We bought 20 of your boxwood plants for our new home from Home Depot and LOVE the way they look. However, some of them have recently started to have a slightly tan color to their leaves. Is this normal for this time of the year? If not, what can I do to correct this?
Sprinter® Boxwood Buxus microphylla
- Spring
- Summer
- Fall
- Winter
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Details
24 - 48 Inches24 - 48 Inches24 - 48 Inches61cm - 1.2m61cm - 1.2m61cm - 1.2mFeatures
Evergreen. Deer-resistant. Fast-growing.
Best SellerFoliage InterestFall InterestWinter InterestSalt TolerantResists:DeerCharacteristics
Plant Type:ShrubShrub Type:EvergreenHeight Category:MediumGarden Height:24 - 48 Inches 61cm - 1.2mSpacing:24 - 48 Inches 61cm - 1.2mSpread:24 - 48 Inches 61cm - 1.2mFlower Colors:GreenFlower Shade:not significantFoliage Colors:GreenFoliage Shade:shinyHabit:UprightContainer Role:ThrillerPlant Needs
Light Requirement:Full ShadeLight Requirement:Part Shade to ShadeLight Requirement:Part Sun to SunLight Requirement:SunLight Requirement:Sun or ShadeThe optimum amount of sun or shade each plant needs to thrive: Full Sun (6+ hours), Part Sun (4-6 hours), Full Shade (up to 4 hours).
Maintenance Category:EasyBloom Time:Grown for FoliageHardiness Zones:5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9bWater Category:AverageUses:ContainerUses:LandscapeUses Notes:Landscapes and containers.
PLEASE NOTE: Sprinter® Boxwood Buxus is restricted and cannot be shipped to the state(s) of PA, TN.
Maintenance Notes:Prefers moist, well-drained soil. Fertilize with a controlled release fertilizer in spring. Pruning is seldom needed, but may be trimmed in summer.
This is an improved, fast-growing form of 'Winter Gem'. Its glossy evergreen foliage is attractive year-round, and it has excellent hardiness. This variety's more upright habit makes it great for hedging. Faster growth means it will fill in more quickly than other varieties. Use it for edging or a low hedge in formal gardens.
Sprinter® Buxus microphylla 'Bulthouse' USPP 25,896, Can 5,282 -
14 Reviews
5942312111Browse reviews from people who have grown this plant.-
John Louis Faulhaber, Missouri, United States, 5 weeks ago
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I bought two Sprinter boxwoods last year to replace two Green Velvet boxwoods (one had died, the other was dying-I think it was a soil issue). I noticed late last year that a split had developed in the middle of one of the boxwoods, and then this early summer I realized the vastly increased "split" was actually the increasing growth of two different boxwood shrubs. I dug up one of them and planted them elsewhere - both of the one-became-two are doing great. Now I notice that a third boxwood I bought this spring and planted in a container ALSO is actually TWO boxwoods, two separate trunks. All three of these original sprinter boxwood shrubs I bought at Home Depot. Has anyone else experienced this? Is this from the grower planting two seedlings in one container to achieve faster-looking results or do Sprinter boxwoods create multiple trunks?
M E, Missouri, United States, 13 weeks ago -
I have a terrace in NYC that faces north and gets tremendous wind gusts during the winter. Since the light is mostly indirect, it's challenging to find plants that will survive the winter. This boxwood is one of them! I can't say it's grown a ton, but it was a cute, compact plant when I got it and it's done well. (As a note, I insulated all my planters with foam insulation because it's so windy but this might be fine in a large pot.) Definitely pleased! It's a very low-maintenance plant that looks great year-round. I may put in a side window box where I haven't found other plants that work well.
Leslie, 28 weeks ago -
I originally ordered 10 of these boxwoods through Home Depot. They are going on 3 years in the ground now. They have done so well in my central Texas area that I've added 2 more in the landscape and a few in pots. I will be adding more in this year. My advice is to clip them to strengthen the stems. I want mine in round balls and have trimmed to that shape. When they first went in, they did flop after a rain. Pinching them to encourage more branching has helped and I'm not seeing the drooping anymore. Very pleased with them.
Annette Jones, Texas, United States, 41 weeks ago -
I left a review of this boxwood awhile ago but it wasn’t posted on the site for some strange reason. I bought one of these sprinter boxwoods for my home three years ago. I live in zone 5b and recently it changed to zone 6a. The reasons I bought this boxwood was because it was supposed to be hardy and it was supposed to grow more quickly than other boxwoods. Neither of these attributes turned out to be true. It has hardly grown at all during the three year span and was heavily damaged last winter when we had a very average winter for this site. Actually it would best be described as a pretty mild winter for our location. The boxwood is located in a protected site and not exposed to harsh winds. This sprinter boxwood is not a plant that I could recommend and I've wasted three years hoping this plant would fill the site or at least grow some and be hardy. It has failed on all counts. I take very good care of all of my garden plants, this and also a Proven Winners lilac, are the only two plants that have failed in my garden. I’ve planted several hundred plants over the years.
Allen Robertson, Ohio, United States, 49 weeks ago -
I am a landscape designer I bought 7, gallon-sized sprinters from a local nursery in March 2022 for my own yard. By early summer I started noticing spider mite damage. I diligently sprayed with neem oil every week, and and when that didn't work I alternated between neem oil and bio-advanced miticide. I continued to spray occasionally throughout the winter. This spring it was clear that four of the boxwoods were beyond saving. I spent nearly $200 replacing those four boxwoods. I continued to spray and monitor the remaining three sprinters. This past week I could see the remaining three sprinters had some new growth and all of it was stippled with spider mite damage. growth all has spider mite damage. I also saw damage on the new growth of my four new sprinters. I figured they had been infected by my old boxwoods. However, as I inspected them I discovered well-developed mite webbing deep inside the shrubs. I believe these proven winners shrubs must have arrived at the nursery infected with spider mites. I have winter gem boxwoods in my yard that still have no spider might damage despite the close proximity to the sprinters. It seems sprinters are especially susceptible to spider mites. I regret that I have previously specified sprinter boxwoods to clients on planting plans. Obviously I will no longer be recommending this cultivar. I noticed in a recent Garden Answer YouTube post, Laura mentioned her favorite boxwoods were Green mountain and North Star. I was shocked that she didn't talk about sprinters as she used to frequently sing their praises. In the recent Garden tour post she said that North star and Green mountain were the only varieties she had not battled spider mites. So I think she has been dealing with the same issues.
Lindsey Brooks Hicks, Colorado, United States, 1 year ago -
I love boxwoods and have many, but I planted 9 Sprinters 2 seasons ago and have had nothing but problems. They haven't handled winter well, and I am always fighting spider mites. None of my other boxwoods have these issues. And none of them smell but these Sprinters smell awful. Wouldn't recommend.
Janice, Ontario, Canada, 1 year ago -
I planted four sprinter boxwood (one gallon size) last spring. They have almost doubled in size and despite being located in a windy non protected location they suffered just a bit of wind burn on the tips this past winter. Note to the reader who fertilized with Hollytone, boxwoods shoud not be fertilized with Hollytone. A fertilizer such as Plant Tone should be used instead. Could this contribute to the bronzing problem?
Stephanie, New York, United States, 1 year ago -
I planted four sprinter boxwood (one gallon size) last spring. They have almost doubled in size and despite being located in a windy non protected location they suffered just a bit of wind burn on the tips this past winter. Note to the reader who fertilized with Hollytone, boxwoods shoud not be fertilized with Hollytone. A fertilizer such as Plant Tone should be used instead. Could this contribute to the bronzing problem?
Stephanie, New York, United States, 1 year ago -
I bought about 30 of the Sprinter Boxwoods in spring 2018 after learning about them on Laura LeBoutillier’s Garden Answer YouTube channel. They have definitely grown quite a bit since then. Due to their expensive price, I ordered the smallest size, they were barely 4” tall when they arrived in the Mail. Today, 3.5 year later, they have grown to about 14” tall and wide. I planted them about 18” apart because I was anxious to form a hedge asap. It has pretty much filled in by now, so I am pleased with the growth rate, it is performing as promised. My only issue with this plant is that it does bronze in the winter. It is getting more pronounced as the years go by. During the first winter, only a couple of plants turned bronze—and only in small parts of the plant, not the entire shrub. This winter, each of the plants has already turned bronze in about 80% of the plant. They do bounce back to a healthy deep green in the spring, but I just wanted to point this out, as this does not match the description. Overall, it is a wonderful, hardy plant. P.S. I fertilize with Holly Tone early spring and water as needed.
SandysMum, New Jersey, United States, 2 years ago
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