Common box
Sources last read 14 September 2026.
Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.
Also called Abassian boxwood, Boxwood, Common Boxwood and European box.
Toxicity is partly unassessed
- Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
- Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
- Not assessed for people. RHS publishes no harm statement for this plant. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
What the sources say about its care
- Light
- Full shade, Partial shadeRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Water
- Moist but well-drained or Well-drainedRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Humidity
No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.
ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026- Temperature
How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.
H6 — -20 to -15°C -20 to -15 °CRHS · read 13 September 2026- Soil
- Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand; pH Acid or Alkaline or NeutralRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to cats
- Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to dogs
- Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Harmful to people
- No statement of harm to people is published for this plant; that absence is not evidence it is safe.RHS · read 13 September 2026
Routine care
- Propagation
- Stem cuttingsNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026In summer, root semi-ripe cuttings.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pruning
- It grows slowly and can eventually reach 15 to 20 feet, but pruning can keep it much smaller. Avoid pruning too early in spring or too late in summer.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Pruning group 8 in summer; renovate by pruning in late spring. After hard pruning, mulch and apply a general fertiliser. Well suited to topiary clipping.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pests and diseases
- Can be troubled by boxwood mite, boxwood psyllid, other boxwood pests and oystershell scale.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Can be troubled by red spider mite, mussel scale, box sucker and box tree caterpillar. Diseases: box blight, a leaf spot and, rarely, honey fungus.RHS · read 13 September 2026
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About the plant
Buxus sempervirens, the common box, European box, or boxwood, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Buxus, native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asia, from southern England south to northern Morocco, and east through the northern Mediterranean region to Turkey. Buxus colchica of western Caucasus and B. hyrcana of northern Iran and eastern Caucasus are commonly treated as synonyms of B. sempervirens.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026
- Native range
- Europe to N. Iran, N. AfricaWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026Europe to N. Iran, N. AfricaNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026SW Eurasia, N AfricaRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Climate
- temperateWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- Growth form
- shrub or treeWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026Perennial, Shrub; habit dense, multi-stemmed, roundedNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Bushy (evergreen)RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Size
- Height 60–240 in; width 60–180 inNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Height 4-8 metres; spread 4-8 metres after 10–20 yearsRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Flowering
- Flowers cream/tan, gold/yellow; blooms in springNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Flowers yellow in springRHS · read 13 September 2026
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Sources
- ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Wikipedia · read 13 September 2026
What this does not cover
The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.
Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.
If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.