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What personal experience have you had in replacements for box?

elderberryelderberry Posts: 118
in Plants
There's plenty written about it, but I'm interested in anecdotes. We've got box hedging which has been attacked by box tree moth, and while we've dealt with it, long-term a replacement seems like the way to go.

Posts

  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    Lonicera nitida is a useful alternative.  Quite fast growing and if regularly trimmed and shaped it soon forms a decent hedge :)
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    @elderberry Euonymous Green Pillar is a good idea. As it's name suggests no good for a ball shape. Also you cannot clip it so close.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 8,705
    Rhododendron 'Bloombux' if you're prepared to try something different.. it's lime tolerant.
    https://www.rhododendrons.co.uk/dwarf-rhododendron-bloombux-inkarho/p874
    East Anglia, England
  • Chris-P-BaconChris-P-Bacon Posts: 943
    Euonymous 'Jean Hugues' is my first choice for Box replacement. You could try Ilex Crenata but it tends to be expensive. 
    Lonicera nitida, as suggested, may be a good choice. In can get a bit rampant tho..you'll need to clip it..often. 
  • Butterfly66Butterfly66 Posts: 970
    Yew is a good alternative

    I haven’t used any as a low hedge but have quite a few yew balls. A couple are only 30-40cm diameter so no reason why a simple hedge couldn’t be kept at that height. Only needs a trim once a year, maybe once more if you want that neat look all the time - same as for box really.

    If we were to loose our box knot garden, I would replace it with yew. 

    I have seen the Euonymus, suggested above, and they are attractive but as said they don’t give that tight, clipped look. I would happily use them as a low hedge

    I haven’t any in my garden but I have seen rosemary used as a low clipped hedge, it was very attractive
     If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero
    East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I have a very dwarf hedge of Lonicera nitida "Baggesen;s Gold" edging a bed - about 8" tall. It needs clipping several times a year to keep it looking nice but if it gets away and then I cut back hard (one side at a time) it regrows. My dad has one from the same batch of cuttings that is a lot larger, maybe 3 feet high, and clipped into a blob, so it works at a variety of heights.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
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