Boxwood shrubs, with their dense evergreen foliage, are popular choices for landscape design, providing structure and year-round interest. Companion planting with boxwoods enhances their visual appeal and contributes to a more dynamic and healthy garden environment by strategically selecting other plants to grow alongside them.
Why Companion Plant with Boxwoods?
Incorporating companion plants with boxwoods offers several advantages. It enhances the garden’s visual appeal by introducing diverse colors, textures, and forms that contrast with boxwood’s uniform greenery.
Companion planting also improves garden biodiversity, attracting beneficial insects like pollinators and deterring common pests. This approach contributes to a more ecologically balanced and resilient garden, reducing the need for chemical interventions.
Key Considerations for Companion Plant Selection
Choosing appropriate companion plants for boxwoods requires careful consideration of their environmental needs. Boxwoods thrive in well-drained soil and prefer neutral to slightly alkaline pH levels (6.5-7.5). While they tolerate partial shade, boxwoods perform best with 4 to 6 hours of direct sunlight daily, benefiting from afternoon shade in hotter climates.
When selecting companions, prioritize plants with similar requirements for sun, soil drainage, and water. Match mature sizes to prevent overcrowding and ensure good air circulation. Also, consider each plant’s color, texture, and form to create visual interest and complement the boxwood’s structured appearance.
Recommended Companion Plants for Boxwoods
A wide array of plants can complement boxwoods, offering diverse textures and colors.
Flowering Perennials
Flowering perennials provide vibrant seasonal displays. Peonies offer large, eye-catching blooms that contrast with boxwood’s foliage. Lavender, with its fragrant purple flowers and silvery foliage, is another choice, as both prefer well-drained soil and full sun. Coneflowers add height and attract pollinators, while hellebores provide early spring color.
Ornamental Grasses
Ornamental grasses introduce a soft, airy texture. Japanese forest grass, with its graceful, arching foliage, thrives in moist, well-drained soil and partial shade.
Evergreen Shrubs
Evergreen shrubs create a cohesive look. Hydrangeas offer bursts of color against the evergreen backdrop, with some varieties preferring partial shade and moist soil. Smaller evergreen conifers like junipers or nandina can also be used for mixed arrangements.
Annuals and Groundcovers
Annuals provide versatile options for continuous color. Petunias, begonias, and verbena offer vibrant, long-lasting blossoms, effective in containers or as foreground plantings. For groundcovers, creeping thyme fills spaces with fragrant, low-growing foliage, and Japanese spurge forms a dense, dark green carpet that suppresses weeds and thrives in partial to full shade.
Planting and Care for Boxwood Combinations
Proper planting and ongoing care are important for the health of boxwood and its companion plants. When establishing a new planting, ensure adequate spacing for mature size and good air circulation. After planting, deep watering helps establish roots and settle the soil. For the first 18 months, newly planted boxwoods typically require about one inch of water per week from rain or irrigation.
Boxwoods prefer easily draining soil; good drainage is essential to prevent root rot. Fertilization is often not necessary, but if desired, a balanced fertilizer can be applied in late fall or early spring near the plant’s drip line. Applying a 2 to 3-inch layer of mulch around the plants helps conserve soil moisture, regulate soil temperature, and suppress weeds, benefiting both boxwoods and their companions.
Plants to Avoid Near Boxwoods
Some plants are not ideal companions for boxwoods due to differing cultural needs or potential negative interactions. Avoid planting them with species that require highly acidic conditions, such as rhododendrons or mountain laurel.
Plants with aggressive root systems or vigorous growth can outcompete boxwoods for water and nutrients, hindering their growth. Additionally, certain plants can host diseases that may spread to boxwoods. For example, Japanese spurge (Pachysandra) and sweetbox (Sarcococca) are in the same plant family and can host boxwood blight, a serious fungal disease. If boxwood blight is confirmed in an area, these alternative hosts should also be avoided. Also, avoid planting boxwoods under the dense shade of large trees.