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Help novice! Bruxus going yellow

caoimhequinnVqEnalwjcaoimhequinnVqEnalwj Posts: 3
in Problem solving
Help!! I have zero gardening knowledge but note my bruxus trees bought last year are going yellow in the centre. Can anyone help on what the cause may be and remedies. I don’t want the plants to die..I hope it’s not too late. 

Thank you 

Posts

  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    I'm wondering if it's down to problems with watering. It's a bit difficult to make out the sizes of the pots, but it may be that they could do with repotting. 
    Do you feed them at all ?
    The only other possibility is box caterpillars,  but l'm hoping that's not the case. I don't think it's box blight but l'm not 100% certain. 
  • caoimhequinnVqEnalwjcaoimhequinnVqEnalwj Posts: 3
    Thanks for replying. Too be honest I barely touched them. But I’ve started watering them and feeding them recently since I noted this. I’m using liquid tomato feed which is what I’m using for my window boxes. 
    If it’s caterpillars is there anything I can do? 
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    It might not be caterpillars, l'm just thinking worst case scenario . 
    If you have a look inside the middle of the plants you might find webbing. The caterpillars are pretty brightly coloured but may be turning into moths around now if memory serves me right.

    Have a look at this,plenty of information here.
    https://www.rhs.org.uk/biodiversity/box-tree-caterpillar

    It might just be the lack of feed and water that's stressed them out.
  • ButtercupdaysButtercupdays Posts: 4,546
    The main problem I suspect is lack of water - even heavy rain will not reach the roots through those thick leaves when the plant is in a pot. It can be hard to re-wet very dry compost, as the water just runs off. You could try dunking the whole pot in a deep bin or bucket of water and leave it until no more air bubbles emerge. Then remove it and allow it to drain and check the weight of the pot regularly so you can tell when it is getting lighter, meaning it is low on water.
    Tomato feed  is high in potassium, so promotes fruit and  flowers,  but foliage needs a feed that is high in nitrogen. You could also give some seaweed feed as a general tonic, once the plants are fully hydrated. 



  • caoimhequinnVqEnalwjcaoimhequinnVqEnalwj Posts: 3
    Thank you! There is some webbing but that may be spiders as I park my car quite close and there’s open a web from plants to my wing mirror. I will get the right feed and try to ensure good watering. Would a pesticide be worth a go as well?
  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 8,355
    edited July 2022
    Ditto Buttercup's posting. 

    Buxus are hungry, thirsty plants and those pots are verging on the too-small side. 

    I'd soak them to rehydrate them, then water every day for the next couple of weeks and lay off the feed for a week or so. Then use liquid seaweed (diluted per instructions) about every 10 days until mid Sept and water every couple of days until autumn. After that just water when the compost starts to dry out.

    Next spring I'd definitely think about repotting into larger pots using John Innes No3 - not multi purpose compost - and keep them watered and fed next year starting in spring.
    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
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