Caring for the Boxwood at My Farm
Our summer gardening season is very busy - my outdoor grounds crew is working hard to keep everything looking its best, especially during these extremely hot, humid days of summer.
As you know, I love boxwood, Buxus, and have hundreds growing all over my Bedford, New York farm. Unfortunately, this last winter took a toll on a number of these precious shrubs. Despite covering all the boxwood with burlap, some of these specimens became brown and discolored - a condition called "winter kill". Broad-leafed evergreens such as boxwood, hollies and rhododendrons can often suffer this kind of damage because they have more exposed leaf area than evergreens with thin needles. Most of those with "winter kill" recovered very well in spring, while others needed heavy pruning, and in a couple cases, complete replacement.
Here are some photos - enjoy.
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- Here is my long Boxwood Allee leading to my stable. All these boxwoods are well covered in winter to protect them from the elements. I am happy to say, these look very lush and green – only a couple in this long allee suffered “winter kill”.
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- Unfortunately, the damaged shrubs did not look as great after the burlap was removed. Evergreen leaves and needles can dry out and die in winter because the roots could not absorb water from the frozen soil.
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- Cold, blistery winds can also dry out leaf tissue. We had some very frigid days here in the Northeast last winter.
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- Warm spells in late winter can also cause problems. Warmth and sunlight trigger the leaves to start photosynthesis, which uses up water, but if the ground is still frozen, plant roots can’t absorb water to replenish the supply in the leaf tissues.
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- In most cases, the leaves were discolored but the buds were still alive, which means the branch is also still alive. Once the ground thawed in spring, we assessed all the boxwoods on the property to see which ones needed heavy pruning and which ones needed replacing.
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- Here is Phurba removing some of the discolored branches from this boxwood last spring. It is still very much alive and will need some time to get fully green again, but it should be okay.
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- After removing the discolored branches, Chhiring ties some of the healthy branches together to give the shrub some shape as it grows.
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- We use this soft but strong, flat three-quarter inch strap material for staking trees and plants. This will hold the branches together without damaging them. You can get this material online or at specialty nurseries.
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- Chhiring ties simple knots within the shrub – just tight enough to keep them together.
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- The boxwood now looks full and well shaped – it will get even better in time.
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- A few of the boxwoods that suffered “winter kill” needed to be completely removed from their locations.
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- Here is one spot near my Winter House where a boxwood shrub was taken out. The hole is now being prepped for its replacement. Always dig the new hole twice as wide as the root ball, but no deeper.
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- Once the new shrub is in the hole, the top of the root ball should be a half-inch higher than the soil surface. This is because boxwoods hate standing water. Phurba adds fertilizer, and backfills the surrounding area.
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- And then spreads about an inch of mulch over the root ball without piling too much mulch against the trunk.
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- Severely damaged boxwoods go to another area of the farm where they can be replanted and hopefully nurtured back to good health.
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- I designated an area down by my tennis court as the “hospital”. Here are Dawa and Chhiring preparing the hole for a recovering boxwood.
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- The shrub is replanted and given a very thorough watering.
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- I always try to help these precious specimens first. Other boxwoods have recovered well in this location. Hopefully this one will also.
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- Around the farm, all the boxwoods are looking full and green once again. When caring for boxwoods, always water deeply, as frequent, shallow irrigation will not reach the root zone of the growing boxwood.
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- These boxwoods surrounding my herbaceous peony bed are all growing so well. They did not suffer any damage this year at all.
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- These boxwoods are just outside my Winter House – not far from the peonies. Some of these did need some heavy pruning, but they are looking very strong. It is interesting to see that some areas were much more affected than others.
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- Across from my Winter House, we replaced a couple boxwood shrubs – this one is settling in very nicely.
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- And remember the small, young boxwoods along my pergola that we planted last fall? They are all doing great – all of them survived the cold winter. Properly mulching the shallow-rooted boxwood helps retain moisture and keep roots cool. Growing boxwoods should have a two to three-inch layer of mulch.
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- With all the boxwoods here at the farm, I know covering them in winter is the best way to care for them and to keep them in good condition. How did your boxwoods do this year? Share your thoughts below.
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