Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Can anybody help or suggest what I can possibly do to bring this buxus back to looking lush again.

Tracey.lee553UIiaklc5Tracey.lee553UIiaklc5 Posts: 5
in Problem solving
Novic when it comes to the garden, Not sure what’s happened, given it liquid seaweed, tomato feed and also used top bucks health mix. Any suggestions will be greatly received. 

Posts

  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    Patience and keep an eye on watering
    Devon.
  • Tracey.lee553UIiaklc5Tracey.lee553UIiaklc5 Posts: 5
    Aww thank you, would you say it’s maybe had a little too much or probably not enough? 
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    I'd say deffo NOT enough at some point.
    It should come back . I'd give it a bit of a rub, like when you towel dry your hair and shake anything that's super loose. That'll let light inside which helps encourage new growth.
    Devon.
  • Joy*Joy* Posts: 571
    I would take care with feeding too. Seaweed and tomato feed is high in potash which is needed for plants which flower and despite your box having flowers on it, they aren't really what you want to encourage. My box balls get plenty of water but not much else, apart from a mulch around the base in spring. The lower parts of your box look rather better than the top and might have got to the water leaving the top too dry so thorough watering might help. Also, the top appears to be staked so check that the branches are not being strangled by what look like cable ties which have no give in them. Replacing ties when they just tight is important. I have some plants being trained to be standards which have splints on what will be the trunk, wound round with soft twine which will stretch a bit but I still have to retie them 2 or 3 times a year. Have you had it long? When newly planted a good drenching every week is advisable rather than giving it a drop more often. I'm sure that with a bit of TLC it will grow better but you will have to be patient as there's rarely a quick fix in gardening!
  • Tracey.lee553UIiaklc5Tracey.lee553UIiaklc5 Posts: 5
    Thank you we’ve had it a couple of years, ties are all fine hubbys checked them, we wasn’t sure if it was box blight, obviously with everything that’s been going on, we’ve not been in touch with any garden centres. Think being patient is the key. 
  • Tracey.lee553UIiaklc5Tracey.lee553UIiaklc5 Posts: 5
    Hostafan1 said:
    I'd say deffo NOT enough at some point.
    It should come back . I'd give it a bit of a rub, like when you towel dry your hair and shake anything that's super loose. That'll let light inside which helps encourage new growth.
    Thank you we’ve give it a towel dry this morning, fingers crossed. It’s the only one in the garden that is looking like this my maples and bay trees are flourishing. 
  • Joy*Joy* Posts: 571
    I didn't want to mention blight. One symptom is black sreaks on the stems. Has it any?  If it has I'm sorry to say that you might have a terminally poorly plant.
  • Tracey.lee553UIiaklc5Tracey.lee553UIiaklc5 Posts: 5
    Joy* said:
    I didn't want to mention blight. One symptom is black sreaks on the stems. Has it any?  If it has I'm sorry to say that you might have a terminally poorly plant.
    Hubby’s scratched the bark on stem and branches, still nice and green, wait and see game I think. 
  • Joy*Joy* Posts: 571
    That's a relief. I live in fear of it having 6 box balls which cost a small fortune and your box won't have been cheap either.
    It might help to mist the leaves too to give the new growth a bit of TLC. Choose a time of day which is cool, evening or early morning. The bottom parts of your tree look a lot greener than the top as though they have benefitted from evaporation from the soil after watering. When I water mine , in addition to watering the soil, I use a gentle spray over the top so that some water gets to the centre as it drips through. I nurture my big investment so use a pressure no more than the get when it rains as I don't want them to get split which would spoil their shape. (Mine are each about 90cm diameter so getting water underneath is a bit tricky).
    If they get very hot, it might even help to remove the gravel as it will help to bake them, if of course we get some sunshine! It is easier to produce a more buoyant atmosphere with damp soil. It's a pity that we can't put some moisturiser on the leaves so they don't look so dry! B)
Sign In or Register to comment.