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Box hedging problem

jessica130547547jessica130547547 Posts: 1
in Problem solving
Can anyone tell me what is wrong with my box hedging? And what I need to do! Thank you


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Posts

  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    edited September 2023
    My money's on box caterpillars  :(
    There are several threads about it, here's just one.

    https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1076584/box-hedge-caterpillar
  • MrMowMrMow Posts: 160
    Have had this from spring. 

    Pick them and squash them😂

    shake the bush at dusk armed with a badminton racket to flatten the emerging moths. 

    So kind. 😇
    I never knew retirement would be so busy. :smile:




  • ViewAheadViewAhead Posts: 866
    The really annoying thing about this pest is the caterpillars cause absolute destruction and all for what?  The adult moth only has a lifespan of a couple of days.  Grrrr!

    If only the birds would learn to eat the caterpillars!  At least they would then have some value as part of the food chain.  My 20-yr old 4' high box hedge has been munched to a twiggy framework.  I'm leaving the skeletons in place and letting ivy grow up them. 
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    Well I'm doing my bit for gardeners. The moth trap light last night yielded ten of them. They're learning to swim in a jam jar of water and washing up liquid.
     Vitax do a box tree moth pheromone trap that could help if you have box tree plants.
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    I have seen sparrows and magpies patrolling along the box hedge at the front which has box caterpillars in it.
    If they do find a caterpillar and pick it up they don't seem to eat it. I wonder if they have a horrible taste as far as birds are concerned.
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    Last year I found the odd caterpillar and things were ok. This year spottted some tiny ones in April and checked every few days. Moved in July and all still good. However I won't be planting them in my new garden. 
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 8,355
    edited September 2023
    Autumn 2021 I dug out a large box hedge because it was first badly affected by blight and then the box moths / caterpillars moved in. Completely skeletonised.

    However, a couple of smaller hedges and 5 very large, strategically placed box balls had never had blight and the box moth had not found them so they remained in situ.

    This year, all good until about 4 weeks ago when a couple of the balls started looking a bit tatty - sure enough they had caterpillar damage. A couple of weeks later all the balls and 2 of the small hedges were starting to look quite sorry for themselves. I expect them to be fully decimated by the time I get home from our 3 weeks away.

    Grrrrrr - it's taken me 6 or 7 years to get those balls to just the right shape and size. Now I'm expecting to have to start again with something else. Now getting to the stage where I don't really want to wait 10 years to see something as I envisage.
    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    @Topbird Gardening can be very frustrating at times.
    We gardeners do have something in common, we start a new gardening season with lots of new ideas and exciting plans. Somehow what has gone before has little consequence at this point other than to try and learn from past mistakes. It is the hear and now that is the best bit, plus the opportunity to try something new of course. For gardeners in the UK the list of plants and how each individual uses them is endless.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 8,355
    Yes @GardenerSuze - there are many frustrations for us gardeners. 
    Last year was quite devastating with the extreme drought and heat and I lost several plants. I had also completely lost my gardening mojo by the end of July - it just seemed a hopeless battle and constant uphill struggle. 

    This year has been a hundred times easier and I've found myself replanning and redesigning things all season long - the bug was easily reignited and it never really goes away does it? 

    Now I just need to pull on my big girl pants and accept that box can no longer form a part of my garden. Get it out and put in something else!
    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
  • Allotment BoyAllotment Boy Posts: 6,774
    If you have the right soil (not chalky), here is an idea.


    AB Still learning

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