African Box

African Box (Myrsine africana) is a slow growing evergreen shrub with small, neat, dark green leaves, reaching about 1.5m tall and 1m wide. It clips as cleanly as English box but handles heat, drought and poor soil far better, which makes it a sensible replacement for buxus in gardens where box struggles.

Why you'll love it

• Clips like box, copes better. The fine dense foliage takes shearing into hedges, balls and cones, without box's dislike of heat and dry soil.
• Frost hardy and drought tolerant. It handles cold winters and long dry spells once established, a combination few formal hedging plants manage.
• The right scale for small gardens. At 1.5m by 1m it makes a low hedge or a border you can see over, not a wall that closes a courtyard in.
• Bird attracting. Small purple fruit follow the inconspicuous flowers on female plants, and small birds work them over.

Where it works best

Low hedging. Plant 50cm apart for a dense low hedge. At that spacing the plants close into a solid face in two to three seasons, given the slow growth rate.

Topiary and shaping. The tight branching holds a clipped shape well, so it suits balls, cones and standards where you want formality without the height of a screening plant.

Borders, pots and light screening. Along a path it makes a formal edge at knee to waist height, and in a 400mm pot it holds a clipped shape for years with very little work.

Growing African Box in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun to partial shade, with denser growth in sun. It grows in subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean gardens, and being frost hardy it takes cold winters without damage. Wet tropical humidity is the one climate it does not suit.

Soil. Poor soils are tolerated, provided water drains away. Work compost through the bed on sand, and raise the planting line on heavy clay. Mulch 75mm deep, kept clear of the stems.

Water and feed. Water deeply twice a week through the first summer, then reduce as it becomes drought tolerant. A controlled release fertiliser in early spring and late summer keeps leaf colour deep and growth even, which matters on a clipped hedge.

Pruning. Trim two or three times through the growing season for a crisp face. Because it grows slowly, take small amounts often rather than cutting hard; recovery from a heavy cut takes time.

What to expect when it arrives

African Box is grown here as tube stock, so it arrives as a small young plant, typically well under knee height with a few branches. For a hedge that is the practical way to buy it, since tubes establish quickly and cost far less per metre than advanced stock.

Be realistic about the timeline. Allow two to three seasons of growing and light trimming before a tube planted row reads as a hedge. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• How box hedging is planted and maintained
• Browse plants suited to topiary and shaping
• Compare the best hedging plants
• Screening plants that finish between 1m and 2m

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a hedge?

Fifty centimetres apart in a single row. Closer planting does not close the hedge faster on a shrub this slow, and it makes watering and feeding harder.

How is it different from English box?

The look is similar at a glance, but African Box tolerates heat, drought and poor soil far better. In warm or dry gardens where buxus sulks, it is the more reliable choice.

How fast does it grow?

Slowly, which is part of the appeal on a formal hedge, since it holds its shape between trims.

Can I keep it in a pot?

Yes. A 400mm pot suits a single clipped ball or cone. Water more often than you would in the ground, and refresh the top of the mix each spring.