Boxwood Shrub Propagation

Hardwood Cuttings

• Most growers propagate boxwood from either hardwood or semi-hardwood cuttings. Propagating from hardwood cuttings differs from propagating from semi-hardwood cuttings primarily in the timing of taking the cuttings. Hardwood cuttings are mature stems cut from dormant shrubs in late fall or late winter/early spring. Hardwood cuttings can't be easily bent. Take 4- to 6-inch cuttings with sharp pruners. Dip the lower inch or two of the cuttings into rooting hormone. Place the coated end of the cuttings in either a rooting bed or container with sand, vermiculite, half peat moss/half sand or half peat moss/half perlite. Keep moist and shaded until rooted. Transplant to desired location before they break dormancy the following spring.

Semi-hardwood Cuttings

• Semi-hardwood is not fully mature and is actively growing; leaves are full size, but the stems are still somewhat flexible. Take semi-hardwood boxwood cuttings from early to late summer. Cut and treat as for hardwood cuttings. Semi-hardwood cuttings may root very quickly -- in just two to three weeks -- but as for hardwood cuttings, wait to move them out of their rooting location to a planting location until just before they begin active growth the next spring.

Seeds

• Some boxwood varieties will seed around if you don't keep the seed capsules trimmed off, and simply watching for accidental seedlings is one way to propagate new shrubs. If you're interested in producing large numbers of boxwood seedlings, you'll likely get better results using more controlled circumstances. Seeds collected from mature seed capsules will germinate easily in a rooting medium. Keep your small seedlings moist and shaded, as you would rooted cuttings, until large enough to transplant during dormancy.

Considerations

• Consider your goals before choosing a boxwood propagation method. If you want to reproduce a particular cultivar or ensure that you have uniform specimens to produce a formal planting, cuttings are the obvious choice. If you want to see if you can produce superior or unique boxwood varieties, seeds are the way to go.

  Growing conditions may also influence which propagation technique to use. If you garden where summer temperatures are hot and humidity is low, semi-hardwood cuttings, which you collect in the heat of summer, may be harder to maintain until sufficiently rooted than hardwood cuttings taken in the late fall or late winter.