In 1753, Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus included two varieties of boxwood in the first comprehensive botanical classification: Buxus sempervirens (American boxwood) and B. sempervirens 'Suffruticosa,' (English boxwood). In turn, settlers brought these two varieties, classified and popularized by Linnaeus, to the New World. To this day, they have remained the bread-and-butter varieties that most American gardeners associate with the plant.

Through no fault of their own, however, English and American box have a reputation for being somewhat difficult and high-strung. Besotted with fanciful visions of boxwoods sculpted into hedges, parterres, and topiaries, as seen in Europe's finest gardens, modern gardeners tend to get caught up in their historical associations and plop them anywhere, without considering their horticultural needs.

"We sell more English box than any other variety, but maybe half of them shouldn't have been planted where they are," says Paul Saunders, founder of Saunders Brothers Nursery, which has specialized in boxwoods since 1947 in Piney River, Virginia. "In the right environment -- high dappled shade -- nothing can touch them. But put English box in full sun and it usually won't work. It'll get thick and it'll burn."

Saunders discovered that despite the great popularity of box, which is made all the more attractive because deer show no interest in foraging on its leaves, American and English varieties have some major limitations. American box may be able to tolerate more sun than English box, but, like English box, it prefers the abiding protection of high shade. And since both varieties are susceptible to root rot, they need to be planted in well-drained soil.