Some types of boxwood shrubs don’t always hold their shape without a lot of skillful pruning to keep them tidy. Many older-generation boxwood varieties often grow into sparse, ragged shrubs that lose their shape and create eyesores instead of eye-catching displays. But there’s a new kid in town, Baby Gem Boxwood (Buxus microphylla var. japonica ‘Gregem’ BABY GEM™), introduced in 2010, this next-generation boxwood doesn’t need shearing to produce sheer perfection!
I. Appearance and Characteristics
Baby gem boxwood has a compact growth habit, having a mature height of 3 to 4 feet. As an evergreen species, it provides year-round interest in your garden even during the winter months. Known for its low-maintenance characteristics, baby gem boxwood is drought-tolerant, deer-resistant, and almost pest resistant.
The dense, green leaves of Baby gem boxwood provide a lush texture in a garden. Unlike other boxwood varieties, the foliage color doesn’t change, making it highly attractive during the winter season. The delicate leaves are small and smooth.
II. How to Grow and Care
Sunlight
Baby gem boxwood will appreciate light conditions ranging from full sun to partial shade. It prefers exposure to direct sunlight for about 6 hours a day. Adequate light will help produce dark green foliage.
If you live in a hot climate, plant your gem boxwood under part shade.
Temperature and Humidity
Baby Gem Boxwood is a low-growing shrub that’s cold hardy. It thrives in USDA growing zones 5 to 9 and can withstand cold temperatures as low as -20 to -10°F (-29 to -23°C).
Watering
Water the baby gem boxwoods regularly after planting. This will help the plant establish an extensive root system in the ground and at the same time prevent this outdoor plant from drying. Put a 2 to 3 inches layer of mulch on the soil to slow down moisture evaporation.
Once established, baby gem won’t need frequent watering because it tends to be drought tolerant. You’ll need to provide water only once a week.
Soil
The good thing about baby gem boxwood is that it’s adaptable to different types of soil. It can thrive in acidic, alkaline, and neutral pH. The only crucial thing is that it has to be well-drained soil.
You may need to amend it with organic compost to improve its fertility as baby gem prefers fertile soil.
Fertilizing
Baby gem isn’t a heavy feeder. But during the time of planting, you’ll have to amend the soil with a slow-release fertilizer like organic compost. The nutrients released from this will help your baby gem boxwoods grow well.
Repeat the application of the fertilizer in early Spring to boost its growth and help achieve the optimal plant size.
Pruning
Instead of heavy pruning, it’s best to thin out your boxwood baby gem to get rid of unwanted growth. You can also prune the container plant to achieve formal shapes like a rounded form or even other shapes. Don’t forget to prune the diseased, and aged portions, too.
You can prune any time of the year except for fall. If you do that, your baby gem boxwood will produce new growth and delicate leaves which will be susceptible to winter damage. And we want to avoid that.
Propagation
If you want to propagate, do so during the midsummer season. Planting stem cuttings is the best way to multiply a boxwood baby gem. Look for healthy stems then cut at least 3 to 4 inches of the tips. Remove the lower leaves.
You can dip the tip of each cutting into a rooting hormone to hasten the rooting process.
Plant the baby gem boxwood cuttings in a growing medium and moisten the soil. Cover the container with plastic to maintain high humidity. New growth on the leaves will begin to appear once the cuttings have developed roots.
Transplant the baby gem-rooted cuttings individually in larger container sizes to let them grow further.
Mulching
Add a 3- to 4-inch layer of mulch around your shrub to help conserve soil moisture and to suppress the weeds.
Pests and Diseases
Some diseases of boxwood species include blight, leaf burn, leaf spot, and even nematodes. These are caused by different types of pathogens. More than treatment, the best way is the prevention of these diseases.
Always use healthy planting materials, disinfect your garden tools, and discard diseased plants immediately.
Boxwood psyllids and mites are among the common pests.
III. Other Dwarf Boxwood Varieties
Aside from baby gem boxwood, there are other varieties of compact boxwood shrubs that you can choose from.
Here are a few of them:
- North Star Boxwood
North Star Boxwood is an evergreen shrub with a mature height of 2 to 2.5 feet. It is slightly smaller than the baby gem boxwood but they both have dark green leaves that maintain their color during the winter months. This shrub also offers year-round interest.
- Wedding Gem Boxwood
A Korean variety that grows the same size as the baby gem boxwood. Its botanical name is Buxus microphylla var. koreana ‘Wedding Ring’. It has interesting glossy green foliage that features a lime-green margin.
- Green Pillow Boxwood
Buxus microphylla ‘Green Pillow’ is another dwarf variety similar to baby gem boxwood. The height ranges between 2 to 3 feet. It produces a mounding, rounded shape, just like a dome.
The leaves are medium green but also turn bronze during the winter months.
IV. Uses and Benefits
- Designing with Boxwoods
Used effectively, shrubs can pull your landscape design together, and they can make or break your home’s curb appeal. They’re often called the “bones” of a garden. Baby Gem™ Boxwood is such a versatile plant that you’ll be able to use it in numerous ways. Plant it as a foundation shrub, where it will not grow so large that it covers your windows. Use Baby Gem™ Boxwood as edging around an island bed or a perennial garden. Place shrubs along the sides of your yard to create a low-lying evergreen hedge that doubles as a living fence. For your cottage garden, Baby Gem™ Boxwood is an indispensable evergreen that adds softness with its rounded shape.
- Enhancing Your Existing Shrubs
If you have established shrubs in your landscape, you’ll be surprised how the simple addition of Baby Gem™ Boxwoods can create a more refined look. Use Baby Gems in a staggered planting to complement your larger shrubs. Plant a row of Baby Gem™ Boxwoods in front of your existing shrubs by spacing one Baby Gem™ between each larger shrub. This simple addition will transform your design scheme, whether you use Baby Gem™ Boxwoods in a mixed planting with other evergreen shrubs or as an evergreen accent to flowering shrubs. Be sure to space all your Baby Gem™ Boxwood shrubs so they receive plenty of all-day sun and so larger shrubs don’t shade them.
- Creating Container Sculptures
That’s what Baby Gem™ Boxwoods look like when you plant them in containers ‘– living sculptures. You can plant one as a single potted specimen or feature it in a mixed-planting container with other plants. Boxwoods have traditionally been used in containers to give any garden a formal look. Grow Baby Gem™ Boxwood in a stone planter as the centerpiece to a courtyard garden or on both sides of your home’s entrance, flanking the sidewalk that leads to your front steps.
Raised above ground, Baby Gem™ Boxwood adds elevated evergreen touches throughout your garden; in fact, if you line a walkway or a sunny garden path with potted Baby Gem™ Boxwoods and plant colorful low-growing annuals around the pots, you’ll create a stunning visual effect that’s magazine-worthy!
- The Perfect Shrub for Your Knot Garden
If you really want to impress your friends and neighbors, use Baby Gem™ Boxwood shrubs to form the outline of a knot garden. These formal gardens were all the rage in Elizabethan England, and they’re in vogue again ‘– just flip through any upscale gardening or home design magazine. All you have to do is space Baby Gem™ Boxwoods to create a geometrically shaped design scheme that weaves the shrubs in and around the design ‘– like a loose, untied knot.
As the shrubs mature, they’ll grow together to form a solid outline. You can use only Baby Gem™ Boxwoods to create your design, or you can use the outline that the shrubs form to define bordered pockets where you plant your favorite herbs or flowering perennials. Optimally, you’ll design your Baby Gem™ Boxwood knot garden where it’s visible from a second-story window or deck ‘– exquisite!
