Is Boxwood A Hardwood Or Softwood

Boxwood s ability to hold crisp details in carvings and lathe work in combination with its color and silky fine texture truly make it a classic.

Is boxwood a hardwood or softwood.

Allowed to grow in the open it rarely achieves heights of 25 feet with a maximum diameter of 6 inches. Other species in different genera tend to have similar appearances and working characteristics i e fine texture hard and heavy and perhaps get marketed under the boxwood name much like many woods are called by the mahogany name. It is a common misconception that hardwoods are called hardwood because the wood is hard while softwood is so named because they are soft. It s pale creamy yellowish hues make this quite popular with wood turners and especially carvers as boxwood is renowned for its capacity to hold crisp fine details and it has a smooth very fine texture.

While the term boxwood has become quite convoluted over time this species buxus macowanii is considered a close cousin to the original boxwood buxus sempervirens. Usually seen as a small shrub it is a common component of the ornamental garden hedge. It is true that many hardwoods are more difficult to machine than softwoods however the distinction actually has nothing to do with the hardness or workability. Boxwood shoots may be harvested in both the hardwood semi hardwood and softwood stage.

Flowering dogwood cornus florida also is called boxwood and bunchberry. Its wood once widely was used for tool handles mallet heads wedges engraver s blocks and golf clubs. Boxwood hard heavy fine grained wood usually white or light yellow that is obtained from the common box buxus sempervirens and other small trees of the genus buxus. Softwood cuttings are taken when the plant has only been putting out new growth for three or four weeks.

This happens to be generally true but there are exceptions such as in the cases of wood from yew trees a softwood that is relatively hard and wood from balsa trees a.