Box Blight..

As some will know I have lots of Box hedging in my garden ..I'm quite obsessive about it..
I've done much reading up on it..but I have yet to find out if Blight is apparent how fast does it travel ? it's said it spreads rapidly but how rapid is 'rapid ? I'm uncertain of a 'patch' on my Rose Parterre which I found late August and have since been treating it with 'fungus fighter' it hasn't moved thus far .I'm hoping it is Ok because if not my garden is ruined.

 

The first thing that really needs to be done is identify it properly as being Box Blight. If that is what it proves to be, then I can explain how it is being treated with success here. Its a three stage process developed in the Netherlands. Unfortunately your box will lok bad for a time, but it will recover.

 

Thanks for the reply @Sandy Ground

I've just been staring at the Box and the patch I've been spraying with fungus fighter is looking a bit better..(first pic) but further along that same section is looking very dodgey now(pic2).

That part of the parterre in the most shadiest and dampest spot of the garden .



Apologies for poor quality photos.

 

Well if it is Blight, I think old Monty Don gave up on it and dug all his box out.
I'm assuming he would have access to most chemicals that are effective.

I've a few box plants in my garden and touch wood they seem to be alright.
Mine is cuttings from basically wild trees, not the varieties sold at garden centres.

Just wonder if it's mostly affecting the cloned stuff rather than the more robust kinds.

 

As can be seen from this photo of a typical Swedish churchyard...



...box hedging is used quite extensively! A few years ago, many of these churchyards were devastated by Box Blight. Initially, there was not much success in eliminating it, but that was then. Nowadays, they use the method developed in the Netherlands I mentioned.

 

Well you'd be hard pushed to find any of my Buxus that hasn't got blight...I've been faffing with it for nigh on a year now ,using fungus fighter plus but to no avail....it's had it....was going to cut it right back but can't face looking at it like that sooooo....it's got one last chance...rightly or wrongly I'm going to douse it in Bordeaux mix...just for the hell of it...

 

Best thing that ever happened!!!

I was afraid I had to deal with those box bushes for the rest of my life after buying them together with the house. My wife liked they but in my eyes they are absolutely useless for nature.

So when the box blight came i had a good excuse to root them all out (some survived at first, but a handful of caterpillars did a good job).

Now we have an almond tree, blueberries, aronia bushes and thornless, non invasive blackberries. A big improvement