Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) is a landscape favorite that offers evergreen foliage, deer resistance, and is easily sculpted into topiaries – just about any shape imaginable – and hedges. Boxwood is also a favorite green at holiday time, used to make wreaths, garlands and long-lasting arrangements. I just love a bunch of boxwood in a basket – so simple, easy, and yet so festive. It doesn’t even need a bow or shiny ornaments. But boxwood has some enemies: boxwood blight and box tree moth – both of which are devastating and require constant spray treatments. If you have had boxwood blight or box tree moth attack your plants, or are looking for evergreens to add to your landscape, it is time to consider alternatives to boxwood as these issues appear to be here to stay.
As much as I love boxwood, fortunately, there are a number of alternative evergreen shrubs that can ease the pain of losing this landscape and holiday favorite.
New York State Integrated Pest Management at the Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences offers a number of suggestions. Some are native, others are non-native.
Bayberry needs full sun to part shade to thrive and is deer resistant. It is a New York State native. Female plants produce a small, waxy, grey-colored fruit which was traditionally used to make bayberry candles – another holiday tradition.
Dwarf Hinoki Cypress prefers full sun and is deer resistant. The dwarf variety is the one to choose as other varieties can get very large. The leaves have interesting texture.
Two of the most appealing alternatives are hollies which have foliage very similar to boxwood. Inkberry holly is a New York native plant and prefers full sun to part-shade. It is deer resistant. Cornell notes that the ‘Gem Box’ cultivar has small boxwood-like leaves and a dwarf habit.
Another holly to consider is Japanese holly, which needs full sun to part-shade. Deer resistant, it has dark green boxwood-like leaves. Cornell says this variety of holly can be pruned just like boxwood to create formal shapes or hedges.
Plum yew is an evergreen that is shade tolerant and deer resistant. It has needle-shaped leaves and tolerates pruning to maintain a formal appearance.
Blue holly likes full sun to part-shade. It has dark green leaves with a typical holly shape.
University of Georgia Extension also has suggestions for boxwood substitutes which include some non-traditional alternatives. They suggest plants such as Yucca, something totally different than boxwood, but a plant with varieties that can withstand cold winters. Switchgrass, which is hardy to Zone 3, is another suggestion made by the University of Georgia, as is Holly fern, which is hardy to Zone 6.
The University of Georgia Extension additionally warns against using certain plants.
These include Japanese spirea and Japanese barberry, which are invasive. They also advise to avoid Boxleaf euonymus, which is prone to scale insects.
