Buxus sinica seed
LATIN NAME: Buxus sinica
COMMON NAME: Chinese Boxwood
The Chinese boxwood is the small, dense, evergreen shrub of the hills of eastern Asia, one of the classics of the trimmed garden and the bonsai bench. The compact, branching shrub carries the small, oval, dark-green, glossy leaves, so close-set that the whole plant looks like a solid cushion of green, and the tiny, greenish flowers go almost unnoticed among the leaves. The tree grows slowly and takes the clip and the wire wonderfully well, and the fine, close-grained wood has a very long record of use in the carvings and the small objects. It is a shrub of the open, well-drained ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
Researchers have kept a close watch on the Chinese boxwood for the small, oval, dark-green, glossy leaves and the very slow, dense growth. The way the plant takes the clip and the wire of the bonsai art has been studied at length, and it keeps showing up in the work on the bonsai subjects, the hedge plants and the evergreen shrubs of the East. The fine, close-grained wood and the compact habit have also made it a favourite of the carvers, and the Chinese boxwood is a regular subject of the studies of the box family and the slow-growing shrubs of the temperate gardens.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
The Chinese boxwood is a plant of many duties, in the garden and the workshop. The small, dense, evergreen shrub is one of the finest subjects of the bonsai art, taking the clip and the wire for years without losing its neat, solid form, and it is a fine, low, long-lived hedge of the formal garden. The fine, close-grained, pale wood has a very long record of use in the carvings, the inlay and the small turned objects, and the dense, glossy foliage keeps its good looks through the year. It has been written about in the horticultural papers for the fine, dense habit and the old art of the bonsai, and it is a fine, long-lived shrub of the open, well-drained garden.
The Chinese boxwood is one of the finest subjects of the bonsai art, and the small, dense, evergreen shrub takes the clip and the wire for years without losing its neat, solid form. The fine, close-grained, pale wood has a very long record of use in the carvings and the small turned objects, and the glossy, dark-green leaves keep their good looks through the year.
To grow the Chinese boxwood from seed, press the fresh seeds into the surface of pots of moist, free-draining soil, keep them in a bright, sheltered spot and water gently. The seedlings push through within a few weeks and grow on slowly. With the sun or the light shade and the well-drained ground, the dense, glossy cushion of green will build through the years.
The small leaves combined with its compact growing habit make this tree an ideal bonsai specimen. It takes well to clipping and can be grown in a variety of styles, but is at its best as an informal upright bonsai.