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I really like the 'boxwood green velvet' for privacy hedge but I ideally need at least 5 ft of height. Most sources for example here says it grows 2 to 4 ft but at least one claims it grows 4 to 6 ft here.

Has anyone grown it more than 4 ft? Is there really any chance it can grow 5 ft even 6 ft?

I am considering this for north east US (boston area) where it should withstand the harsh winter as well.

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The link you've given does indeed suggest a possible, very mature and eventual height of up to 6 feet. However, every other source on the net says 2-4 feet high and wide, so the odds are with the smaller height. This plant is a cross between B. smpervirens and B. microphylla koreana, and the latter is a dwarf version of Buxus (Box) - it is a relatively slow growing plant, so even were it to make 6 feet, it might take twenty years to get there.

If you really want this plant as a privacy hedge, I think you have to accept it's not going to get the height you want in any useful timespan from a privacy point of view.

http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=b704

Your USDA zone appears to be 7a or 7b - have you considered Lonicera nitida, (the yellow leaved version is sometimes called 'gold box honeysuckle') which is hardy down to Zone 6? Although it's one of the honeysuckles, this one is not a vine, but a free standing, small leaved shrub which responds well to clipping - it makes a good, low, evergreen hedge, usually up to 5/6 feet for the yellow variety. There is a variety with green leaves; 'Baggesen's gold' has yellow leaves, and there's a newer variety called 'Lemon Beauty' with variegated green and yellow leaves. Its use as a substitute for box hedging is becoming more widespread because of the disease problems with Buxus varieties.

http://plantlust.com/plants/16954/lonicera-nitida-baggesens-gold/

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  • Thanks for feedback and recommendations. My yard is fairly big, 80 ft boundary with one neighbor and 100 ft with another. I think fast growing might require too much maintenance down the road but I don't want that dead slow growth either which will take for ever as well. My goal is create nice look as well and helps with privacy too. I was hoping boxwood green valvet will get to at least 3 ft in few years?
    – zar
    Jun 8, 2016 at 13:38
  • My zone is 6 per this map
    – zar
    Jun 8, 2016 at 13:43
  • 6a or 6 b according to this, but of course, I don't know exactly where you are arboretum.harvard.edu/hardiness-zone-map
    – Bamboo
    Jun 8, 2016 at 14:51
  • @zar if you're putting a hedge between the boundary between you and your neighbors be mindful that you are adding additional maintenance for them. It would be nice to locate the shrubs far enough back so they don't have to prune to hard back to the property line or you can offer to maintain the hedge if they give you permission to go on their property a few times a year to trim and clean up the clippings. Jun 8, 2016 at 15:21

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