I'm looking for info on boxwood shrubs

I had been thinking cats were spraying my bushes, but with the help of others, found out it was my boxwood that was smelling!
Any ideas on how to stop it? Besides digging them up?
Thanks, Elizabeth

Don't associate it with cats, just enjoy the glorious scent of Old English formal gardens! It's lovely! Remember the scent is wholly natural, it belongs, it doesn't mean there's anything nasty been happening!

Resin

When your down wind from the smell- there's nothing glorious! I'm kidding. It can be embarassing when you are standing out there talking to someone. For the longest, I thought it was my neighbors house since she had 4 dogs that never went out. Her carport is right next to mine. Not everyone thinks like me, but it does smell ALOT like cat peepee.

Unfortunately when a plant has a smell you don't like, generally the only thing you can do to get rid of the smell is get rid of the plant. You could try planting some pretty smelling things around them, but you'll have to work hard to make sure that there's always something blooming that has a strong enough scent to cover up the smell.

I guess I can live with it instead of live without the shrubs. They block alot of the sun from coming in the front door, plus they look nice. I just don't like the idea of someone coming to my front door and smelling it thinking it's my house stinking like that:) How vain huh?
At least I know now and can start dealing with it. I noticed it today but it didn't bother me too much since I knew it wasn't cat-pee:)

I'm with Resin! Nothing is more glorious than a traditional boxwood garden. I have found that certain varieties have LESS smell than others. In zone 5b our hardiest varieties (Wintergem and Wintergreen) have hardly any scent. Last spring I planted a hedge of "True English" dwarf boxwood with disastrous results! Of the 105 plants in this hedge, I had to replace 65 this spring!

The "True English" plants had that strong scent, but evidently couldn't take the harsh climate (or my neglectful gardening). Here's what it looked like before I replaced the dead plants last week. I replaced the dead plants with Wintergem - which I have in hedges in several other locations - I've never lost a plant. I'm afraid it may look kind of 'checkered' with two different varieties of boxwood, but I could not bring myself to tear out the living plants.

This message was edited Apr 13, 2009 1:14 PM

I think the checkered look is pretty. I'm gonna try and figure a way to get a picture of mine on here!
Wish me luck

I thought I could get close enough the Google Map street view but it doesn't. Oh well. Any other ideas on getting a picture?
I think I have a "Winter Gem"

I don't think 'Winter Gem' has much of a scent from what I remember and it's rather lax in growth. The straight species has the strongest scent and I believe LeawoodGardener is right on lack of smell on the cultivars mentioned. For some reason this came up in conversation from a landscaper at the nursery I work at today. I only caught part of the conversation between my boss and the client. I'll try and remember to ask tomorrow. If you dislike it that much, rip it out and plant something else. There's lots of alternatives.

Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike it enough to dig them up. I've got 10 bushes planted in a 13 ft. row. They are around 41" tall and 47" wide. I am curious if its my bushes or cat pee-pee I smell. I'm trying to gather enough info. to make that decision since I can't send a picture of them to help truly ID them.:)
I don't think mine are lax in growing. They seem to be doing good.
Thank you for any information.