I have an area where I would like to plant 'Winter Gem' Boxwood. It is 8ft long x 3ft wide. The site is on the west side of my house (morning shade/afternoon sun. Will this work for me? how far apart do I plant them? I'm trying to figure out how many I should purchase? If you wouldn't recommend the boxwood, can someone please recommend some other evergreen shrub. I want to have it eventually grow about 5-6ft tall and shear it to columnar. I have clay soil. As always, I appreciate everyone's help. Thank you & Happy Gardening!
Plant a columnar form of common box, or one of the narrow forms of Japanese holly. The hollies do not have malodorous foliage and a tendency to sport sections of discolored foliage. However, where beneath or near branches of evergreen trees or building overhangs may be subject to weevil damage. Flowering specimens also apt to swarm with bees at that time.
Thanks Ron, Okay, columnar. So, I'm assuming the Winter Gem must be round and can't be shaped into columnar. Do columnar boxwood have a particular name? and will they grow well in the spot I have for them. There is 'no' overhang. About how many would I need to purchase for an 18' bed? Are they fast growing? Moderate? Slow? By the way, the bed is next to my neighbors house, right at the edge of my sundeck. It is a walk through area, so flowering shrubs would not be a good idea. I definitely need something tall, columnar, evergreen and moderate to fast growing (maybe my order is too tall)? Thanks again for helping me.
We don't need to use the inferior Asiatic box species here as we can overwinter common box. Search the web for "columnar boxwood" to see discussion of specific varieties currently on the market.
