ShrubsCommon Boxwood
Buxus sempervirens
Common Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) is a slow-growing shrub, hardy in USDA zones 5-8, that matures to about 5-15 ft × 5-15 ft. It does best in full sun and part shade with medium water needs in well-drained and occasionally-wet soil. Expect cream and yellow blooms in spring. It stands up well to deer, drought and rabbits, grows happily in containers.
- USDA zones
- 5-8
- Sun
- Full sun, Part shade
- Water
- Medium
- Mature size
- 5-15 ft × 5-15 ft
- Spacing
- 6-feet-12 feet
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Maintenance
- Medium
- Soil
- Well-drained, Occasionally-wet
- Foliage
- Silver, Green, Orange
- Bloom color
- Cream, Yellow
- Bloom season
- Spring
- Tough against
- Deer, Drought, Rabbits
- Watch out for
- Contact dermatitis, Malodorous, Problem for cats, Problem for dogs, Problem for horses
- Native to
- Southern Europe, western Asia, northern Africa
In the landscape
Data sources
Freeze survival
Will it survive your winters?
Hardiness zones show a normal bad winter. We check the worst one — Common Boxwood is hardy to about -20°F (estimated from USDA zone 5), so we'll score it against the real coldest nights your area has actually had.
Powered by ~35 years of daily lows from the nearest NOAA weather station. A risk read, not a guarantee — a sheltered spot or mature plant beats the odds.
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