Rooting Boxwood Cuttings
I always enjoy growing my own plants, but there’s something even more gratifying about rooting and growing them from cuttings.
I love boxwood, Buxus, and have hundreds of shrubs growing on my property. I use boxwood in borders and hedges, as privacy screens, as accent plants in my formal gardens, in my living maze, and of course as part of the long allée to my stable. When I can, I like to grow my own boxwood from cuttings. This process takes time and patience, but seeing them mature is very rewarding. Recently, I received hundreds of young boxwood branches that were ready to root in a cold frame behind my main greenhouse. It will be fun to see them develop.
Enjoy these photos.
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- I am extremely proud of the growing boxwood around my farm. I designed every border and bed. This garden has both a boxwood hedge and individual shrubs on the terrace outside my Winter House kitchen.
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- This is a section of my long 450-foot Boxwood Allée. It runs from my stable all the way to the carriage road that leads to my hayfields and woodlands. It is so lush and green. I take very special care of these specimens.
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- These boxwood shrubs surround my herbaceous peony garden.
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- This is my sunken Summer House garden – a more formal garden with both English and American boxwood. Boxwood is a very ancient plant. Its ornamental use can be traced back to 4000 BC Egypt. The early Romans favored it in their courtyards. The wood itself is harder than oak and its foliage is dense and compact. Because of its growing habit, boxwood can be sculpted into formal hedges, topiaries, and other fanciful shapes.
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- In 2017, I decided to line both sides of my clematis pergola with boxwood. There are more than 300-shrubs planted here and they continue to thrive.
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- This year, I designed and planted a new boxwood garden in this front bed outside my greenhouse.
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- I received two large boxes of boxwood cuttings. They were delivered to me by my friend and boxwood expert, George Bridge, owner of George Bridge Landscape Design Inc.
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- This is one of two large cold frames behind my main greenhouse. A cold frame is a transparent-roofed enclosure, built low to the ground that utilizes solar energy and insulation to create a microclimate suitable for growing or overwintering plants. Historically, cold frames were built as greenhouse extensions tucked against the outer walls with southern exposure outside Victorian glasshouses.
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- I always save nursery containers, so I have a good supply whenever I need them. These have large holes in the bottom for good drainage.
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- Ryan fills crates with these plastic reusable containers to prevent them from falling over and to keep them tidy in the cold frame.
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- We use Miracle-Gro® Moisture Control® Potting Mix, which feeds plants for up to six months.
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- Ryan spreads the potting mix across all the pots to fill and then levels the top and removes any excess.
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- Ryan then removes any leaves from the bottom two to three inches of each boxwood stem, so they can be placed deep enough into the potting mix.
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- When preparing the cuttings, make sure to only use healthy stems with no insect damage or discoloration. These cuttings are in excellent condition.
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- Boxwood is popular for its versatility in the garden, its foliage, and its year-round greenery. Buxus is a genus of about 70 species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood. The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South America, Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Boxwood has dark green glossy leaves arranged opposite from each other, making pairs. Leaf shape depends on the variety; some are round while others are elliptical.
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- Rooting hormones increase the chance of cuttings taking root. It comes in a powder and is easy to find at most garden shops and online.
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- Ryan rolls the lower end of the cutting in powdered rooting hormone and taps the stem to remove the excess. Then, he sticks the lower end of the cutting into the rooting medium. He presses it firmly just enough to make it stand up straight.
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- This is just the first batch of cuttings. When complete, this entire cold frame will be filled with growing boxwood. It can take up to three months before roots appear.
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- Keeping the cuttings here in the cold frame will ensure they get lots of warmth and access to indirect sunlight. They will also be kept moist to encourage growth.
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- Ryan gives all the newly potted cuttings a good and thorough drink. These cuttings will remain here through the winter and then be transplanted in the outdoor “nursery” garden once they have well-established roots. And in two to three years, they will be beautiful shrubs ready to place in the gardens!
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- One can tell the cuttings have rooted if there is a slight resistance when gently pulling on the stem, or if new roots or growth can be seen from the bottom of the pot. It will be exciting to see how these look in the new year!
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