Incidentally,
By the way: Remember to never water the boxwood from above over the leaves, but only at the root - this will prevent fungal infestation.
Boxwood animal figures - shape a topiary rabbit
A boxwood rabbit is guaranteed to be an eye-catcher in the garden or on the terrace - and this is how you cut it into shape!
18.06.2025
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Popular boxwood animal figures
Horses, snails and bears - artful boxwood animals are popular and guaranteed to stand out in your garden.
Pruning boxwood to depict animal figures as topiary is a project for advanced gardeners, however, as it takes a lot of time and requires some skill. Safe, confident handling of gardening equipment and tools is essential.
Preparation: Cutting a boxwood rabbit
Before you start creating a boxwood bunny topiary, have all the necessary materials and tools as well as the appropriate protective equipment ready. For example, safety glasses are required when working with ASA products. We also recommend that you wear protective gloves.
Prepare your workplace to make your work easier: Spread out a blanket or tarpaulin on the table where you want to carry out the topiary. This means you can quickly collect the cuttings after the work is done and take them away. Now you can place your unpruned box on the base and start pruning.
- Tarpaulin or old blanket
- A2 paper measuring approx. 50 x 60 centimetres
- Black felt tip pen
- Tape measure
- String
- 2 cardboard boxes measuring approx. 50 x 60 centimetres
- Suitable sized pot
- Boxwood in container
- Planting soil
- Plant fleece
- Shrub shears, such as a STIHL HSA 26 battery shrub shears
- Pruning shears, such as a STIHL ASA 20 battery pruning shears
- Hand shovel
- Scissors or cutter
Working with high-performance power tools is fun and allows you to broaden your skills, which is great if you can rely on effective and safe protective clothing.
Always wear your personal protective equipment when working with STIHL power tools. Find out more in the instruction manual for your product. Before using your power tool for the first time, fully familiarise yourself with it and ensure that it is in flawless condition before each use.
On request, your STIHL dealer will be happy to prepare your power tool for its first job, and will also advise you on models and sizes of protective clothing that you can try on at your leisure. Please remember that personal protective equipment is no substitute for safe working.
Boxwood rabbit figure in 6 steps
Once you have your safety glasses ready and your workstation prepared, you can start on your rabbit figure. We'll show you how in 6 simple steps.
Using the measuring tape, measure the height and maximum width of your boxwood and transfer both measurements to the A2 paper using the felt-tip pen. Now place the paper on the table and use the felt-tip pen to sketch the desired outline of the rabbit within the two markings. The outline should be about three centimetres smaller than the starting height and width.
The shape of the rabbit consists of three parts: The large sphere at the bottom forms the body, followed by the smaller, slightly elliptical sphere for the head and an upright ellipse on one side for the ears.
On the sketch, measure the height of the lower sphere for the body using the tape measure. Take the cardboard box, mark the diameter of the body sphere on the bottom edge of the cardboard with the felt-tip pen and draw a semicircle over the diameter.
To make the semicircle, tie half the base length of string to one end of the pen and hold the other end of the string in the middle of the base line. Now cut out the drawn semicircular shape from the cardboard.
Using the cardboard template, cut out the round rabbit body with the HSA 26. Remember that enough of the boxwood, about 40 per cent, must remain above the sphere to be able to form the head afterwards. Be careful not to cut away too much at once and check the evenness of the finished ball shape by standing a little away from the table.
Tie a piece of string around the boxwood to mark the transition between the head and body. Now use the ASA 20 to cut the rabbit head and nose into shape. Once you have finished your work, check the uniformity of the cutting pattern and remove any remaining protruding shoots if necessary.
Now form the ears from the upper, still uncut shoots, starting from the outside and only cutting out the gap between the two ears at the end. Look at the final result and improve if necessary to give your rabbit figure the finishing touch.
Finally, repot the boxwood in your desired container. To do this, remove it from the current container, loosen the outer roots a little by hand and place the root ball in the new container, which should already have some soil at the bottom.
Fill around the root ball with potting compost to just below the rim of the pot, press the soil down all around and water carefully. Also place a fleece over the finished figure to protect the fresh cuts from direct sunlight and possible burn damage.
Now you can place the finished rabbit in a place of your choice and enjoy your work!
Use wire template as shaper
Neatly trimmed boxwood animals make a beautiful garden decoration. Pruning is particularly quick and easy with a ready-made boxwood template for animals, which you can buy in garden centres or online. This usually consists of a wire frame made of sturdy steel, which can also be encased in plastic.
The wire template is placed over a boxwood plant, which increasingly fills the wire frame as it grows. Regularly cut off protruding shoots to keep your rabbit in shape.
The boxwood must be watered thoroughly at the root
Care tips for boxwood animal figures
You should fertilise your boxwoodas soon as three days after shaping so that it is strong and resistant to pest infestation. Regular watering is also essential and part of the care. This applies in particular to boxwoods in pots that cannot get water from the ground. The pot should have a drain hole to prevent water from accumulating.
TOPIARY RABBIT: Important questions and answers
Yes, personal protective equipment such as safety glasses is necessary, especially when using powerful garden tools. Please refer to the operating instructions for your product or consult a specialist retailer for details.
Among other things, you will need a tarpaulin or blanket, A2 paper, cardboard, felt-tip pen, measuring tape, string and garden tools such as battery shrub shears and battery pruning shears. A pot, plant soil and a plant fleece are also useful.
Yes, ready-made wire frames are already available in the garden centre or online. These are placed over a young boxwood plant, which then grows into the desired animal shape - such as a rabbit - with regular pruning.
