Sprinter® Boxwood

Boxwood are incredibly valuable in the garden, for low to medium hedges, for specimens, and as an evergreen for structure in foundation planting and beds. They can be trimmed into neat shapes, or left to grow naturally, when they will mature into striking specimens of dense, slightly irregular form, perfect for today’s less formal gardens. They grow easily almost everywhere, in sun or shade, but many of the varieties available have one problem – they are slow growing. The Sprinter® Boxwood, however, really lives up to its name, racing ahead of the pack with its rapid growth. Every burst of growth is at least 6 inches long, and with light trimming they can sprout 2 or even 3 times a year, so a foot of growth in a season is no problem for this variety. Smaller plants will double in size the first year they are in the ground, and within a few years you can have a 3 to 4-foot hedge or edging, and a mature-looking specimen. Oh, did we mention this variety is also cold-resistant, green all winter, and reliable? Well, it is.

Growing the Sprinter Boxwood

Size and Appearance

The Sprinter Boxwood is a rounded evergreen shrub with small green leaves. It will grow to between 2 and 4 feet tall and wide, which makes it perfect for hedges and clipped balls. Left alone it will grow larger, and 6 feet tall and wide within 10 years is a reasonable expectation from this fast-growing plant. It has a naturally-dense and bushy growth habit, with numerous closely-packed branches making a solid bush, even without trimming. The leaves of the Sprinter Boxwood are small and neat, just ¾ of an inch long, and a little less than a ½- inch across. They are a rich, glossy green, with a smooth oval shape. In spring, or after clipping, new leaves are light green, but they quickly mature to the rich ‘boxwood green’ we love to see. Flowers are insignificant, and rarely noticed if they do appear in spring.

Using the Sprinter Boxwood in Your Garden

A pair of round boxwoods in handsome pots on either side of your front door is a garden classic, and this is the perfect bush to quickly create that. That is just the beginning, though, because this plant is perfect for hedges, and nothing beats a boxwood hedge for neatness and formality. A low 12-inch hedge of the Sprinter Boxwood is easy to maintain at that height, or you can allow it to grow taller and reach 3 or 4 feet, and even taller in time. These hedges are ideal for edging beds along a path or driveway, or for enclosing a patio. Use it in beds as an accent, clipped or unclipped, and as a background plant in smaller beds. There are so many places where boxwood is idea that this easy plant can find a great home in every garden.

Hardiness

The Sprinter Boxwood was created out of the variety ‘Winter Gem’, which is well-known for its resistance to cold, and for staying green throughout the winter months. That toughness was inherited by the Sprinter Boxwood, and it is perfectly hardy in zone 5, where many forms of boxwood burn and brown in winter. It is also hardy throughout warmer zones, all the way into zone 9. Wherever you live, you can grow this reliable plant.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

The Sprinter Boxwood will thrive in full sun, unless it is very dry and very hot, and in partial shade. Even light full shade, on the north side of a wall, or the dappled shade of open trees, is tolerated well. It will grow in all ordinary soils, from sand to clay, if they are well-drained and not wet or boggy. Boxwood benefits from plenty of organic material added to the soil and used as spring mulch.

Pruning and Maintenance

The Sprinter Boxwood requires no special maintenance, but a little care goes a long way. Regular watering and fertilizing with an evergreen blend will give excellent results, lush, dark-green foliage and the most rapid growth. Pests and diseases are minimal on healthy plants.

If you plan to trim your Sprinter Boxwood, begin while it is still small, to build the densest structure. Trim regularly and your plants will always look great. The best time for trimming is just as the spring flush of new growth has turned darker green. Trim a little if you are growing the plant to a larger size, and trim as hard as you need to when they have reached the size you want, to keep it that way. Keep the bottom of hedges and specimens a little wider than the top, so that the lower branches don’t die. For very neat plants you can trim again in early summer, and in early fall, allowing time for the new growth to mature before very cold weather arrives.

History and Origins of the Sprinter Boxwood

The Sprinter Boxwood was discovered in 2005 by John Bulthouse, a nurseryman in Norton Shores, Michigan. He was growing an older variety of the Japanese boxwood, Buxus microphylla var. japonica, called ‘Winter Gem’, originally introduced in 1982 by John Vermeulen & Son Inc., of New Jersey. On one plant he noticed a very vigorous stem, and he found that when he took cuttings the resulting plants were just as vigorous. He named this plant ‘Bulthouse’ and it received a patent in 2015. It is distributed with the trademarked name Sprinter®, by Spring Meadow Nursery Inc. Grand Haven, Michigan, as part of the Proven Winners® range of reliable new plants.

Buying the Sprinter Boxwood at The Tree Center

Our trees are produced under license from the patent holder, from stem cuttings that are 100% identical to their unique parent. For a fast-growing, dense boxwood it can’t be beaten, so why wait years for attractive boxwood when you can have it quickly with the Sprinter Boxwood? Order now, as the demand for quality boxwoods is always high. Our top-quality stock will soon be gone.