Fertilize boxwood properly - you should pay attention to this

Fertilize boxwood properly - you should pay attention to this

Why should you fertilize boxwood?

The slowly growing and undemanding Buchs is often forgotten when fertilizing, as long as it does not get any strange leaf spots and the great guesswork begins. For the well-being of the wood, these prerequisites are particularly relevant:

  • suitable location
  • loose, well-drained and calcareous soil
  • It also tolerates slightly loamy soil
  • regular watering
  • Regular fertilization of planted box trees

also read

  • It is better not to fertilize boxwood with blue grain
  • Fertilizing boxwood with coffee grounds - useful or not?
  • Removing boxwood - This is what you should pay attention to

The last point is particularly relevant because the beautiful green leaf color only develops with the right supply of nutrients.

What can you fertilize boxwood with?

Buchs itself is not one of the heavy consumers, but above all needs nitrogen for growth and potassium for resistance. A deficiency is quickly noticeable on the leaves, for example as a brownish-red discoloration with a nitrogen deficiency. Phosphorus, on the other hand, cannot be dispensed with, but Buchs only needs it to a very limited extent. The mineral promotes flowering, which in turn rarely occurs in the case of beech trees.

Box tree fertilizer and foliage plant fertilizer

Box can easily be supplied with nutrients with a special box tree fertilizer, the composition of which is precisely tailored to the needs of the plant species. A commercially available green plant fertilizer is also suitable. Before fertilizing, however, you should have a soil analysis carried out by a suitable laboratory in order to determine the actual fertilizer requirement. A needs-based supply is based on the recommendations, and the risk of over-fertilization is reduced.

Organic fertilizers

You can't go wrong with organic fertilizers like compost and horn shavings. (€ 6.39 at Amazon *) Horn shavings in particular (€ 6.39 at Amazon *) are rich in nitrogen and therefore ideal for boxwood. With compost, on the other hand, there is the problem of carrying any germinable seeds from composted weeds into the bed. You can avoid this by covering the composter with a lid and refraining from composting seed weeds. An organic supply has the advantage that over-fertilization is practically impossible due to the slow and gradual absorption of nutrients.

Can you fertilize boxwood with blue grain?

No question about it, blue grain is a true all-round fertilizer in the garden and is basically also suitable for the Buchs or at least does not harm it. However, blue grain with its high phosphorus content has the wrong nutrient composition, which is why fertilizing with it would be practically like the proverbial “throwing pearls before swine”. The Buchs cannot absorb or utilize all the nutrients - in the worst case, over-fertilization with all its negative side effects would be the result.

When should box be fertilized?

In principle, fertilization is only necessary during the growing season between April and September. If you provide the Buchs with a slow-release fertilizer in April, you don't have to worry about the rest of the year - apart from fertilizing with patent potash, which should be done in August. If, on the other hand, organic fertilizers are used, they should be supplied regularly every three to four weeks. In this case you work a maximum of three liters of compost per square meter and a level tablespoon of ground horn shavings into the root area.

Stop fertilizing in autumn - why?

From the beginning of September you should not provide the box or other garden plants with nutrients. The fertilization stimulates the plants again and again to new shoot growth, which could be fatal at this point in time. The fresh shoots no longer ripen in time before winter and would freeze to death at the first minus degrees - which affects the entire wood. Instead, apply Kalimagnesia or Patentkali in August, this agent supports the plants' resistance to winter weather conditions.

The right fertilization for boxwood in pots

Buchs in pots depends on a regular supply of fertilizers, because such a plant cannot feed itself. It is best to fertilize potted specimens weekly with a liquid green plant or special box tree fertilizer that is administered together with the irrigation water.

Tips

Coffee grounds are an environmentally friendly and inexpensive fertilizer that adequately supplies many balcony and garden plants. However, coffee has the disadvantage that its ingredients lower the pH value of the soil - harmful to the lime-loving book. If you still want to fertilize with coffee, you should lime your box regularly.