Better Boxwood® Babylon Beauty™ Boxwood – 1 Gallon

Buxus Hybrid ‘HER2009B03’ PP32275

Bring timeless Southern structure to your landscape with Better Boxwood® Babylon Beauty™. This improved boxwood combines the classic, polished appearance gardeners love with enhanced resistance to boxwood blight, deer and common pests. Its fresh light-green foliage stays evergreen year-round, while its naturally spreading habit makes it especially beautiful for low hedges, foundations, mass plantings and layered garden beds.

Babylon Beauty is an excellent choice when you want the refined look of traditional boxwood with less maintenance and improved disease resistance.

Plant at a Glance

Botanical Name: Buxus Hybrid ‘HER2009B03’ PP32275
Common Name: Babylon Beauty Boxwood
Collection: Better Boxwood®
Container Size: 1 Gallon
Plant Type: Evergreen ornamental shrub
Annual or Perennial: Perennial
Evergreen or Deciduous: Evergreen
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5–9
Mature Height: Approximately 3 feet tall
Mature Width: Approximately 4–5 feet wide
Growth Habit: Low, broad, spreading and compact
Growth Rate: Moderate to fast for a boxwood
Sunlight: Full sun to part shade
Water Needs: Moderate while establishing; lower once established
Foliage: Light to medium green
Flowers: No significant ornamental flowers
Bloom Season: Grown for foliage rather than blooms
Deer Resistance: Good
Special Feature: Bred for resistance to boxwood blight and common pests

Why We Love Babylon Beauty

Babylon Beauty gives you the classic Southern boxwood look without requiring constant shaping.

Unlike narrow or upright boxwoods, Babylon Beauty naturally grows wider than it grows tall, eventually reaching around 3 feet tall and 4–5 feet wide. This makes it especially useful for creating substantial, low-growing evergreen layers across the front of a home or throughout a landscaped bed.

Its softer green foliage works beautifully with hydrangeas, azaleas, roses, camellias and ornamental grasses.

What Makes Better Boxwood Different?

Better Boxwood varieties were developed specifically to provide improved resistance to boxwood blight, a serious fungal disease that affects many traditional boxwoods.

Babylon Beauty was sustainably bred for resistance to boxwood blight as well as common pests, making it a particularly attractive choice for homeowners who love traditional boxwood but want a more resilient plant.

Sunlight Requirements

Plant Babylon Beauty in full sun to partial shade.

Boxwoods generally perform especially well in partial or dappled shade. They can tolerate full sun, but in hot Southern climates, some afternoon shade can help protect foliage from intense summer heat.

Wright’s Market Recommendation for Zone 9

In southeast Georgia, an ideal location provides:

Morning sun + some afternoon protection

Babylon Beauty can still grow in full sun, but plants exposed to intense reflected afternoon heat will require more consistent watering, particularly during establishment.

Heavy shade should also be avoided because it can result in a more open, less dense plant.

Watering

Immediately After Planting

Water deeply after planting to thoroughly saturate the root ball and surrounding soil.

During the First Growing Season

Water approximately 2 times per week, adjusting based on rainfall, temperature and soil drainage.

The goal is to keep the root zone evenly moist while the plant becomes established without leaving the soil constantly saturated.

Once Established

Babylon Beauty becomes more drought tolerant once its root system is established.

Water deeply during prolonged periods of:

• High heat
• Drought
• Very dry soil
• Extended periods without rainfall

Always check the soil before watering. Boxwoods prefer moist but well-drained soil and do not like continuously wet roots.

Fertilization

Feed Babylon Beauty once in early spring, just as new growth begins.

Use a balanced, slow-release shrub and tree fertilizer according to package instructions.

A balanced fertilizer such as 10-10-10 may also be used when appropriate for your soil.

Avoid excessive fertilization. Too much nitrogen can encourage rapid, soft growth and may reduce the naturally dense, refined appearance that makes boxwoods so attractive.

If your boxwoods appear healthy, dark green and are growing normally, they generally do not require frequent feeding.

Planting Instructions

1. Water your Babylon Beauty thoroughly while it is still in its nursery container.
2. Select a location with well-drained soil and full sun to partial shade.
3. Dig a hole approximately twice as wide as the root ball, but no deeper.
4. Carefully remove the plant from the container.
5. Gently loosen any tightly circling roots.
6. Position the plant so the top of the root ball sits slightly above the surrounding soil level.
7. Backfill with the existing soil.
8. Water deeply to remove air pockets.
9. Add approximately 1–2 inches of mulch or pine straw around the plant.
10. Keep mulch pulled several inches away from the main stems.

Good drainage is particularly important with boxwood.

Spacing

Allow approximately 4–5 feet of space if you want each plant to reach its natural mature size.

For a continuous low hedge, plants may be spaced more closely depending on how quickly you want them to grow together.

When planting along a home foundation, remember that Babylon Beauty grows wider than it grows tall, so allow adequate room between the shrub and the structure.

Soil

Babylon Beauty is adaptable to a variety of soil types as long as drainage is good.

Its strong root system allows it to perform in a range of landscape conditions, including some poorer soils.

For best results, plant in:

Well-drained soil
Slightly acidic to neutral garden soil
Beds with good airflow and drainage

Avoid low areas where water regularly collects.

Pruning & Maintenance

One of the best features of Babylon Beauty is that its naturally attractive growth habit requires relatively little pruning.

For major shaping, prune in late winter or early spring before the flush of new growth begins.

Light touch-up pruning may be performed during the growing season.

For a softer, more natural Southern garden appearance, avoid repeatedly shearing the plant into an extremely tight shape.

Instead, lightly shape it while allowing the plant's natural form to remain visible.

Does Babylon Beauty Boxwood Flower?

Babylon Beauty is grown almost entirely for its evergreen foliage and structure, rather than its blooms.

It does not produce a significant ornamental flower display, and retail plant specifications generally classify it as having no notable bloom season.

Its primary ornamental value is its attractive green foliage that remains on the plant throughout the year.

Evergreen or Deciduous?

Evergreen.

Babylon Beauty retains green foliage throughout winter rather than dropping its leaves in fall.

This makes it an especially valuable foundation shrub because it provides permanent structure when hydrangeas, perennials and other deciduous plants are dormant.

Zone 9 / Coastal Georgia Performance

Babylon Beauty is hardy in USDA Zones 5–9, making it suitable for southeast Georgia landscapes.

In our hotter Zone 8b/9a climate:

• Give newly planted boxwoods consistent moisture during their first year.
• Afternoon shade can be beneficial.
• Maintain good soil drainage.
• Avoid planting too deeply.
• Keep mulch away from the crown of the plant.
• Provide adequate airflow between plants.

Following these basic practices will help create healthy, dense evergreen shrubs.

Landscape Uses

Babylon Beauty is especially well suited for:

• Low evergreen hedges
• Foundation plantings
• Mass plantings
• Layered landscape beds
• Borders
• Formal gardens
• Cottage gardens
• Southern traditional landscapes
• Containers
• Walkway edging
• Repeating evergreen structure throughout large beds

Its broader habit makes Babylon Beauty particularly beautiful planted as the middle evergreen layer between taller shrubs and lower ornamental grasses or perennials.

Beautiful Plant Pairings

For a sophisticated Southern landscape, pair Babylon Beauty with:

Flowering Shrubs
White Encore® Azaleas
Peach or White Drift® Roses
Camellias
Gardenias
Hydrangeas

Evergreen Structure
Jade Distylium
Podocarpus
Soft Touch Holly
Dwarf Yaupon Holly

Soft Texture
Carex ‘Everillo’
Feather Falls Carex
Liriope
Asiatic Jasmine

One of our favorite combinations is:

Babylon Beauty Boxwood + white flowering shrubs + hydrangeas + soft chartreuse grasses

This creates a timeless landscape with shades of green, white flowers and beautiful year-round structure.

Plant Meaning & Garden Personality

Boxwoods have long been associated with steadfastness, permanence and timeless beauty.

For centuries they have been used in historic European gardens, Southern estates and traditional American landscapes because their evergreen foliage gives gardens a sense of permanence and structure throughout every season.

Babylon Beauty offers that classic character in a more modern, resilient plant.

Why Wright’s Market Loves It

We love Better Boxwood® Babylon Beauty™ because it combines everything people love about a traditional boxwood—timeless green foliage, year-round structure and a polished landscape appearance—with improved disease resistance and an easy-growing habit.

Its lower, wider form makes it especially useful for creating the layered landscapes we love in Southern gardens.

Rather than filling an entire bed with one plant, Babylon Beauty can become the evergreen backbone while hydrangeas, roses, azaleas and softer grasses provide seasonal color around it.

Wright’s Market Plant Tip

Don't plant boxwoods too deeply.

Keeping the top of the root ball slightly above the surrounding grade and providing excellent drainage are two of the simplest things you can do to help your boxwood thrive.

Please note: Plant height, width, fullness and foliage appearance will vary according to season and growing conditions. A 1-gallon Babylon Beauty is a young plant and will continue developing toward its mature size after planting.