Emerald Jewel Boxwood

If you like your boxwoods a rich green, with small leaves and compact growth, then the Emerald Jewel Korean Boxwood is exactly what you want, and will love. The tiny ½ inch leaves are perfectly in scale with the small size of this plant, perfect for edging and accents in smaller spaces. Naturally forming a dense mound that needs no trimming, it is perfect for easy gardening, and stays green all year without bronzing. Of course you can also trim it, and it will respond by growing incredibly dense, giving you a perfect result. In warmer zones it can even be grown in pots, but it is in cold zones, where English boxwood will burn and often die, that this tougher Korean form really comes into its own. It will indeed soon become a jewel in your garden, sparkling rich green and simply perfect – everyone’s boxwood dream.

Growing the Emerald Jewel Korean Boxwood

Size and Appearance

The Emerald Jewel Boxwood is a small evergreen shrub with a naturally mounding habit, growing between 2 and 3 feet tall and wide. It can be clipped in the traditional way, or left to grow naturally, when it will become a beautiful mound with a neat but slightly irregular outline. This modern way of growing boxwood is perfect for busy gardeners, and suits the more relaxed look of our modern gardens. The leaves are exceptionally small, generally no more than ½ inch long, with a leathery texture and a smooth, glossy surface. Rounded ovals, they are bright green when new, soon becoming a very rich, dark green. That color holds well through heat and cold, and doesn’t turn unattractive bronze tones in the winter months, even in cold zones. It rarely flowers, and the small, greenish-yellow blooms are insignificant, and often overlooked. Plants that are regularly trimmed almost never flower.

Using the Emerald Jewel Korean Boxwood in Your Garden

The Emerald Jewel Boxwood is perfect wherever you want that neat, rounded evergreen accent. The rich color always looks perfect, and the natural shape is balanced and even. Trimmed it makes very dense low hedges, globes and fat pyramids, and it also grows well in pots and planter boxes, which can be left outdoors all winter if you are in zone 7 or warmer. In colder zones tip your plants out of the pot without disturbing the roots, and plant temporarily in a garden bed.

Hardiness

Korean boxwood is renowned for its winter hardiness, and the Emerald Jewel Boxwood is no exception. It is absolutely reliable in zone 5, and will grow in zone 4 with little or no winter injury. For the best winter survival in zone 4, water deeply and mulch the root-zone just before the ground freezes. Spraying with anti-desiccant will give a literal ‘extra-layer’ of protection.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Grow the Emerald Jewel Boxwood in full sun or in areas with a few hours of shade each day. In the hottest zones some afternoon shade is beneficial. It will also grow with minimal direct sun, but the growth will be looser and more open. It does best in rich, well-drained soils that are regularly moist, but grows well in most well-drained garden soils just fine. Enriching the ground with organic material, and mulching over the root system every year or two will make a big difference to its growth. Established plants have moderate resistance to normal drought periods, but if you can water a little, do so.

Pruning and Maintenance

Healthy plants rarely suffer from serious pest or disease problems. As well, deer and rabbits leave them alone, so you will have no issues growing this plant. Trimming young plants once a year for the first few years is worthwhile to develop a very dense internal structure, but not essential, and after that little or no trimming is needed, unless you want a super-formal look. Trim in late winter, before new growth develops, or in late spring, once the first flush of new leaves has darkened in color. You can also trim again after each flush of new growth, but don’t trim after early fall, and not at all then in cold zones. Always trim specimens or hedges wider at the bottom than the top, to keep leaves and branches right to the ground.

History and Origins of the Emerald Jewel Korean Boxwood

You might still see Korean Boxwood, Buxus sinica var. insularis, given its older name of Buxus microphylla var. koreana. Besides Korea, it can be found in China and Japan, and it is much better in typical American conditions than English boxwood. It is definitely best for both cold and hot zones, where it is much more resistant to damage. We don’t know much about the origin of the variety called Emerald Jewel . It made its first appearance in the 2018 catalog of Greenleaf Nursery Company, at their Park Hill, Oklahoma division.

Buying the Emerald Jewel Korean Boxwood at The Tree Center

If you want a dense, compact boxwood, with small leaves and a neat look that stays even without trimming, then the Emerald Jewel Boxwood is exactly what you want. Grow the neatest boxwood mounds and edging around, without spending hours trimming. Order now, as this relatively new variety is increasing in high demand, and soon sells out.