Growing Baby Gem Boxwood

Boxwood plants are known for their reputation in an outdoor landscape, as plants for door entrances, providing a natural hedge, borders, or focal points with their evergreen foliage.

Now, a dwarf variety called baby gem boxwood is relatively new in the scene, being introduced only in 2010 as a hybrid cultivar.

Get to know this new boxwood variety.

PLANT NAME: Buxus microphylla ‘Gregem’

Other Name: Baby Gem Boxwood

Plant Type: Small shrub

Native Areas: Canada at Sheridan Nurseries

Light Requirement: Full sun, Partial shade

Watering: Moderate

Fertilizer: Slow-release fertilizer during planting and in early spring

Toxicity: Mildly toxic to pets and humans

Temperature: Hardy -20°F to -10°F

Propagation: Stem cuttings

Growth: Slow-growing

Soil Type: Well-draining soil rich in organic matter

More About Baby Gem Boxwood

Baby gem boxwood has a compact growth habit, having a mature height of 3 to 4 feet. As an evergreen species, it provides year-round interest in your garden even during the winter months. Known for its low-maintenance characteristics, baby gem boxwood is drought-tolerant, deer-resistant, and almost pest resistant.

The dense, green leaves of Baby gem boxwood provide a lush texture in a garden. Unlike other boxwood varieties, the foliage color doesn’t change, making it highly attractive during the winter season. The delicate leaves are small and smooth.

Baby Gem Boxwood Care

Growing baby gem boxwood is relatively easy but you have to first consider the environment where you plan to establish the shrub. After it’s grown, it will require minimum maintenance from your end.

Soil

The good thing about baby gem boxwood is that it’s adaptable to different types of soil. It can thrive in acidic, alkaline, and neutral pH. The only crucial thing is that it has to be well-drained soil.

You may need to amend it with organic compost to improve its fertility as baby gem prefers fertile soil.

Lighting

Baby gem boxwood will appreciate light conditions ranging from full sun to partial shade. It prefers exposure to direct sunlight for about 6 hours a day. Adequate light will help produce dark green foliage.

If you live in a hot climate, plant your gem boxwood under part shade.

Water

Water the baby gem boxwoods regularly after planting. This will help the plant establish an extensive root system in the ground and at the same time prevent this outdoor plant from drying. Put a 2 to 3 inches layer of mulch on the soil to slow down moisture evaporation.

Once established, baby gem won’t need frequent watering because it tends to be drought tolerant. You’ll need to provide water only once a week.

Temperature and Humidity

Baby Gem Boxwood is a low-growing shrub that’s cold hardy. It thrives in USDA growing zones 5 to 9 and can withstand cold temperatures as low as -20 to -10°F (-29 to -23°C).

Fertilizer

Baby gem isn’t a heavy feeder. But during the time of planting, you’ll have to amend the soil with a slow-release fertilizer like organic compost. The nutrients released from this will help your baby gem boxwoods grow well.

Repeat the application of the fertilizer in early Spring to boost its growth and help achieve the optimal plant size.

Pruning

Instead of heavy pruning, it’s best to thin out your boxwood baby gem to get rid of unwanted growth. You can also prune the container plant to achieve formal shapes like a rounded form or even other shapes. Don’t forget to prune the diseased, and aged portions, too.

You can prune any time of the year except for fall. If you do that, your baby gem boxwood will produce new growth and delicate leaves which will be susceptible to winter damage. And we want to avoid that.

Propagation

If you want to propagate, do so during the midsummer season. Planting stem cuttings is the best way to multiply a boxwood baby gem. Look for healthy stems then cut at least 3 to 4 inches of the tips. Remove the lower leaves.

You can dip the tip of each cutting into a rooting hormone to hasten the rooting process.

Plant the baby gem boxwood cuttings in a growing medium and moisten the soil. Cover the container with plastic to maintain high humidity. New growth on the leaves will begin to appear once the cuttings have developed roots.

Transplant the baby gem-rooted cuttings individually in larger container sizes to let them grow further.

Other Dwarf Boxwood Varieties

Aside from baby gem boxwood, there are other varieties of compact boxwood shrubs that you can choose from. Here are a few of them:

• North Star Boxwood

North Star Boxwood is an evergreen shrub with a mature height of 2 to 2.5 feet. It is slightly smaller than the baby gem boxwood but they both have dark green leaves that maintain their color during the winter months. This shrub also offers year-round interest.

• Wedding Gem Boxwood

A Korean variety that grows the same size as the baby gem boxwood. Its botanical name is Buxus microphylla var. koreana ‘Wedding Ring’. It has interesting glossy green foliage that features a lime-green margin.

• Green Pillow Boxwood

Buxus microphylla ‘Green Pillow’ is another dwarf variety similar to baby gem boxwood. The height ranges between 2 to 3 feet. It produces a mounding, rounded shape, just like a dome.

The leaves are medium green but also turn bronze during the winter months.

Baby Gem Boxwood Common Diseases and Pests

Some diseases of boxwood species include blight, leaf burn, leaf spot, and even nematodes. These are caused by different types of pathogens. More than treatment, the best way is the prevention of these diseases.

Always use healthy planting materials, disinfect your garden tools, and discard diseased plants immediately.

Boxwood psyllids and mites are among the common pests.