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Boxwood 'Green Gem'

Buxus 'Green Gem' · Buxaceae

Boxwood 'Green Gem' (Buxus 'Green Gem')
Photo: Photo by David J. Stang, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

A slow-growing boxwood that forms a perfect, dense globe without clipping and keeps its colour in cold winters.

Size
24 in tall, 24 in wide
Zones
4 to 9
Light
Full sun to part shade
Flowers
Grown for its leaves
Pets
Toxic (moderate)
Job in a bed
Edging

A bed built around boxwood 'Green Gem'

The planner designed this bed around boxwood 'Green Gem' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) formal bed in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why boxwood 'Green Gem' stands where it does.

A 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) bed at eye level in mid May: Boxwood 'Green Gem', Green-and-gold, Purple gas plant, Brown-eyed Susan, Fringed bleeding heart, Oriental lily, Camassia.
A 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) formal bed in zone 6, part sun, seen from the path in mid May.
3. Purple gas plant32. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold26. Oriental lily66. Oriental lily67. Camassia77. Camassia75. Fringed bleeding heart55. Fringed bleeding heart55. Fringed bleeding heart55. Fringed bleeding heart55. Fringed bleeding heart54. Brown-eyed Susan44. Brown-eyed Susan44. Brown-eyed Susan44. Brown-eyed Susan44. Brown-eyed Susan44. Brown-eyed Susan42. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold21. Boxwood 'Green Gem'1
From above, to scale. Each circle is one plant, as wide as the room it needs.

The plants

  1. 1 Boxwood 'Green Gem' × 1, dark green leaves
  2. 2 Green-and-gold × 18, yellow
  3. 3 Purple gas plant × 1, pink
  4. 4 Brown-eyed Susan × 6, yellow
  5. 5 Fringed bleeding heart × 5, white
  6. 6 Oriental lily × 2, red
  7. 7 Camassia × 2, blue

Why this plant

  • The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
  • The bed's only structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down, and it is the only one here.

Why here

  • In the middle. At 24 in it is seen over green-and-gold (6 in) in front of it.
  • One plant. Three or more is usual for a plant of this kind, and reads better.

Why now

  • Here for its leaves, all year. They cover the 16 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
  • The only leaves in winter. From November to March it is what there is to look at.

Planned as a formal bed: 34 of the 35 plants (97%) are mirrored across the middle of the bed: each stands on the middle line or has a twin of its own kind opposite it. The most in flower at one time is 3 kinds, from mid May. The scheme leans hot (yellow and red) and uses pink and blue for relief, with white to calm things between them.

The planner's own design check: 9 Excellent, 7 Good, 1 Satisfactory.

Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.

Where boxwood 'Green Gem' goes in a border

At 24 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium short (18 to 24 in).

Its job: edging. A low, neat plant used in short runs of three or five along the front to finish the edge (or, in a formal bed, in one even row).

A ready-made green ball. Use it as a low edging, in a row of spheres, or as punctuation among loose perennials. One of the hardy Sheridan hybrids from Ontario.

  • Low hedges and edging
  • Green globes among perennials
  • Containers

What to plant with boxwood 'Green Gem'

Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:

Questions about boxwood 'Green Gem'

Does boxwood 'Green Gem' need sun or shade?

Boxwood 'Green Gem' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day), part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).

It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.

What zones does boxwood 'Green Gem' grow in?

USDA zones 4 to 9. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).

Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.

How far apart should boxwood 'Green Gem' be planted?

18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.

It grows 24 in (60 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.

How many boxwood 'Green Gem' plants do I need?

At 18 in apart, set out in staggered rows:

  • 5 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
  • 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
  • 17 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own

In a mixed border, plant it as runs of three or five along the front (or one even row, in a formal bed).

In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.

Is boxwood 'Green Gem' poisonous to dogs and cats?

Yes: moderate toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. All parts cause vomiting and diarrhoea if eaten, and the sap can irritate skin.

Rated from NC State Extension and the ASPCA. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.

Is there a pet-safe plant like boxwood 'Green Gem'?

These come closest to doing what boxwood 'Green Gem' does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:

Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.

What does boxwood 'Green Gem' look like in winter?

Boxwood 'Green Gem' keeps its dark green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.

More Buxus

In these guides

Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9

Every fact on record

Type
Shrub
Size
24 in (60 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
Plant
18 in (45 cm) apart
Height class
Medium short (18 to 24 in)
Place in the bed
Front
Flowers
None: grown for its foliage
Leaves
Fine texture, evergreen; dark green
Shape
Rounded, clumping
Hardy in
USDA zones 4 to 9
Light
Full sun, part sun, part shade
Soil
Average, well-drained
Water
Moderate
Feeding
Light, in spring
Family
Buxaceae

Checked against NC State Extension and ASPCA poison lists. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.