Boxwood is an evergreen shrub growing in the middle latitudes. It is noteworthy that it is a relatively frost-resistant culture, and is quite suitable for our climate. Buxus sempervirens, which means "evergreen boxwood", is popular as an ornamental plant that can be easily cut, often used to create mixborders . Also very beautiful "living sculptures" are made from it, forming geometric shapes - balls, cubes, cones, and also figures of various animals.
Reproduction of evergreen boxwood
The shrub propagates vegetatively and seeds, but the easiest and therefore popular method is propagation by cuttings. First of all, you should think about the place of planting boxwood. He likes shady places, otherwise, being in direct sunlight, it can burn. Planting an evergreen boxwood does not involve any difficulties. Planting cuttings in the soil is best in the early spring, so that until the colds it is well rooted and strengthened. If you planted the plant in the fall, then just dig it up until spring, choosing a shady place for this.
Care for evergreen boxwood
Boxwood - unpretentious plant. Care for him involves mandatory mulching and subsequent watering. Mulch the shrub better than the rotten needles or peat. This must be done at the end of winter or early spring. As for watering, the boxwood should be properly watered in summer, in heat and drought, and also in the autumn, before the cold weather. In the non-vegetation period it is better to water the boxwood occasionally - it will take as much moisture out of the soil as it needs.
It should also be noted that in order to avoid the death of young plants, you should shelter not yet stiff shoots for the winter, removing this cover in the early spring. But in the summer growing shrubs in the sun are desirable, on the contrary, pritenyat.
Separately, we should talk about the haircut. Even if you are not going to make masterpieces of garden art from shrubs, you need to prune boxwood anyway. In order for the bush to grow thick, trim once a year, preferably in early summer. Cut only young, new shoots, because the box grows very slowly.
If you have a curly haircut of boxwood in your plans, then you should know: pruning should be done several times a year, in a warm period, for example, in April, July and September. Later, this should not be done, because young shoots before the onset of colds must have time to stiffen. After the bush has acquired the desired form, it is enough just to maintain it with regular haircuts.
Boxwood: possible diseases and pests
Boxwood is a poisonous plant. In its branches and leaves contains a large number of alkaloids - substances that are dangerous for most living things. That is why pests that parasitize on this kind of shrub are not that many.
- Corrupting the leaves of boxwood can fly Monarthropalpus. The female of this insect lays eggs on young leaves, and then its larvae are introduced directly into the tissue of the leaf. Fighting flies with the help of insecticides, which sprayed bushes in late spring or early summer.
- Samshit is also susceptible to fungal diseases: Volutella buxi also affects the leaves that dry up, and spots appear on the shoot tips (sporangia). In the fight against fungi, pruning shrubs and treating it with fungicides is useful.
- Weaken the plant and even more slow down its growth of gall-forming and spider mites . With them it is quite difficult to fight, because a warm climate favors their spread.
- Fade or wither can plant, affected boxwood felon. Do not neglect the regular pruning of old withered branches and affected shoots and carefully monitor the growth conditions of the boxwood.