TOPIARY fans are thinking outside the Box.

Increasingly frustrated by the traditional Box plant, Buxus sempervirens, due to its proneness to blight and the box moth down here in the far south, they are turning Japanese.

The Japanese Holly, Ilex crenata, has all the attributes of traditional Box — it can be used for topiary and hedging — and has none of the minuses.

Its small, rounded, glossy leaves, dense habit and slow growth spell ease of trimming and shaping.

It will also regenerate from old wood where Box will not, and unlike Box, won’t suffer from leaf scorch on pruning.

My thoughts turned to topiary after the brilliant exponent of the art, retired Ryde businessman David Edwards, was one of the many who responded to my column asking for people with unusual apple trees to gift me some scions for grafting.

And, driving past the Hare and Hounds, where they have brilliant Box hedging welcoming visitors, and walking in Church Litten where there are Japanese Holly topiary balls, I thought the subject was worth a visit.

David will tell us that to keep a good shape and tight growth, topiary needs all-round and all-over light. Shade is no good.

Clipping should be done when the opportunity, enthusiasm and weather all come together — in late summer, so there is the longest period of time, until May or June the following year, to enjoy the clipped shapes.

Many enthusiasts maintenance clip in spring or early summer too, but never too early in the year if there is risk of night frost.

Water well, if the soil is dry, before trimming to help the plant heal, and in winter you can cover with fleece if the site is subject to harsh winds and gently brush off any accumulated snow — if we are lucky enough to get any.

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