• Eventual height: 5m
  • Eventual spread: 5m

Buxus sempervirens

common box

5 year guarantee Perfect for pollinators
9cm pot | 10 - 15cm tall £6.99
RH30003477
£6.99
PL30002103
£41.94 £24.99
PL30008194
£38.97 £27.99
PL30003810
£64.95 £49.99
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  • Standard £5.95
  • Named Day £10.95
  • Position: Full sun or partial shade
  • Soil: Moderately fertile, moist but well-drained soil
  • Rate of growth: Slow
  • Hardiness: Fully hardy


Common box makes a fabulous topiary specimen or formal hedge for a partially shady site, forming a dense, evergreen screen of small, rounded, lustrous, dark green leaves. One of our recommended plants, it's an excellent backdrop for traditional herbaceous borders.

Box is happy growing in a sunny spot but the combination of dry soil and full sun may encourage poor growth and leaf scorching. If you have sandy soil, it is best to keep it in a partially shady spot in the garden. For maximum results plant hedging plants at 30cm (12in) intervals.

To find out more about how to plant a hedge, click here


  • Garden care:
    Plant out into well-prepared, fertile soil and water regularly until well established. Ensure that the soil or compost is never allowed to dry out. Trim plants grown as hedges or topiary in mid- or late summer. If you want to maintain a really precise outline, then you can clip it twice a year - once in June, and then again in August/September. Apply a top-dressing of a balanced slow-release fertiliser such as blood, fish and bone (organic) or Osmocote (inorganic) around the base of the plant in spring, making sure that none touches the leaves or stems.
    • Pets: Harmful if eaten
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