20 Types of Boxwood Shrubs for Landscaping

Common Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens)

Along with types of littleleaf boxwood and Korean boxwood, this type is what you are most likely to see in people's landscapes (whether as the straight species or as a hybrid or cultivar). Common boxwood is also called "American boxwood," but that is a misnomer: The species is actually indigenous to Europe.

Common boxwood has a slow growth rate. As a relatively tall-growing type, common boxwood is suitable for hedges where you need good height (for privacy). The problem is that, since it's a slow grower, you'll have to wait a while for your hedge unless you buy mature plants (which is costly). It has a rounded shape (if kept trimmed) and is average in both heat and cold tolerance.

• Native Area: Western and southern Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa
• USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 8
• Height: 5 to 20 feet
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade

Japanese Boxwood (Buxus microphylla var. japonica)

Japanese boxwood is a variety of littleleaf boxwood. It is more heat-tolerant than B. sempervirens, making it a good choice for the South. Its leaves may become bronzy in winter. It has a slow growth rate. Its variegated cultivar is 'Borderline,' which has dark green leaves with golden edges.

• Native Area: Far East
• USDA Growing Zones: 6 to 9
• Height: 6 to 8.5 feet (with a greater width)
• Sun Exposure: Partial sun to partial shade

Korean Boxwood (Buxus sinica)

Korean boxwood is similar to Japanese boxwood. Like B. microphylla (the species name means "little-leaf"), B. sinica has smaller leaves than B. sempervirens; the plants, themselves also tend to be smaller. In fact, the plant is sometimes used to create bonsai. It has a slow growth rate, meaning you won't have to trim it much (an important consideration if you want a low-maintenance landscape).

• Native Area: Far East
• USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 9
• Height: 2 to 10 feet (with a width twice that)
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial sun

Dwarf Korean Boxwood (Buxus sinica var. insularis 'Nana')

A variety within the Buxus sinica group is var. insularis; all shrubs of this variety exhibit extra cold-hardiness. But there are also cultivars within the variety with varying features that will help you choose between them. The 'Nana' cultivar is a dwarf. Use it to make one of those small hedges popular as borders in formal landscape design. A nice feature of 'Nana' is its resistance to pests and diseases.

• Native Area: Species native to Far East
• USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 8
• Height: 1 to 2 feet
• Sun Exposure: Partial sun to partial shade (full sun may scorch it)

Wintergreen Boxwood (Buxus sinica var. insularis 'Wintergreen')

Koreans boxwoods within the insularis variety all develop a bronzy coloration in winter, but 'Wintergreen' takes that coloration to another level. It grows more quickly than B. sempervirens, making it a good hedge choice for those who can't wait.

• Native Area: Species native to Far East
• USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 9
• Height: 2 to 4 feet (with a slightly greater spread)
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial sun

Winter Gem Boxwood (Buxus sinica var. insularis ‘Winter Gem’)

This rounded shrub is a slow grower. It is perhaps best known for retaining its green color better during the winter (a plus for those who don't care for the bronzy look that others in this species get). It also rates highly on pest resistance.

• Native Area: Species native to Far East
• USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 9
• Height: 2 to 3 feet
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade

English Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens 'Suffruticosa')

This is a dwarf cultivar of common boxwood. It is a slow-growing, rounded shrub and very resistant to boxwood leaf miner, a major pest for the Buxus genus. Give it shelter from strong winds.

• Native Area: Species native to western and southern Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa
• USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 8
• Height: 2 to 3 feet
• Sun Exposure: Partial sun to partial shade

Variegated Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens 'Variegata')

This variegated cultivar of common boxwood has a rounded shape. It is slow-growing. The leaf centers are green; the margins start out white in spring, turn creamy in early summer, and end up light yellow.

• Native Area: Species native to western and southern Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa
• USDA Growing Zones: 6 to 8
• Height: 3 to 5 feet
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade

Golden-Edged Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens 'Aureomarginata')

The cultivar name of Buxus sempervirens 'Aureomarginata' literally means "golden-edged," but the leaf margins of this variegated boxwood are actually more of an off-white color than golden for most of the summer; the golden color comes only at the end of summer. It has a slow growth rate and a rounded habit. Like other types of boxwood, boxwoods of this cultivar can be trained into "standards," exposing their trunks and making them look more like small trees than shrubs

• Native Area: Species native to western and southern Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa
• USDA Growing Zones: 6 to 8
• Height: 8 to 10 feet
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade

Columnar Boxwoods

A few cultivars of Buxus sempervirens grow with a columnar form. These include:

• 'Graham Blandy': 5 to 15 feet high x 1 to 4 feet wide; zones 5 to 9; partial sun; fairly slow grower
• 'Dee Runk': 8 feet tall x 2.5 feet wide; zones 6 to 8; full sun to partial shade; fast grower
• 'Fastigiata': 10 to 12 feet tall x 4 to 5 feet wide; zones 6 to 8; partial sun to partial shade; slow grower; bluish-green foliage

All look good at house corners in a foundation planting.

• Native Area: Species native to western and southern Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa
• USDA Growing Zones: Varies by cultivar
• Height: Varies by cultivar
• Sun Exposure: Varies by cultivar

Pyramidal Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens 'Pyramidalis')

Pyramidal boxwood naturally forms a cone shape, wider at the base and tapering to the top. It does not have to be trimmed to achieve this shape, making it a low-maintenance alternative. It has a slow growth rate and is a great choice for flanking driveway entrances.

• Native Area: Species native to western and southern Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa
• USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 8
• Height: 6 to 12 feet high, but only 2 to 3 feet wide
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial sun

Green Velvet Boxwood (Buxus sinica var. insularis x B. sempervirens 'Green Velvet')

With its especially dense, velvety foliage, 'Green Velvet' is a popular choice for creating topiaries such as this elephant. This hybrid is round-shaped. It holds up better than most to heat and humidity, so it's a good selection for gardeners in the South, regardless of whether they're interested in topiary.

• Native Area: Hybrid
• USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 9
• Height: 4 to 6 feet, with a spread slightly less than that
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial sun

Green Mountain Boxwood (Buxus 'Green Mountain')

An easier boxwood topiary to create is the spiral form, and the slow-growing hybrid, Green Mountain boxwood is a popular choice for carving such spirals because its foliage is particularly dense and retains its dark-green color, and because the form is, by nature, upright.

Whereas people use frames to create elaborate topiaries (animal forms, usually), all you need to create a spiral is pruners and some wide ribbon to mark where you want your spiral to go.

• Native Area: Hybrid
• USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 9
• Height: 5 feet at maturity
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
  

Sprinter Boxwood (Buxus microphylla 'Bulthouse')

An even easier topiary to make is a topiary ball (you can just "eyeball" it). Turn your boxwood into a standard and display the resultant lollipop as a focal point in your landscape design. 'Sprinter' is a rounded shrub that has a fast growth rate. This is important for some people in creating topiaries; shrubs with slower growth rates will seemingly take forever to fill in if you're in a hurry.

• Native Area: Species native to the Far East
• USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 9
• Height: 2 to 4 feet
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade

Vardar Valley (Buxus sempervirens 'Vardar Valley')

'Vardar Valley' is a strong selection for low hedges, such as those found in the "knot garden" (a formal garden laid out in an intricate design), growing twice as wide as it is long, with dense foliage. It is also disease resistant.

• Native Area: Species native to Western and southern Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa
• USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 8
• Height: 2 to 3 feet
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade

Bigleaf Boxwood (Buxus x 'Conrowe')

Boxwood is generally known for having small leaves. If you enjoy creating textural contrast in the garden, juxtapose larger-leaved plants next to your boxwood. But if you're really not a fan of the tiny leaves on the typical boxwood, you may want to grow the bigleaf type, which sports a more moderately-sized leaf.

• Native Area: Hybrid
• USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 8
• Height: 4 feet
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade

Glencoe (Buxus 'Glencoe')

'Glencoe' is a hybrid boxwood known for retaining its green color better than most during the winter (although some protection is still recommended). Another plus of this rounded shrub is its hardiness (to zone 4). Taken together, these traits make it a good choice for Northern gardeners. A drawback is that it is more susceptible to boxwood blight than many other types.

• Native Area: Hybrid
• USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 9
• Height: 3 to 4 feet
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial sun

Highlander Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens 'Highlander')

With its upright habit, good height, and fast growth rate, 'Highlander' is useful when you need a taller boxwood, whether it be as an accent to set off a hedge of shorter types or to form a tall hedge. Its fast growth rate is a tradeoff: Extra maintenance (trimming) in exchange for not having to wait so long for the finished product.

• Native Area: Species native to western and southern Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa
• USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 9
• Height: 7 feet
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial sun

Tree Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens 'Arborescens')

Tree boxwood, like the species plant it comes from, is taller than most, maturing to 15 feet, making it a great pick for evergreen privacy hedges. It has a slow growth rate (reducing maintenance) and an upright form.

• Native Area: Species native to western and southern Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa
• USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 8
• Height: 8 to 15 feet
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade

Littleleaf Boxwood (Buxus microphylla)

As you can see, there's a suitable type of boxwood shrub for just about every situation. What if you landscape in a seaside community? You have probably experienced some limitations in your plant selection, thanks to the deleterious effects of salt spray on many plants. Thankfully, littleleaf boxwood is salt-tolerant, making this rounded shrub a good choice for those who live near the ocean.

• Native Area: Far East
• USDA Growing Zones: 6 to 9
• Height: 3 to 4 feet
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade