Preserved Topiary

How to Preserve Boxwood: Glycerin at Home and How Preserved Topiary Is Made

Cindy E. · · 5 min read
How to Preserve Boxwood: Glycerin at Home and How Preserved Topiary Is Made

Boxwood is preserved by replacing the water in its leaves and stems with glycerin, so the foliage stays soft and green without water, soil or light. Commercial preservers do this over about two weeks, often adding dye to hold the color. At home, you can preserve cut boxwood branches by standing them in a mix of one part glycerin to two parts hot water for two to four weeks.

We do not preserve plants ourselves. Every preserved piece we sell is bought in already preserved. This page explains how the process works, how to do it with cut branches at home, and how to judge a preserved piece when you shop.

How commercial preservation works

A preserved boxwood ball and cone topiary in a gray pot beside a console table in a bright hallway, and a preserved juniper globe in a terracotta pot beside an armchair in a living room.
Preserved boxwood is real foliage. It keeps its shape and color indoors with no water or light.

The plant is grown and clipped to shape first, because only foliage that has reached its final form is worth preserving. The branches are then cut and slowly dried while they draw up a glycerin solution in place of their water. The glycerin stays inside the leaves and stems and keeps them supple, so they do not dry out and shatter the way dried flowers do.

Dye is usually added to the solution to hold the natural green, or sometimes to shift it. The whole process takes about two weeks. The preserved foliage is then fixed to a frame and trimmed to the finished shape.

How to preserve boxwood at home with glycerin

Cut boxwood branches standing in a clear jar of amber glycerin solution on a white kitchen counter beside pruning snips, and soft olive-green preserved boxwood branches in a stoneware pitcher on a living room mantel.
Cut branches drink the glycerin mix for two to four weeks (left), then keep their leaves soft indoors (right).

This is a home method for cut branches, for wreaths, garlands and arrangements. It will not preserve a whole living topiary in its pot. Expect the leaves to turn a deeper olive or bronze green rather than stay bright green, unless you add a little green floral dye to the mix.

  1. Cut in summer or fall. Choose healthy branches 12 to 18 inches long, with mature, firm leaves. Soft new spring growth does not take up the glycerin well.
  2. Prepare the stems. Strip the leaves from the bottom few inches. Recut each stem at an angle and split the bottom inch with pruners so it can drink.
  3. Mix the solution. Stir one part glycerin into two parts hot water until it is clear. Glycerin is sold at pharmacies and craft stores.
  4. Stand the branches in it. Use a jar or vase with 3 to 4 inches of solution. Keep it somewhere cool and out of direct sun.
  5. Wait two to four weeks. Top up the solution as the branches drink it. They are done when the leaves change color evenly to the tips and feel soft and slightly oily.
  6. Dry and store. Wipe the stems, hang the branches upside down for a day or two, then use them. Keep them out of sun and damp.

Home-preserved branches last a year or more indoors. If the tips stay green and brittle, the branch did not drink enough; recut the stem and give it more time.

How long preserved topiary lasts

A round preserved boxwood ball in a terracotta pot at the foot of a white staircase, and a preserved juniper cone in a terracotta pot beside a wooden sideboard.
Boxwood (left) and juniper (right) are the two foliages most preserved topiary is made from.

Kept indoors and out of the sun, a well-made preserved piece lasts for years. Preserved boxwood is usually expected to last around seven years, and juniper about the same or longer. The preserved moss pieces we sell are rated for seven years or more. Sun and damp shorten that, sometimes to a single season.

Care is simple. Do not water it. Keep it out of direct sun and away from damp. Dust it now and then with a feather duster, or with canned air held a few inches away.

How to judge a preserved piece

A pair of preserved boxwood double ball topiaries in black urns either side of an arched doorway to a dining room, and a preserved boxwood triple ball topiary in a black urn beside a curving staircase.
Good preserved boxwood shows slight color changes from tip to center, the way a live plant does.

The same checks apply wherever you buy.

  • Color variation. Real preserved boxwood has slightly lighter tips and greener centers, sometimes with soft olive tones. A flat, evenly bright ball is over-dyed or low grade.
  • Layering. Look for shorter leaves tucked inside and longer tips reaching out, with some stem showing under the foliage. A perfectly smooth surface usually means cheap factory packing.
  • The frame underneath. A good piece sits on a rigid steel frame with a rust-resistant finish. Ask the seller what the frame is. If they do not know, you have your answer.

Indoors, always

A pair of tall preserved cone topiaries in stone urns either side of a paneled hotel lobby doorway, and a tall preserved cone in a black urn at the end of a carpeted hotel corridor.
Preserved topiary suits lobbies, corridors and rooms with little daylight, where a live plant would not last.

Preserved foliage is for interiors and covered spaces. Direct sun fades it, and damp breaks it down. It suits hallways, offices, hotel lobbies and rooms with no window at all, because it needs no light. For a spot in the open, choose UV-rated artificial topiary instead.

Browse the preserved topiary collection, or ask about a custom preserved piece built to order to your dimensions.

What about preserved moss?

A preserved moss double ball topiary in a black pot against a dark green wall beside a sideboard, and a framed preserved moss wall panel above a leather sofa in a dim lounge.
Preserved moss stays soft and green with no light or water, which is why it works on a wall.

Moss is preserved the same way as foliage. Its water is replaced, so it keeps its color and texture without staying alive. Moss has no woody stems, so it stays soft and springy. That is why it works as a wall surface where preserved branches would not.

Care is the same: no light, no water, no feeding. Direct sun fades it, and steady damp ruins it, so keep it off exterior walls and out of unventilated rooms. Framed panels are in preserved moss wall art, and sphagnum by the bale is in bulk preserved moss.

Quick answers

How do you preserve boxwood?

Stand freshly cut branches in one part glycerin to two parts hot water, somewhere cool and shaded, for two to four weeks, until the leaves feel soft to the tips. Commercial preservers use the same principle with dye and controlled drying.

Is preserved boxwood real?

Yes. It is real boxwood that has been cut and treated so it no longer grows but keeps its leaves soft and green. It is not plastic or silk.

Can preserved boxwood go outside?

Only under full cover, such as a deep porch, out of direct sun and rain. In the open, sun fades it within a season.

How do you refresh preserved boxwood?

Dust it gently and keep it out of sun and damp. Faded preserved foliage does not regain its color, so a piece that has faded badly needs new foliage.

Looking for a piece like this?

Browse the collection or commission something made to your space, setting, and timeline.

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