How to Garden a Japanese Boxwood

Start your Japanese boxwood in a site that drains within one hour of irrigation or rain. Plant it in a hole as deep as its roots but twice as wide.

Build a 2- to 3-inch-deep mulch ring around the boxwood’s base. Use compost, wood chips, bark or another organic material. The cover insulates the shallow roots from temperature fluctuations, slows water evaporation and suppresses weeds.

Water the newly planted Japanese boxwood weekly. Apply water sufficient to hydrate the entire zone its roots occupy. The established boxwood is heat tolerant and can go longer without water if necessary.

Feed the Japanese boxwood 1 pound of a 10-10-10 fertilizer at the end of the winter before new growth starts. Follow the manufacturer's instructions to apply it. In general, broadcast the product evenly around the plant without allowing it to touch the foliage and stems. Irrigate the boxwood to release the nutrient into the soil.

Prune the shrub whenever you notice sick, dead or broken plant parts in the growing season. You might also choose to trim the Japanese boxwood to encourage a bushier plant. Every year, remove old growth that keeps sunlight from reaching the stems in the center of the plant. Suspend all cutting six weeks before the first frost until the following spring.