Carissa macrocarpa ‘Boxwood Beauty’

Compact Natal Plum

Boething Treeland Farms grows over 1,000 varieties of trees, shrubs, perennials and specialty plants on 10 California nurseries to serve the wholesale landscape and nursery industries throughout the Western United States and beyond.

Plant Type: Shrubs

Evergreen-Deciduous: Evergreen

Overall Mature Size: Small

Also Grown As: Bush

Mature Height & Spread: 2' x 2'

Natural Growth Habit: Rounded

Native To: Africa

Exposure: Full Sun, Partial Shade

Water: Medium Water, Low Water

Flower Color: White

Bloom Time: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter

Special Features: Drought Resistant / Edible / Hedge / Seacoast Conditions / Shade Tolerant

Container Sizes: #1, #5

Sunset Garden Zones: 22-24

A Bit More

Carissa macrocarpa ‘Boxwood Beauty’ has the tight compact form of a Buxus but with the added bonus of lovely little scented blossoms and attractive fruit. Compact Natal Plum, as it’s also called, looks equally at home sheared into low formal hedges, or left to the natural low and mounding form it takes on. Carissa macrocarpa does best in sandy soil and full sun. It’s worth noting that Carissa is in the Dogbane family of plants. The fruit are edible and tasty, but all other parts of this plant are toxic. Watch for the spines if you decide to harvest them. Natal Plum is moderately drought tolerant and capable of dealing with salt spray and saline soils, so adding that touch of formal green to a beach house turns out to be far easier than it could be. For best results, plant Carissa macrocarpa where it will get full sun, and will be protected from frost.

A Bit More

Carissa macrocarpa ‘Boxwood Beauty’ has the tight compact form of a Buxus but with the added bonus of lovely little scented blossoms and attractive fruit. Compact Natal Plum, as it’s also called, looks equally at home sheared into low formal hedges, or left to the natural low and mounding form it takes on. Carissa macrocarpa does best in sandy soil and full sun. It’s worth noting that Carissa is in the Dogbane family of plants. The fruit are edible and tasty, but all other parts of this plant are toxic. Watch for the spines if you decide to harvest them. Natal Plum is moderately drought tolerant and capable of dealing with salt spray and saline soils, so adding that touch of formal green to a beach house turns out to be far easier than it could be. For best results, plant Carissa macrocarpa where it will get full sun, and will be protected from frost.