choosing a landing site

It is best to plant boxwood in shady or semi-shady places. In principle, the plant is unpretentious, but it is very difficult to tolerate the summer heat, open sunshine or cold winds and drafts. Therefore, it is best to plant a plant in the shade of trees.

How to prepare the ground for landing

Under natural conditions, boxwood grows on mountain slopes, the soil of which has a very high level of Ph.But when planting this plant on your site, you can not think about the special composition of the soil. Although, of course, the soil for boxwood must be fertile. It is not so much the growth quality that depends on it, but how fast your boxwood grows.

Of course, in a soil rich in trace elements and natural minerals, the plant will grow faster. In loose soil, boxwood will grow faster and shoots will be more abundant, whereas in poor soil, shoots will lose their appearance more quickly.

The main features of the care of boxwood

According to its origin, the box does not require special care, but there are certain subtleties, because, like any evergreen, boxwood can get sick at any time for no particular reason.

Watering mode

It is often necessary to water the box in summer, because the root system gives all the moisture to the leaves, and to preserve their decorative appearance. It is necessary to water boxwood in the summer period literally once every 3 days. If in your region there was no rain for more than a week, then water the box should be an additional time once a week.

Special attention to watering the plants should be given in the interseasonal period, so the box should be plentifully watered before winter, in order to saturate the roots with moisture for months, and after the frost leaves - to additionally soak the plant, thus helping it to germinate better.

Mulching and fertilization

Mulching is usually carried out before the first frost. Before mulching, for 2-3 days you need to water the plant abundantly (if desired, feed). For mulching, it is better to use finely crushed bark of coniferous trees, over-wintering needles of spruce or pine under a tree, peat.

Gardeners do not recommend using bark of hardwood, sawdust or foliage, as this can “clog” boxwood. But the best material for mulching recognized peat.

If you plant a plant in a mineral-rich soil, it needs fertilizing in September, before hibernation. However, if the roots of the recently planted boxwood are already rooted, they need to be “nourished” by any of the fertilizers for evergreens.

Feeding boxwood in the spring can be done with fertilizer, which contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Many people are interested in what to fertilize boxwood in the fall - there is a nuance: for fertilizer in the autumn it is better to use top-dressings that do not contain nitrogen, since the root of the “plant” can dry out during the winter.

Trimming and trimming boxwood

Cutting boxwood in the first year of active growth should not be better to start from the second season. It is necessary to begin pruning already in the period of constant heat (April-May) and carry out to the “sleep” state of the box.

Gardeners unanimously say: the more often you cut boxwood, the better. This is true, but you need to pay attention to the fact that the box grows slowly, and if you want to give the bush a certain shape, it is better not to cut the box in the fall.

Often on the forums there is a question: how to rejuvenate boxwood. It's simple - scissors in your hands: before the onset of cold weather, cut off all the shoots, leaving only those whose leaves have not yet grown, and in the spring your boxwood will delight you with fresh shoots.

Preparing the box for winter

Preparing for winter is a guarantee of how your plant will delight you in the spring. In the autumn, feeding of the box and mulching is carried out; also, before winter, an additional abundant watering of the plant is carried out, but the main thing in preparation for winter is the cover of the box for the winter.

For the shelter of small bushes use plastic or wooden flasks with holes inside for ventilation; bushes wrap lutrasil, spunbond or other non-woven material; the top of the box is covered with a cloth, and the whole bush is tied to a support; if your bush is very sprawling, it is better to tie it at the base of the branches.

Ways to breed boxwood

Usually, boxwood is propagated in a vegetative way, since the cuttings root better, and they can be planted immediately in open ground; You can also use seeds, but do not forget that the percentage of seed germination is lower.

Cuttings

Most often, grafting is carried out in the spring.To do this, at an angle of 45 degrees need to cut off the shoot and a third to clear the leaves. After that, the stalk must be put into the root-forming solution for three days..

After that, the stalk should be well washed, without damaging small shoots, and landed in the soil, after feeding it with humus, leaf soil and peat. The plant is covered with a plastic bottle and watered every 3-5 days, depending on the climatic conditions of your region.

For irrigation it is better to use a spray. The first signs of growth you will notice in a month, and the root system will be fully formed in two or three months.

Frequently asked question: how to plant boxwood in the fall? This can be done, but it is best to plant boxwood in pots, and not in open ground, because the root system will not have time to form and will die.

Seeds

Seeds before planting need to soak in warm boiled water for a day, then put between two wet wipes and keep in this form until the appearance of white processes. If the sunrises do not appear within 2-3 weeks, you can put the napkins in the refrigerator for several days. But it is important to keep the wipes wet.

After the seeds germinate, they are sown in a mixture of peat and sand in equal parts and covered with glass or film. Capacity clean in a warm place in the penumbra. As soon as the first shoots appear, the "roof" must be removed. Caring for such seedlings is to feed a weak solution of fertilizer and watering. To loosen the soil is not necessary, because you can damage the sprout.

Poisonous boxwood

The box, despite its beneficial properties, is a rather poisonous plant, especially the leaves, so it is better to use gloves when working, since getting into the mouth of a small portion of a plant can cause severe food poisoning. Also close contact of animals with boxwood is undesirable, because the remains of microparticles on the wool can cause suffocation in the animal.

Useful properties of boxwood

Boxwood is widely used for the treatment of arterial hypertension, as well as for the treatment of diseases of the cardiovascular system. It is used to treat poorly healing wounds, ulcers.

How to protect boxwood from diseases and pests

If your box "suffers" from irregular watering and fertilizing with poor quality material, its leaves will turn yellow. And this is one of the most common plant diseases.

So now we will tell you what to do if the box turned yellow. To cure it, you need to feed the bush once a week for a month, and to prevent it, you just need to choose quality materials for care.

In order to prevent diseases, it is necessary to remove all fallen leaves from under the boxwood, since they are the main breeding grounds for boxwood gall midges and spider mites, whose eggs and larvae like to hibernate under the plant.

It is also important to carry out timely "medical examination" on the subject of diseased shoots so that your plant does not become a victim of Volutella buxi, which leads to the death of the shoots.

Follow all tips on caring for boxwood, the plant will delight you for a long time with its decorative look and interesting shape.