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What is this all over my box hedging? It looks blue and flakes all over the ground beneath

Posts

  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Has it been sprayed with anything? The only blue stuff that I can think of is Bordeaux mixture, an old-fashioned fungicide.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • PerkiPerki Posts: 2,527
    Looks like they could be mealybugs 
  • decmccullochdecmcculloch Posts: 3
    Haven't sprayed it with anything. It is an old hedge and does well most years. Will look up mealybugs online to see how i might treat it. Weather has been really wet this years with weeks of rain. Haven't been in this part of the garden for a few weeks.  Feeling annoyed  didn't notice it sooner. Really hoping I can rescue it.
  • HelixHelix Posts: 631
    If the infestation isn’t too widespread you can probably control it by spending 30 minutes with cotton pads to get rid of the worst, and then regular soap sprays.  If that fails then try pyrethrum. 
  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    Sometimes, it is just weather related. If you have a nice warm spot with lack of moving air, then your shrub will most likely suffer from this from time to time. Regularly set your hose on jet setting to blast the leaves with water when the sun is down or on a dull day, it should control them a bit. A well grown shrub in the right conditions should be able to grow out of this.
  • debs64debs64 Posts: 5,184
    You don’t have a ceanothus nearby do you? Looks exactly like what is coming off mine at the moment. 
  • decmccullochdecmcculloch Posts: 3
    Hi Debs64 no ceanothus close by but will keep an eye out for spread to other plants. Thanks for the advice everyone
  • AdstidAdstid Posts: 78
    I had this on my box hedge and RHS advice service identified it as evidence of box sucker. Nothing to worry about on mature plants. And certainly my hedge still looks as happy as ever, just a bit dandruffy! 
  • andrewshazelandrewshazel Posts: 14
    Yeah, mine gets this occasionally, I assumed it was a sort of whitefly type thing. Doesn’t seem to bother the plant. 
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