Beating Around the Bush

Damon Abdi, Ph.D., Gives Alternative Evergreen Shrubs for Borders

Boxwoods (Buxus sempervirens) are a staple in the landscape, often serving as a hedge or border plant. These plants are often meticulously maintained and shaped to create distinct forms that can serve as a geometric feature in the garden. While certainly a suitable option, relying excessively upon one plant for this purpose can be problematic. A monoculture of plant materials does not provide much resistance to pathogen issues, as infestations can rapidly wreak havoc and decimate the landscape when there is a dearth of diversity in species selection. Hedge your bets by considering these two alternatives to boxwoods.

Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria): Yaupon hollies are available in a wide range of sizes and forms, with dwarf varieties such as “Nana” providing similar stature to boxwoods. The small, white flowers in spring are an interesting, albeit inconspicuous, feature of this plant; however, they give way to red berries that provide added interest in the fall and winter months. Keep in mind that not all hollies will produce fruit. Hollies are dioecious plants, meaning that plants have either male or female flower parts, and fruit set will only be observed on the female specimens. Ensuring that a male yaupon holly is in reasonable proximity to the female plants will provide more opportunity for fruit set. Conversely, consider planting only male specimens if fruit is not desired. The small leaves of yaupon hollies offer a fine textured foliage feature to the landscape.    

Japanese Yew (Podocarpus macrophyllus): Japanese yews range in size from small, compact plants to larger tree forms. These plants take well to shearing, so pruning is not necessarily a problem. The leaves of this plant are a more needle-like, lanceolate form, where the leathery, waxy green foliage offers a unique color and texture that contributes to the landscape. The small, creamy white flowers are fairly inconspicuous; however, they give way to pleasant, powder blue berries in summertime. This species is also (typically) dioecious, so consider that in your designs. The “Pringles” variety remains compact and is great for hedges, while the “Mood Ring” variety has an appealing bronze hue to the new growth that adds some fresh color to the landscape.   

A planting of Japanese yews surrounds the inner plantings of yaupon hollies. The sharp shearing creates a multi-tiered evergreen aesthetic that complements the textures of the foliage.

Boxwoods can be a great feature in the landscape, but consider expanding your evergreen options to create aesthetically pleasing and more diverse designs. This adds interest to the landscape and helps offer protection against disease outbreaks that can mangle monoculture plantings. Using these two alternatives can be a valuable contribution to landscape compositions, as observed in the accompanying photo.

Get In Touch With...

Dr. Damon Abdi,  Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Landscape Horticulture at LSU Ag Center
Email: dabdi@agcenter.lsu.edu