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As a landscape designer, I love boxwoods. I frequently use them in my designs to provide evergreen color and structure and their simplicity is a wonderful complement to native flowering shrubs and perennials. Unfortunately however, the fungal disease boxwood blight has been attacking these beautiful shrubs. Boxwood blight causes leaf loss and eventual death of the shrub. It has no cure and can affect any type of boxwood. This has caused many landscapers and nurseries to shy away from their use and refuse to warranty the shrubs.
But what if you too really want to use a boxwood in your landscape? Yes you can but, be sure to choose a variety that is less susceptible to boxwood blight. Although not completely without any possibility of getting blight, there are boxwood species that you can plant with more confidence. I don't know about you, but for this I am thankful because personally I can't imagine landscape design without the use of this quintessential evergreen shrub.
To help you out, listed below are 10 blight resistant varieties that I myself utilize in my landscape designs.
1. Buxus sinica var insularis 'Winter Gem'
Height and Width: 4 feet
2. Buxus microphylla var. japonica 'Little Missy'
Height and Width: 2 feet
3. Buxus microphylla var. japonica 'Green Beauty'
Height and Width: 3 to 5 feet
4. Buxus microphylla var. japonica 'Jim Stauffer'
Height: 3 feet
Width: 4 feet
5. Buxus sinica var insularis 'Nana'
Height: 2 feet
Width: 3 feet
6. Buxus 'Green Gem'
Height and Width: 3 to 4 feet
7. Buxus microphylla 'John Baldwin'
Height: 4 feet
Width: 3 feet
8. Buxus microphylla var. japonica 'Morris Midget'
Height and Width: 1 foot
9. Buxus NewGen Freedom
Height and Width: 4 feet
10. Buxus NewGen Independence
Height and Width: 3 feet