- 1). Plant your bushes at the appropriate length from each other. For example, when planting dwarf boxwood bushes, you should plant them between 2 ½ and 3 feet apart. The amount will differ depending on the type of bush you plant. A local garden supplier can help you determine the correct width. This will minimize gaps or crowding between plants and help you achieve a solid wall of bush across the length of your grow box.
- 2). Water and fertilize your bushes per their specific requirements until they grow to a point where they require trimming to stay within the box's dimensions. Most bushes are sold with a pamphlet or plant tag that discusses the type of watering and fertilizing schedule that will best help them grow.
- 3). Place a wooden stake in each corner of your box that extends to at least the top of the bush.
- 4). Tie a string to the bottom of the first stake and extend it across and around the second stake. Continue wrapping the string around the third and fourth stake and then finally connect a string between the fourth and first stake and tie it. Tie a second string to the top of the first stake and then wrap that string around each stake as you did with the first string. The result gives you a cube. Any part of the bush that protrudes past the string lines rests outside of the box and thus requires pruning.
- 5). Trim the excess parts of the bush with pruning shears. If the bush has grown past the mild pruning stage, use an electric or gas-powered pruner. Hold the pruner and cut straight down from the bush's top to its bottom. Use the string lines to create perpendicular shapes.
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