![]() The options are there, so good luck… and let me know if you find anything else that works well. None of them clip like boxwood, or create that wonderful reflection of light across the planes you have cut, but if you choose carefully you can find something that will work for your garden – yew, if you allow it to grow to a decent size, lavender if it is dry, teucrium for wildlife… So lots of choice to look at, if you need an alternative to boxwood as a hedging plant. Plenty Of Alternatives To Boxwood Hedging Plants The same can be said for Rosemary too, especially an upright variety if using for a low hedge. If conditions are warm and dry, this is perfect. I love the ‘ever-silver’ look if pruned to a mound, or clump, for the winter. Lavender – why not? A classic plant that brings fragrance to the garden too. Boxwood ( if you time it right) will need just one cut. Maintenance can be an issue – it grows so fast you may need to cut it three times a year to keep it looking good and in shape. Clips ok, looks fine, a robust plant that suits some gardens. One of the reasons it is known as ‘poor man’s box’. Just take cuttings in spring and whack them in the ground, and it will grow. Lonicera nitida – if you want a hedge cheap and quick, this is the plant. Useful, pest-free, but I would use it somewhere away from the patio, where you won’t see it up close. Up close, as I wandered down the road, the leaves had a little inward curl to them, the effect making the plant look thirsty and dehydrated. (As a side note – Teucrium x lucidrys was common for parterres in the past, but I prefer the flowers of the fruticans…)Įuonymus japonicus ‘Green Spire’ – funny little shrub, I saw it planted all down a street in London and from a distance I thought it looked amazing. ![]() If I was going to grow anything as an alternative to boxwood, this is the one I would choose right now – nectar filled flowers and a little more looseness in its habit, to suit a relaxed modern garden… But the major plus point for using it as an alternative to boxwood in a parterre or hedge, is that it provides a huge amount of nectar filled flowers that honeybees and bumbles love. But it does reflect sunlight, it does stay low, it does clip well and I think it is much hardier than the books suggest (especially when established). Teucrium fruticans – this I can get on board with! A scraggly plant that throws its limbs around, not wanting to be tamed – so keep away from it if you want control and formality. Osmanthus – great plant, but not for hedging… make it into a topiary and enjoy the fragrance. Again, another plant that wants to grow a little bigger and keeping it low makes it feel too tamed, too depressed. Phillyrea – prefer as a topiary not a low hedge. It doesn’t clip well either, it takes a lot of effort. For me, it seems like it should replace boxwood as one of the alternatives, but is too fussy and the leaf does not reflect the light as beautifully as it should. Ilex crenata – considered something of a weed in Japan, too everyday, this little holly is expensive if you buy in the UK. To see it used in a luxurious way, check out the yew parterre Dan Pearson has created at Lowther Castle – this feels modern, because of its height and depth, but Taxus is such a classic plant it looks like a great fit with the old castle and surrounding buildings – Dan Pearson, Lowther Castle.) It feels depressing, like watching a bear rocking back and forth on its heels in a zoo… it wants to go, to move, expand its horizons… for me, yew needs to be grown on a wider, taller scale so does not make a great low hedge replacement for boxwood. ![]() ![]() Yew – I love Taxus, it is a brilliant plant for hedges and clips so well, as well as being flexible enough to shape into all kinds of strange and abstract ways.īut as an alternative to a boxwood hedge, I don’t like it – specifically, I don’t like seeing yew cut and kept too small. (So if you do check it out, come back here to get another opinion…) You can check out this list from Gardeners’ World magazine, which has photos… but I am not sure all of the suggestions are particularly good, especially if you need an alternative to boxwood for a low hedge or parterre. Their research and hard work has meant all is not lost in the fight to rid the UK of this bug…) Alternatives to Boxwood For Hedges (For more information on the boxwood caterpillar, visit the European Boxwood & Topiary Society website. Mar 15 Alternatives To Boxwood For HedgesĪlternatives to boxwood are hard to come by – nothing has the small, easy to clip, reflective leaf of a boxwood shrub.īut as we reach April and the boxwood caterpillar begins to wake up, hungry to defoliate our boxwood topiaries and hedges, you may wonder what plant you can use as a replacement in the garden should the worst happen – and the caterpillar destroys all!
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