# Two boxwoods, two roles: ‘Green Mountain’ and ‘Green Velvet’

Published November 2, 2026 by Arboras.

Crews that order ‘Green Mountain’ boxwood usually order ‘Green Velvet’ with it. One stands up, one fills out. How the pair works in a bed.

Look through a year of our orders and one pairing keeps coming up. Most orders with ‘Green Mountain’ boxwood also include ‘Green Velvet’, and it isn't one crew's habit: several different landscape companies order them together.

It makes sense once you see the two shapes side by side.

*Figure: Side view: ‘Green Mountain’ boxwood is an upright cone about 4 to 5 feet tall; ‘Green Velvet’ is a rounded mound about 3 to 4 feet tall and wide.*

## ‘Green Mountain’: the upright one

‘Green Mountain’ grows into a cone, about 4 to 5 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide, and holds that shape with little shearing. Designers use it where they want height without width: flanking an entry or steps, marking the corners of a bed, or as evenly spaced points along a walk.

## ‘Green Velvet’: the rounded one

‘Green Velvet’ makes a rounded mound, about 3 to 4 feet tall and wide. The plants knit together into a soft low hedge or fill the front of a foundation bed, and it holds its color through winter better than many older boxwoods.

Both come from the same family of hybrid boxwoods, bred for cold hardiness, so they look like they belong together.

## Why crews order both

- **Rhythm.** Pyramids set at intervals in a low hedge give a bed formal structure with only two plants.
- **One care plan.** Both want well-drained soil, sun to part shade, and the same pruning schedule.
- **Winter structure.** Both are evergreen, so the bed still looks designed when the hydrangeas and perennials around it are bare. See [what gets ordered alongside hydrangeas](/blog/what-gets-ordered-alongside-hydrangeas/).

## Spacing on a job

- ‘Green Velvet’ as a hedge: about 2½ to 3 feet apart on center, for a hedge that closes in a few seasons.
- ‘Green Mountain’ as accents: wherever you want the points. As a hedge of its own, about 2 feet apart.

## Watch for boxwood blight

Boxwood blight has spread through the Southeast. Keep irrigation off the leaves, give plants room for air to move, and don't crowd them into wet beds. If a client wants less risk, inkberry holly and dwarf yaupon holly are the usual stand-ins for the rounded role.

## On your next list

If a plan calls for boxwood, tell us the shape and role you're after, and we'll quote the sizes available. [Browse what's available](/plants/).