Dwarf English boxwood
Buxus sempervirens 'Suffruticosa' · Buxaceae
The true edging boxwood: very dense and very slow, with small, rounded leaves. It is the plant of knot gardens and parterres.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 2½ ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- Toxic (moderate)
- Job in a bed
- Edging
A bed built around dwarf English boxwood
The planner designed this bed around dwarf English boxwood 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 dwarf English boxwood stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Dwarf English boxwood × 1, dark green leaves
- 2 Strawberry 'Lipstick' × 15, pink
- 3 Creeping Jacob's ladder × 10, blue
- 4 Eastern bee balm × 3, pink
- 5 Red spider lily × 10, red
- 6 Martagon lily × 4, purple
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
- At the back. It stands clear of the other plants: none is close in front of it, or close behind.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
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: 43 of the 43 plants (100%) 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 flowering is at its height from mid May, with 3 kinds out together. The bed is balanced: the left half carries 43% of the visual weight and the right half 57%.
The planner's own design check: 7 Excellent, 10 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where dwarf English boxwood goes in a border
At 2½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium (24 in to 2½ ft).
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 clipped line of green that frames whatever is planted inside it. It grows only a few centimetres a year, so a hedge needs little clipping. It is the kind most prone to boxwood blight.
- Low, formal edging
- Knot gardens
- Framing beds of herbs and roses
What to plant with dwarf English boxwood
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- English lavender 'Hidcote': adds the flowers, late June to late July; spires rising out of its mound; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Catmint 'Walker's Low': adds the flowers, mid May to mid September; spires rising out of its mound.
- Peony: adds the flowers, late May to late June.
Questions about dwarf English boxwood
Does dwarf English boxwood need sun or shade?
Dwarf English boxwood 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. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does dwarf English boxwood grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 8. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should dwarf English boxwood 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 2½ ft (75 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 2½ ft (75 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many dwarf English boxwood 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 dwarf English boxwood 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 dwarf English boxwood?
These come closest to doing what dwarf English boxwood does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Leatherleaf sedge: an accent, not an edging, 6 in shorter.
- Japanese forest grass: the same job in a bed; belongs at the front, not in the middle, 12 in shorter.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat dwarf English boxwood?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer and rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What does dwarf English boxwood look like in winter?
Dwarf English boxwood 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
- Boxwood 'Green Gem' Buxus 'Green Gem'
- Boxwood 'Green Mountain' Buxus 'Green Mountain'
- Boxwood 'Green Velvet' Buxus 'Green Velvet'
- Common boxwood Buxus sempervirens
- Korean boxwood 'Wintergreen' Buxus sinica var. insularis 'Wintergreen'
- Littleleaf boxwood 'Winter Gem' Buxus microphylla var. japonica 'Winter Gem'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 2½ ft (75 cm) tall, 2½ ft (75 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium (24 in to 2½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; dark green
- Shape
- Rounded, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Buxaceae
- Comes from
- Europe to N. Iran, N. Africa
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits, drought
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.