Box Faulkner Potted Hedging 10/12in 25/35cm

Box hedges – compare the different types and choose the right variety.
Box hedges are integral to the fabric of so many beautiful gardens, this family of small growing evergreen hedging plants look great in all seasons and can provide the backbone for many garden designs.

At Hopes Grove Nurseries we only grow the most reliable varieties, summarised briefly on this page, you can click on the photos below for full details:

Common Box (Buxus sempervirens) is the most popular variety, this versatile hedge can be kept at any size from 30cm to several metres – English Yew is the only other species with such versatility. No other hedging species can compete with these two classic hedging plants, it’s no coincidence that they are often seen together.

Dwarf Box (Buxus microphylla ‘Rococo’) we sell this variety of Buxus microphylla as an alternative to the traditional Dwarf Box (Buxus sempervirens ‘Suffruticosa) which has been badly affected by Box blight in recent years. ‘Rococo’ grows into a tiny hedge of comparable size but with some resistance.

Faulkner Box (Buxus microphylla ‘Faulkner’) is a favourite here at Hopes Grove, the more rounded leaves are emerald green in colour looking fresh and healthy all year. Less susceptible to Box blight in our experience.

Golden Box (Buxus microphylla ‘Golden Triumph’) is another microphylla variety that again seems to have less susceptibility to blight, the plants always look good on the nursery beds. An attractive variety similar to ‘Faulkner’ but with a colourful golden edging to the leaves.

Variegated Box (Buxus sempervirens ‘Elegantissima’) the variegated Box makes a departure from the traditional Box hedge with attractive creamy white margins on the leaves, looks great against other dark green plants.

All types of box hedges have small leaves making them excellent topiary specimens (you can view our range of top quality Box topiary plants here) and perfectly suited to small ornamental hedges, although slow growing most types of Box will grow into medium or even taller evergreen hedges with patience. Common box, so often seen growing as a hedge of knee-high proportions can grow to several metres and develop into one of the densest and most impenetrable of all evergreen hedges.

Box hedges come in a variety of leaf colours, from the classic deep green glossy leaves of Common Box, the refreshing emerald green of ‘Faulkner’ and ‘Rococo’, both of which provide contrast against the creamy white markings of Variegated Box and the golden yellow edging on the showy foliage of ‘Golden Triumph’. For low ornamental hedge designs, the possibilities are limited only by the imagination.

Box hedges are easy to grow needing no great level of gardening experience, these little plants are eager to please. Plant them in any kind of soil that doesn’t get wet or waterlogged and in any spot from full sun to dense shade, and they will grow. Slowly but surely developing into bushy little shrubs that will conform to any shape you choose, the more they are trimmed and shaped, the more they respond by bushing out with flushes of new growth in all the right places.

All varieties of Box hedges will grow in any type of soil including clay and chalk, their only real dislike is wet, waterlogged soil where you would be well advised to choose a species from out list of hedges for wet soil.

Box hedges are surface rooting, their fleshy white roots are found very close to the surface and really do appreciate having a generous quantity of organic matter added to the planting site, materials such as well rotted garden compost of manure are both ideal and should be well mixed as should a sparing amount of slow releasing bone meal fertiliser. We also recommend adding Rootgrow mycorrhizal fungi at planting time, these native and naturally occurring fungi are necessary for healthy establishment but take time to colonise the roots of your new hedge naturally, by adding Rootgrow you are greatly speeding up the process and getting your new Box hedge off to the very best start.

If you haven’t planted a hedge before, or just need some extra guidance, we have a useful how to plant a hedge page that you might find useful. We will also send a printed copy of the downloadable PDF with your plants, so you have it handy.

All types of Box hedges should be trimmed in early summer, according to tradition this was always done on Derby Day (first Saturday in June) when the man of the house left instructions. (presumably to be followed in his absence while he was away enjoying the sport of kings on the Epsom Downs). This is still good advice, once the first flush of growth is finished we would recommend choosing an overcast, dry and breezy day as this will allow the cut edges to dry quickly drastically reducing the opportunity for fungal diseases to enter the hedge. Choosing an overcast day will also reduce the chances of the newly exposed faces of the hedge from being scorched. The best tool to use when trimming a Box hedge is a sharp pair of hedge shears, a hedge trimmer can be used but again, make sure it is sharp so that it cuts cleanly, blunt tools will tend to leave many unnecessary ragged edges that could allow fungal spores to germinate.

Box hedges are available in a range of root types

Bare root Box hedge plants are field grown in the soil, during the dormant winter season from November until April they are lifted, and all the soil is shaken off to leave the extensive Box root system. These plants are then carefully packed to protect them and stop them from drying, delivered to you fresh and ready for planting. Bare root Box hedge plants need no compost or pots to produce them and are therefore the cheapest way of establishing a new hedge because they are a low input crop. This is a tried and tested production method and we sell literally tens of thousands of these beautiful bushy little plants each year, the ‘traditional’ economy hedging plant purchase that should be planted within a few days of reciept.

Root ball Box hedge plants are grown in our fields at a much wider spacing for a number of years to produce a much larger and more developed plant. They are lifted by our specialist machine root balling machine with the immediate soil and root system which is then wrapped in hessian to protect it. The hessian should then be left on when they are planted as it will rot away naturally while ensuring the root ball remains intact. Root ball Box hedging plants are perfect for more instant results at a comparatively modest cost, they can be trimmed and shaped immediately after planting to give the appearance of an almost instant hedge. Root ball Box hedging plants are available when dormant from October until early May which is the correct time for planting. Root ball plants should be planted within a few days of receipt.

Pot grown Box hedging plants are grown and delivered in pots, grown in compost instead of soil, there is no root disturbance and these plants can therefore be planted all year round with excellent success. We pick our top-quality Box hedging plants daily from our growing beds, packing them carefully and despatching them to customers the same day to ensure you always receive fresh top-quality plants.

Instant Box hedges are grown in 1 metre troughs for several years here on our own nursery and undergo a disciplined programme of clipping and feeding under the watchful eyes of our horticulturalist team to produce a product that give immediate landscape impact. This is the fastest route to having an established Box hedge in your garden. Instant Box hedges are available all year round for planting because, like the potted plants, there is no root disturbance, simply remove the trough, plant into a pre-prepared trench, backfill and water well.

Delivery is fast and free on most orders over £50 (ex VAT) in our main delivery area. Root ball and instant Box hedge plants are delivered on pallets because of their size and weight, delivery is still free, but we need a minimum order of £200 (ex VAT) to cover our costs which can be made up from any combination of plants in our range. You can find more information on our delivery page.

You can order securely here on our website or call our experienced sales team on 01580 765600 who will be pleased to take your order and answer any other questions you may have. We offer generous quantity discounts for larger numbers of plants and these discounts are applied automatically but if you are contemplating a large number of Box hedge plants over £1000 please get in touch for a bespoke discounted quote.

You can find all the varieties of Box hedges we have for sale by clicking on the links below, or scroll further down the page for more information about Box hedging plants.

Orders are being despatched within 3-5 working days, delivery is 1-2 days after we despatch.

Delivery is free for most orders above our free delivery thresholds, these are displayed above our prices in the product listings and summarized below. If you don’t need that many plants it’s not a problem, you can choose to pay our delivery charge and only order what you need.

Delivery is convenient – no signature is required so you don’t need to wait in, we will leave your parcel in the safe place that you nominate.

Delivery is fast – because we pick orders daily from our own growing beds your plants only travel the small hop to our packing shed before being sent to you, they are usually delivered within 5-7 working days.

Delivery is reliable – we have been selling and delivering Hedging Plants to our customers nationwide since 1992. We have a lot of experience in packing them safely and only use tried and tested delivery partners.

Smaller Plants (Parcel Delivery)

Heavy Plants (Pallet Delivery)

Tall Plants 2.5m+ (Specialist Delivery)

Exceptions to our delivery charges are Scottish Highland and Isle of Wight delivery areas where we need to charge a little extra to cover the cost of deliveries to these outlying areas. We don’t currently delivery to other offshore addresses including Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland.

Tall plants over 2.5 metres have to be delivered by our own specialised transport, our delivery area is limited to mainland England and Wales only.

Please note there is a minimum order value of £50 for orders containing smaller plants and £250 for orders containing heavier plants

Complete delivery information can be viewed on our Delivery Information page