The Buxus sempervirens Dee Runk is one of the most beloved boxwoods, offering you versatility in landscape design. The upright boxwood, with its evergreen foliage, adds structure to the color of your garden.
Whether you prefer your American boxwood formal or clipped to rustic, we have the care tips you need here to make your boxwood look great year-round.
Plant Name: Buxus sempervirens Dee Runk
Other Name: Dee Runk Boxwood
Native Area: Asia, Europe, and Africa
Plant Type: Broadleaf Evergreen Shrubs or Trees
Growth: 10 Feet Tall
Fertilizer: Balanced Fertilizer
Light Requirement: Full Sun to Part Shade
Propagation: Stem Cuttings
Soil Type: Well-drained Soil
Temperature: Moderate Temperatures
Toxicity: Toxic to Pets
Watering: Deep Watering
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9
More About Buxus Sempervirens Dee Runk
The Dee Runk boxwood is versatile and used to grow as an ornamental feature with its columnar shape. The deep green foliage remains accurate to color throughout the year. Furthermore, it provides a landscape design to use as narrow hedges.
Dee Runk boxwood can grow as shrubs or trees to prune at any time. The boxwood also attracts bees to the garden and is deer resistant. Hence you can grow these shrubs in mass planting, screening/hedges, topiary, container planting, or foundation planting.
Buxus Sempervirens Dee Runk Maintenance Tips
The Dee Runk is an excellent choice for the landscape and is easy to maintain. Still, you need to provide them with the right location to grow.
Consider your summer to winter conditions to find a suitable place for this tree. So, protect them from dry summers and strong winds. Another awesome thing is growing it in a pot at the front door.
When the property is taken care of, it blooms apetalous flowers. The blooms are pale green, creamy white, or yellow clusters, turning to dehiscent capsules maturing brown.
The Best Soil For Dee Runk Boxwood Growers
Whether grown in pots or landscapes, the plant can thrive in acidic, alkaline, and infertile soil. But one requirement it does need is well-drained soils for healthy growth.
Your plant will not tolerate wet feet as the root ball sitting in water for an extended period results in root rot. We recommend amending the soil pH adding organic compost and helping with drainage.
Hence, it is important to prevent planting your boxwood in a hole close to low-lying portions and downspouts in the landscape. The same applies to growing in containers that need enough drainage holes.
Plant Dee Runk Boxwood at a Perfect Depth and in Enough Light
The boxwood grows with shallow roots; the first thing is to find its full sun to partial shade spot. But preferably, find a place with dappled shade in the afternoon, as the roots will benefit from full shade.
With too much sun exposure, the root ball quickly dries out. So, plant your tree, so the root ball sits only 1/8 inch above the soil line, allowing it to settle in properly. Then add a layer of mulch one foot beyond the canopy.
During the growing season in spring and summer, we recommend you rake away fallen leaf material as it helps control fungal diseases. Then replenish the mulch as needed.
Watering Buxus Sempervirens Dee Runk
The leading cause for the Dee Runk boxwood dying is watering too much as the root system rots. Still, underwatering promotes stress, and it can become susceptible to pests. So what should gardeners do growing this in their landscapes?
We recommend slow and deep watering around the root zone during the first year of planting water regularly and more during dry weather. The roots are still developing in the second year and will need regular watering if rainfall is not present.
Once your Dee Runk boxwood establishes itself, it only needs watering during dry spells. The tree is hardy and can handle some drought as long as the root remains in full shade.
Fertilizing Boxwood
Now for feeding your boxwood, it all depends on the soil it grows. We recommend having a soil test done to remove all the guesswork. Still, your plant responds well to an early spring application of nitrogen.
Or you can use a balanced one when potassium and phosphorous are deficient. Yet you must remember the Dee Runk has a shallow root system that dries out quickly with sunlight penetration.
Hence, you need to take care with fertilizing and best done throughout the whole root zone that extends beyond the crown. Also, prevent the feed from contacting any foliage, the root ball, or the trunk.
The fertilizer will lead to healthy growth and make those dark green leaves look gorgeous.
Dee Runk Temperature and Humidity
Dee Runk boxwood thrives in zones six to eight, but in sweltering summers, it will appreciate more water, and you need to increase airflow. In zone five landscapes, you may find that the stem tips die during the cold weather.
So, if you live in freezing climates, it helps to provide your plants with winter protection. The foliage can turn a yellow-orange to reddish brown during winter from the winds, intense sunlight penetration, and frost.
To prevent bronzing from happening, it helps to wrap your plants with burlap wraps or create a windbreak. Then, you can water your planted Dee Runk boxwood outdoors before freezing temperatures.
Also, keep the root ball insulated with mulch, as it has many benefits for your outdoor plant during fall and winter.
Repotting and Pruning Dee Runk Boxwood
You can throw away your hand pruners working with various boxwood varieties for annual pruning. The trees offer a compact growth with dense branches and do not need a heavy prune. Instead, you can do thinning to prune your compact to large boxwoods.
You can remove damaged, broken, or diseased branches when noticed. To contain good air circulation, you can remove the interior parts of the shrub and remove older branches every year. Doing this helps to encourage new growth, and pruning becomes less of a burdened task.
If you grow your Dee Runk boxwood in a container, ensure that you provide them with one that is a wide and high and only transplant to one a few inches bigger.
Propagating Boxwood
The diverse varieties of boxwood you can propagate through stem cuttings in mid-summer.
Use sterilized shears and cut a four-inch long stem tip from new growth.
Take the cut end and place it in potting medium in a container made up of peat moss, vermiculite, and sand. Then moisten the soil and seal it up with a plastic bag.
Set your cutting in bright light and keep checking the moisture.
Every few days, check if you notice root development taking place. When a root ball forms, remove the covering and transplant your seedling into another container with rich potting mix.
Continue to grow your young indoor plant in bright indirect light until you can plant it in the garden.
You can also grow your boxwood from seeds, but it does take a long time. You can start with a seedling starter mix in a container. Ensure it has enough drainage holes, and add some gravel at the bottom.
Take the seeds, place them in a wet paper towel, and refrigerate them for a month, keeping them damp. Then move the seeds to a warmer spot, keeping them moist for another month.
Once you notice the seed germinating and sprouting, you can plant it with the sprout side down. Then cover the pot with the cutting and care for it until it becomes bigger. Then harden it off to be planted in the ground.
Different Varieties of Buxus Sempervirens
You find different boxwood cultivars available to grow in your landscaping, and each species is unique.
Suffruticosa
The cultivar is a favorite in the garden as it has compact, slow growth, reaching three feet high.
Arborescens
It is a larger tree with a slender form and fast-growing up to 20 feet tall.
Monrue Green Tower
The tree grows up to nine feet tall and makes for a fabulous screen or even a topiary.
Common Pests and Diseases
Common pests are the boxwood leaf miner or also spelled the boxwood leafminer. Then you have the termite and psyllids, which are also common pests. These insects disfigure your trees but are not fatal.
Yet, it can also be susceptible to boxwood blight and leaf spot to root rot.
The other concern is the winter bronzing of the leaves, as mentioned earlier, turning the foliage to reddish brown. We recommend using an anti-desiccant spray at the end of fall and again in late winter.
Frequently Asked Questions
The familiar boxwood people used for carving ornaments and making furniture to musical instruments. The species dated back to 1653 in American gardens and had the nickname “Man’s Oldest Garden Ornament.” It is an extraordinary tree you can use in any form of landscaping.
While Buxus sempervirens Dee Runk typically does not bloom, it can emit an odor when it does.
Unfortunately, once your tree leaves branches to die, you can do nothing to revive it. But if it is only mild, you can remove infected parts to reach healthy wood.
The tree is available in the nursery trade online or at local garden centers. But you need not look far as Plantly has some excellent choices for you here.
Whether you want to buy, sell, or simply reach out to other plant enthusiasts, Plantly is the right place to be!
