Franklin’s Gem Dwarf Boxwood

Buxus microphylla ‘Franklin’s Gem’

Plant Details

USDA Cold Hardiness Zones: 5a-9b Find Your Zone

Plant Type: Evergreen Shrub

Height at Maturity: 18-24″ depending on pruning

Width at Maturity: 24-36″ depending on pruning

Growth Habit / Form: Bushy, Dense, Mounding

Growth Rate: Slow

Flower Color: White, inconspicuous

Flower Size: Tiny

Flowering Period: Spring

Flower Type: NA

Fragrant Flowers: Yes!

Foliage Color: Green to Dark Olive Green in Winter

Fragrant Foliage: No

Berries: No

Berry Color: NA

Sun Needs: Sun or Shade. Best with some shade or filtered sun in the afternoon.

Water Needs: Average, Low when established

Soil Type: Clay, Loam, Sandy, Silty

Soil Moisture / Drainage: Well Drained Moist to Somewhat Dry

Soil pH: 5.5 – 7.0

Maintenance / Care: Low

Attracts:

Resistances: Deer, Disease, Drought, Heat, Insect

Description

Franklin’s Gem is a dwarf boxwood grown for its appealing habit, beautiful foliage and smaller size of only 18 to 24 inches tall and 2 to 3 feet wide depending on pruning. It mounds very much like some of the dwarf Japanese hollies. Its growth rate is slow enough that it does not outgrow the landscape but fast enough to be used as a primary plant in many landscapes. Inconspicuous flowers in spring are fragrant. An extremely versatile shrub that’s considered the hardiest of boxwoods. Takes pruning exceptionally well and deer turn their nose up to it!

Landscape & Garden Uses

With a mature height of only 18 to 24 inches depending on pruning, Franklin’s Gem Boxwood is the perfect selection for a low formal or natural hedge, under low windows in home foundation plantings, or just about anywhere in the landscape that you might need a low growing, compact evergreen shrub.

Suggested Spacing: 12-18 inches for hedges; 36 inches or more for space between plants

How To Measure Total Square Feet Of A Planting Area

How Many Plants Needed To Cover A Planting Area?

Note: For our customers who live and garden north of USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 5a, where this Boxwood variety is not winter hardy outdoors, you can enjoy growing it in containers that can be moved indoors during winter and placed back outside when temperatures warm up in spring.

Growing Preferences

Franklin’s Gem Dwarf Boxwood is easy to grow when planted right, and in the right spot. It adapts to most soil types and likes full sun or part shade. It prefers a well-drained soil and will only need some water during drought or prolonged periods with no rain. As with many other plants, a constantly soggy or wet soil can be problematic.

Helpful Articles

Click on a link below to find helpful advice from our experts on how to plant and care for Boxwood shrubs.

How To Plant A Boxwood Shrub

How To Fertilize And Water A Boxwood Shrub

How To Prune A Boxwood Shrub

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