Friday, May 21, 2010

a bulletproof boxwood



The front of my house is a cottage garden and for years I've been fantasizing about putting boxwoods in it, but haven't because of the site-a hot sunny western exposure and frigid winds from the lake almost guarantee winter burn and that awful orangey yellow color they get from too much exposure.

But, I think there's hope in sight. This fall I planted 'north star'; a boxwood introduced by Proven Winners that is reported to withstand tough conditions. As an experiment, I planted one in a container and four out in the front garden. At the end of winter, there was a very slight yellowing on the new growth that quickly grew out, and the foliage was rich and dark green. 'North Star' has a mature height of 3'-a good size for a small garden. If you're looking around for a bulletproof boxwood, this one is a winner!

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