QA

Question: What Is The Difference Between Japanese Boxwood And Wintergreen Boxwood

All parts of the wintergreen plant are poisonous, except for the ripe berries. Japanese boxwood’s leaves also are leathery but are larger, more rounded ovals. During winter, the leaves tend to blush bronze, especially in cold temperatures and full sun exposures. Contact with boxwood sap may irritate the skin.

Is Wintergreen Boxwood a Japanese boxwood?

Growing in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 8, wintergreen is a low-maintenance plant, while Japanese boxwood, which grows in USDA zones 3 through 9 depending on the cultivar, can be a bit finicky plant to grow.

What’s the difference between boxwood and Japanese boxwood?

English boxwood, Buxus sempervirens ‘Suffruticosa’, is a dwarf boxwood and is technically a form of American boxwood. It is a dense variety with more oval leaves. Japanese boxwoods, Buxus microphylla japonica, are very adaptable.

Which boxwood is best?

If you want a small, compact, low-growing shrub to form a hedge that serves as an accent or border along your walkway, fence line or planting beds, dwarf boxwood varieties are the best pick. The “Dwarf English” boxwood (Buxus sempervirens “Suffruticosa”) creates a border hedge approximately 1 to 2 feet in height.

How big do Japanese boxwoods get?

Japanese boxwoods look very similar to Korean boxwoods (Buxus sinica), and both are extremely popular because they are fast growing and can tolerate heavy frosts much better than English and American ones. They also are more compact and can grow to about 8 feet tall and about 6 feet wide.

Is a Wintergreen Boxwood the same as a Korean boxwood?

Korean Boxwood ‘Wintergreen’ insularis ‘Wintergreen’ (Korean Boxwood) is a vigorous, rounded, evergreen shrub with a lush foliage of small, glossy, light green leaves. The foliage retains its color reasonably well throughout the winter.

How fast do wintergreen boxwoods grow?

The shrub, which typically grows only about 2 or 3 inches a year, will assume a shape somewhat like a mushroom if allowed to grow naturally. Water regularly until established, after that water once a week during periods of no rain. The leaves will turn yellow typically as an indicator that the shrub needs water.

What does a Japanese boxwood look like?

Japanese Boxwoods grow to be anywhere from 4 to 8 feet tall. Boxwood foliage grows with many small, oval leaves lining small grey-brown twigs. You can tell them apart from other Boxwood varieties as their leaves are slightly larger and a brighter green. The leaves are leathery and have no change in Fall or Winter.

Is Wintergreen Boxwood a dwarf?

The Wintergreen Boxwood is a popular variety, occasionally known as Korean Boxwood. This Boxwood features small, slightly glossy, dark green leaves, and is naturally compact. This is a dwarf variety that only reaches 2 to 4 Ft.

Is Japanese boxwood Hardy?

Japanese Boxwood is generally cold-hardy in Zones 5-9, with some cultivars being more cold-tolerant than others. While many types turn a bit yellow-bronze in the wintertime, most foliage returns to its green color in the spring. Certain cultivars have been bred for better year-round green color.

How big do wintergreen boxwoods get?

This evergreen, dense shrub performs like a superstar when shaped into topiary designs or even bonsai art. The slow-growing Wintergreen Boxwood typically gains only 2 to 3 inches annually, maturing to heights of about 3 feet with a 4 to 5 foot spread with little upkeep.

Are wintergreen and winter Gem boxwood the same?

What’s the difference between Winter Gem and Wintergreen Boxwood shrubs? Winter Gem has a duller green leaf structure. The other biggest difference is tolerance of sun. Winter Gem prefers full to part sun where Wintergreen Boxwood shrubs do better in shade.

What is the most hardy boxwood?

Littleleaf box (Buxus micro- phylla) and its botanical variety, the Japanese box (Buxus microphylla var. sinica var. insularis are considered the hardiest of all boxwood.

Can you keep Japanese boxwoods small?

Depending on the how you prune this broadleaf evergreen, it can be formal or informal, allowed to form a tall Japanese boxwood hedge of 8 feet tall or to remain a compact 2 feet tall.

Can Japanese boxwood be kept small?

Buxus sempervirens: Often called American boxwood is a tall tried and true boxwood that grows up to 5 feet tall by 4 feet wide. Buxus microphylla var. japonica: Japanese Boxwoods are cold-hardy and best used for small to medium-sized hedges.

What grows well with Japanese boxwood?

Good companion plants with textural contract include thyme, hosta, lady’s mantle, lirope, germander, rosemary or sage. Combine boxwood with low-growing shrubs with yellow or dark-colored foliage.

Is wintergreen boxwood an English boxwood?

These two names in fact refer to the same plant, but their usage creates a lot of confusion. The foliage of the wild plant is a duller green than the English boxwood, and the growth is slower, but in improved varieties like ‘Wintergreen’ the plants are dense, with good winter foliage and they are very hardy.

How do you tell the difference between a Japanese holly and a boxwood?

The simplest way to tell them apart is to look at leaf arrangement – boxwood leaves are opposite; Japanese holly leaves are alternate.

Are Japanese boxwood roots invasive?

Boxwood roots are shallow and invasive. Because they compete vigorously with neighboring plants for the nutrition in the soil, do not plant ground cover plants nearby.

How far apart should wintergreen boxwoods be planted?

So, your Wintergreen boxwoods grow to 3 to 5 feet in width, for an average of 4 feet. Place the plants 2 feet apart. Those dwarf varieties that should be 2 to 3 feet apart for a grouping or row of individual plants should be squeezed to more like 15 or 18 inches apart for a low hedge.

Is creeping wintergreen invasive?

Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) is a native plant with lustrous green leaves and red berries that give color to your yard in winter. Although Arum italicum may be aggressive or potentially invasive in some areas, elsewhere its attractive leaves add a touch of green and silver to flower beds in winter.

How much does a Wintergreen Boxwood cost?

Compare Similar Bushes current product FLOWERWOOD 2.5 Qt. Wintergreen Boxwood, Live Shrub Plant, Glossy Dark Green Foliage 2.5 qt. Boxwood Wintergreen Shrub 2.25 Gal. Ligustrum Recurvifolium Privet Shrub $1648 $2048 $2911 (164) (21) (127).