Elegans Variegated Boxwood

Buxus sempervirens ‘Elegantissima’

Plant Details

USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 6a-8b Find Your Zone

Plant Type: Evergreen Shrub

Height at Maturity: 2.5-5′ depending on pruning

Width at Maturity: 2-4′ depending on pruning

Growth Habit / Form: Dense, Upright, Pyramidal

Growth Rate: Slow to Moderate

Flower Color: Pale Green

Flower Size: Tiny, inconspicuous

Flowering Period: Spring

Flower Type: NA

Fragrant Flowers: NA

Foliage Color: Variegated Green and Cream to Creamy Yellow

Fragrant Foliage: No

Berries: No

Berry Color: NA

Sun Needs: Full Sun or Mostly Sun, Morning Sun with Dappled or Afternoon Shade, Morning Shade with Evening Sun

Water Needs: Average, Low when established

Soil Type: Clay, Loam, Sandy, Silty

Soil Moisture / Drainage: Well Drained Moist to Somewhat Dry

Soil pH: 5.5 – 6.5

Maintenance / Care: Low

Attracts: Visual Attention

Resistances: Deer, Disease, Drought, Heat, Insect

Description

Exceptionally versatile, the Elegans Boxwood is one you can let grow natural to its open and “elegant” pyramidal form, or it can be sheared tightly to interesting topiary shapes including globe, pyramid, column, mound or oval. Elegans features bright variegated foliage with oval, evergreen that are medium green with broad creamy white and or sift yellow margins. If left to grow natural the plant will grow to maybe 5 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide however can be maintained at half that size with occasional pruning. Plants will typically mature to 5’ tall by 4’ wide over the first 15 years unless pruned shorter.The variegated white leaves with green centers will light up your landscape. A wonderful color and texture contrast just about anywhere in the landscape that gets 3 hours or more of direct sun, maintaining its bright color even in partially shaded areas.

Landscape & Garden Uses

Growing in an upright pyramidal form from 2.5 to 5 feet tall and 2 to 4 feet wide depending on pruning, the Elegans Boxwood is ideal for planting on either side of the front door or to accentuate other entryways or as a bright accent in smaller garden spaces and perfect for use in pots, planters and other containers 12 inches or more in diameter. Also ideal for use as a colorful natural or clipped formal hedge or as a specimen or grouping in landscape borders or home foundation plantings. A fine addition to white theme gardens and formal gardens but also nice left to grow natural in woodland borders.

Suggested Spacing: 2 to 2.5 feet apart for solid hedge; 6 feet or more apart for space between plants

Note: For our customers who live and garden north of USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 6a, where this Boxwood variety is not reliably winter hardy, you’ll be happy to know it can be grown in containers that can be brought indoors during winter and placed back outside when temperatures warm up in spring.

Growing Preferences

The Elegans Boxwood is easy to grow when planted right, and in the right spot. It adapts to most soil types and likes full sun or part shade, preferring afternoon shade or filtered sun in warmer climates of the South. It prefers a moist but well-drained soil and will only need supplemental water during prolonged periods of dry weather. As with many other plants, a constantly soggy or wet soil can be problematic, so make sure the planting site is a well-drained one.

Helpful Articles

Click on a link below to find helpful advice from our experts on how to plant and care for Boxwood shrubs.

How To Plant A Boxwood Shrub

How To Fertilize And Water A Boxwood Shrub

How To Prune A Boxwood Shrub

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