Improved Cold Hardiness for Golden Dream Boxwood PP16052

During our visit to the Better Homes & Gardens® Test Garden this week, we viewed two Golden Dream Boxwood PP16052 that had not only survived, but thrived in the USDA Zone 5 winters of Des Moines, Iowa. 

Our conservative projection about this new cultivar when it was added to the Garden Debut® collection in 2011 was that it would definitely survive to temperatures -10 to 0° F. (USDA Zone 6), but would need winter protection if planted in colder climates than that. However, Better Homes & Gardens® Test Garden Manager Sandra Gerdes informed us that neither test plant had protection during the last 3 winters, nor were they planted in areas where they might receive natural protection from the plants and structures around them. The image below shows the first Golden Dream Boxwood PP16052 planted near the fish pond on the east side of the garden.  

The second planting on the west side of the garden, planted strategically near a sitting area so visitors can view the beautiful variegation on Golden Dream Boxwood PP16052, was one of the few plants in this section with much interest in mid-April and caught my eye right away. You can see it on the left side of the image below.    

With three years of testing in winter temperatures -20 to -10° F, Garden Debut® is confident that Golden Dream Boxwood PP16052 can survive winters for gardeners in USDA Zone 5. With its added cold hardiness, deer resistance and year-round interest, Golden Dream Boxwood PP16052 is the perfect addition to your landscape as an accent plant, in small groups or staged as a low hedge.   To find this show-stopper in your area, visit our Garden Debut® retailers page at www.gardendebut.com/retailers.php or contact us at (877) 663-5053. The general public can view these Golden Dream Boxwoods PP16052 at the Better Homes & Gardens® Test Garden on Fridays from noon to 2 p.m., from May through September.