Many of you have been dealing with Boxwood Blight and other pathogens infecting boxwood plants in your landscapes or nurseries. This disease is one that can be quite devastating to boxwoods and end up being difficult and costly to manage.
Here are some plants to consider as alternatives;
Gem Box Inkberry. This is a native inkberry holly (Ilex glabra) that looks more like a boxwood. It stays compact and somewhat dwarf in growth habit; has good dark green foliage with some bright red new growth in the Spring; and is tolerant of most soils that we have in NC.
The plants can be purchased from nurseries that carry Proven Winner selections or liners purchased from Spring Meadow.
Strongbox Inkberry. Another compact Inkberry holly that stays compact and needs very little pruning; this holly can be an excellent choice for replacing boxwoods as it lacks any of the disease issues that plague our boxwood.
Juke Box® Pyracomeles. This plant is an intergeneric hybrid released by our own NCSU breeder; Dr. Tom Ranney. It is a hybrid between Pyracantha and Ostseomelis, that has a form similar to boxwoods and Japanese Hollies. While it is semi-evergreen and does have small white flowers it has the potential to be an excellent alternative to boxwoods. The only drawback is that its maximum size will be about 3’ x 3’ .
NewGen Independence and Freedom Boxwood. These are 2 new selections of Buxus that are showing considerable improvement over the typical English Boxwoods. While not entirely resistant to Boxwood Blight they are showing considerable improvement and tolerance as well as resistance to Boxwood Leaf Miner. Both of these have been released by Sanders Genetics (Sanders Nursery).
Consider looking at the various options that we have when you are looking to replace boxwood plants in your landscape sites. Try to use more than one species to reduce the monoculture effect that we often encounter when using the same species in the designs.
