Japanese Boxwood
Boxwood is a plant that is used for topiary (shaping), yes it is used to make the fun animal shapes in fancy gardens.
Boxwood are native to a continents except Australia and Antarctica, but not all areas of each continent. The boxwood thrives in subtropical or tropical areas which makes Houston a great area to live being humid subtropical. They are slow-growing evergreen shrubs or small trees, they grow around ½ inch per year. There are around 90 different species of Boxwood and each species grows to different heights so it is important to choose the correct one to fulfill your needs. The average range is between 3 and 8 feet, but some species can reach 20 feet tall. Boxwood enjoys to be grown in soil that is slightly acidic with good drainage. Mulching boxwood keeps moisture below the surface providing water to the shallow root structure. Use shredded hardwoods that raise pH levels as it decays, also keep the mulch layer to under 2” to avoid rodents nesting.. l Their leaves grow opposite each other on the stem, being round or lanceolate (spear like), leathery, and typically small in size. They do flower and propagate fruit, but they are very small and insignificant boxwood is selected as a good landscape plant because of its foliage. Boxwood is relatively deer resistant due to certain alkaloids that make them distasteful or poisonous.
Boxwood is a very dense wood actually more dense than water, so it will not float. Due to its fine grain and resistance to chipping boxwood has been used to form ornamental items, being limited to it small size. Such items include jewelry boxes, combs, handles for dirks and daggers, tailpiece, chinrest for musical instruments, tuning pegs, and wood blocks for printing in in early european eras. This is interesting to think that the ornamental shrub outside your home could have changed history in a way. It’s ancestors could have been used for a dagger that killed an important person, or a part of a musical instrument of a famous composer, or even used to print influential literature.
Boxwood are native to a continents except Australia and Antarctica, but not all areas of each continent. The boxwood thrives in subtropical or tropical areas which makes Houston a great area to live being humid subtropical. They are slow-growing evergreen shrubs or small trees, they grow around ½ inch per year. There are around 90 different species of Boxwood and each species grows to different heights so it is important to choose the correct one to fulfill your needs. The average range is between 3 and 8 feet, but some species can reach 20 feet tall. Boxwood enjoys to be grown in soil that is slightly acidic with good drainage. Mulching boxwood keeps moisture below the surface providing water to the shallow root structure. Use shredded hardwoods that raise pH levels as it decays, also keep the mulch layer to under 2” to avoid rodents nesting.. l Their leaves grow opposite each other on the stem, being round or lanceolate (spear like), leathery, and typically small in size. They do flower and propagate fruit, but they are very small and insignificant boxwood is selected as a good landscape plant because of its foliage. Boxwood is relatively deer resistant due to certain alkaloids that make them distasteful or poisonous.
Boxwood is a very dense wood actually more dense than water, so it will not float. Due to its fine grain and resistance to chipping boxwood has been used to form ornamental items, being limited to it small size. Such items include jewelry boxes, combs, handles for dirks and daggers, tailpiece, chinrest for musical instruments, tuning pegs, and wood blocks for printing in in early european eras. This is interesting to think that the ornamental shrub outside your home could have changed history in a way. It’s ancestors could have been used for a dagger that killed an important person, or a part of a musical instrument of a famous composer, or even used to print influential literature.