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Re potted Box Tree Yellowing - is it dying?

richandgemandersonrichandgemanderson Posts: 1
in Problem solving
Hi, I recently bought 2 pyramid shaped Box Trees plants roughly 1m tall to put into pots next to my South facing front door. I haven't pruned them at all since I took delivery. Since I potted them out the leaves are slowly going yellow but not falling off! I have watered them through the dry spell. I'm rather afraid I've killed them off already. Can anyone advise. the attached picture is the same plant, the left hand side is today, the right hand side 3 weeks ago. Thank you!!!

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    They've probably had a bit too much sun/wind/cold temps. If you can find them a slightly more protected site for now, that will help them acclimatise. They get wind burn in particular, if the site's exposed to that  :)
    They've probably been grown in more protected circumstances, and it can be a bit of a shock if their new site is different. 
    Make sure when you water them, that they get a really good watering every few days - not a dribble every day. They like quite a bit of moisture, and if they get dried out completely [easy to do in pots] it can be difficult to rehydrate.   
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
    Hope you're not in SE England...or you'll be having the box moth caterpillar coming your way. 
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • KeenOnGreenKeenOnGreen Posts: 1,831
    It's definitely not dead, plenty of healthy looking green growth.  It could be three things;

    1) Box Blight.  A fungal disease which is almost impossible to control, and often kills the plants.  It doesn't look like that to me, others might be able to confirm.  Can you post a close-up photo of the foliage?
    2) Box Tree Moth/Caterpillar.  This is a new disease to the UK, mainly in the South East.  It's difficult to control, picking off the caterpillars or using pheromone traps is the usual option.  It doesn't necessarily kill the plant, but it usually leaves them in a terrible state.  The telltale sign is lots of webs all over the plant, and frass (caterpillar poo) below the plant.  From your photo, it does not look like that to me.
    3) Stress - Lack of sufficient water and nutrients.  I suspect it's the latter, caused by the stress of being re-potted during a dry Spring.  Keep them well watered, but not so that the soil is wet/soggy.  Once a week, give them a liquid nitrogen feed, or seaweed feed (and you can spray that on the foliage once it has been diluted), or water into the soil as normal.  With any luck they will pick up.

    I wouldn't prune or trim them until they are more established and healthy, as they will already have been stressed.
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