Have English & American boxwood. What is the best time to trim these boxwood. And, one of my American wants to shoot up tall, can I just trim that off now or wait? Thanks for help.

Don't know what is 'proper' but I have trimmed them whenever! Whenever the thing got out of bounds, whenever I felt like it, whenever it wasn't too hot, etc. And they still kept growing!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by old Karen:
Don't know what is 'proper' but I have trimmed them whenever! Whenever the thing got out of bounds, whenever I felt like it, whenever it wasn't too hot, etc. And they still kept growing!!!!

THANK YOU Karen, It is still very springy temps here...SO, I think I'm going to take a WHACK at it

For a light trim - I agree - whenever.
For a heavy trim choose a cooler time - fall, early spring. No heavy trims during dry/hot periods. I'm in CT - so we're still cool now - but borderline on no heavy trim in a few weeks.
It's the same timeline as planting grass & shrubs. You can tell when it's too late in your area because all the gardening areas have shrubs for sale.

Note: If you are near colonial Williamsburg - They have a ton of boxwoods. Email their learning & resource center - edresource@cwf.org

There are American and English boxwoods. American boxwoods have pointy leaves and a rougher texture than English boxwoods. English boxwoods have oval leaves, are slow growing, and do not require annual pruning to maintain shape.

You will want to make thinning cuts each year to allow light to enter the middle of the bushes to prevent center die out (dead zone). Randomly reach into bush all over and take pruners and clip out branches to allow funnels of light to enter.

The best time to prune boxwoods is when they are dormant. Some recommend to do so when forsythia blooms start to fade. Spikey shoots can be snipped any time to maintain shape.

If your American boxwood is too tall and needs severe pruning, cut back no more than 50%. Check center of bush to see if there are green leaves and the plant is healthy enough to tolerate the severe stress. It will take a couple years or so for the shrub to recuperate.

Some folks shear boxwoods to maintain a shape. Many forget to make the annual thinning cuts, and they create a dead zone. Others prefer a more natural shape and hand prune. Follow the spike back to where it joins the main branch and snip there.