Buxus help please

phillbo_ · March 2023

Hi all,

I’m in need of some advice please.

Below are a couple of pictures of my Buxus hedging. Not pretty I know.

The hedging has been in place for a couple of years now and they seem to be surviving. The colour of the Buxus gets marginally better in the summer but the orange never goes completely. Arguably, the green colour never fully returns.

You may be able to see from the photos that there is other Buxus that looks the normal colour and doesn’t suffer from the same discolouring.

I’d welcome any advice on what the root of the problem may be (no pun intended) and likewise what can be done to help / resolve the issue.

Thanks in advance.

Phill

Fairygirl · March 2023

Box, in general, needs a fair bit of moisture, and decent soil, especially if it's in such a tiny space and surrounded by hard landscaping.
What prep was done to the soil before planting? The soil level looks very low too, which isn't helpful. I can't even see the base of the plants.

Desi_in_London · March 2023

These links may help. I'm not a gardening expert but have had no end of problems on my box plants ( mostly caterpillar) , so only have a tiny edging left.

Various sources think it can be environmental stress ( too much sun not enough water) , potentially nutrient deficiency ( vitax , a respected manufacturer suggests potash lack ). Anecdotally i will say mine suffered from this, but perversely because of the drought last year , as i was watering roses , i also watered the box. I was also too lazy to not just use the same buckets of soluble ( balanced , cheap) fertiliser for both every ten days or so , rather than 'just'water for box. So the box got 'accidentally' fed. Orange has gone.

How to keep Buxus healthy | Garden World - this is a vitax link , i have no connection to co and have not used the product they make
How to grow box / RHS Gardening - look at 'other problems'

Fairygirl · March 2023

The caterpillar/moth is certainly a major problem in the south [mainly] but that's not what's wrong with those.
There's clearly a cultural/growing problem. Feeding plants that are struggling isn't a good idea though.
I believe there's a new strain of box which is supposed to be blight resistant @Desi_in_London. There was a recent thread about it. Perhaps there will be one in future to counter the moth too. Lots of people have switched to other, similar plants instead, because they have too much stress trying to maintain the box.
We don't have it here, and there's only a few areas - in the east mostly- which seem to be getting blight. Box is always healthy enough round here though. Better conditions for it.

AnniD · March 2023

I believe it's generally considered to be a sign of stress, and it may well be that it's used up all the nutrients that were in the original compost.
I agree that some feeding would definitely help, and due to the lack of space to manoeuvre, a liquid rather than granular type would be easier to apply.

Fairygirl · March 2023

We really need @phillbo_ to come back and give some more info.

I think those may have suffered from serious drought, coupled with too much sun. That's difficult to amend easily. Once recovered, then they can be fed. Liquid seaweed is ideal, but I wouldn't feed until the cause of the problem is properly determined.

Plantminded · March 2023

I use a foliar feed of seaweed extract whenever my box plants look like that - it's more of a tonic than a feed and should help your plants recover from the stress of drought, caused by heat, underwatering, wind or too much sun. That location will be very hot for them in summer so anything you can do to improve the water retaining quality of your soil will help by incorporating plenty of organic matter, most easily done as a mulch. Your plants will be more drought tolerant once the roots are well established.

M33R4 · March 2023

Plantminded said:

I use a foliar feed of seaweed extract whenever my box plants look like that - it's more of a tonic than a feed and should help your plants recover from the stress of drought, caused by heat, underwatering, wind or too much sun. That location will be very hot for them in summer so anything you can do to improve the water retaining quality of your soil will help by incorporating plenty of organic matter, most easily done as a mulch. Your plants will be more drought tolerant once the roots are well established.

I agree with the feeding regime as in those narrow modern planters these plants need more help. Were they planted in compost? Compost nutrients don't last long.

Loxley · March 2023

My thoughts are that it is too hot, too dry, and there is probably insufficient soil for the roots to access. Something like Lavender or Rosemary would probably cope better with the conditions, although I think you are probably looking at replacing them and replenishing the soil every few years.

If the soil levels have sunk, it's likely the planters are filled with something like multi-purpose compost, which degrades and becomes compressed over time (and less hospitable to healthy roots). A soil based medium would be better.

Fairygirl · March 2023

The soil level is definitely a concern @Loxley , which is why I asked earlier what they were growing in. If it's just compost and has never been refreshed, they'll be struggling, especially in dry conditions. They need a proper growing medium to sustain them.

You can't just top them up either - they'd need lifted and replanted into proper soil at a better level, ie - much nearer the top of the beds.

bédé · March 2023

It looks like a mineral deficiency to me. I wouldn't know which ones.

Buxus help please

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