I try not to worry about too much in the garden, it’s pleasure central for me. My personal design aesthetic is that of wild abandon framed in formal boxwood hedges. So you can imagine how upsetting it was to hear of a boxwood blight making its way to North Carolina Landscapes.
Photo credit Kelly Ivors
The blight is caused by the fungus Cylindroclaidium buxicola. Researchers at North Carolina State University are learning which boxwood species are most susceptible and which ones can withstand the fungus. I hope they find that mine will be fine.
According to Dr. Kelly Ivors, an associate professor of plant pathology and specialist with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension, “The two most commonly planted cultivars in the United States – the American boxwood and the English boxwood – are by far the most susceptible, Ivors said, because they lose the most amount of foliage when exposed to the fungus. On the plus side, Ivors also said that her department tested 23 other varieties and several tolerated the fungus.
The good news? The nursery industry is working to keep the blight away from the customer by destroying infected plant. Disease symptoms include dark or light brown circular spots, often with dark edges, on the leaves, as well as dark streaks in stems, and off colored leaves.
When buying plants, check for disease symptoms. Your local independent garden center will be informed to the problem. If you suspect any, let the owner know.
“I don’t want to discourage people from buying boxwood,” Ivors said, “but we need to educate the green industry and their clientele to let them know what box blight looks like so we can limit the disease from becoming established.”
If homeowners suspect that their boxwood plants have the disease, they can submit samples to the N.C. State University Plant Disease and Insect Clinic. The testing is free for those who follow guidelines outlined at HERE. For more information on the disease, its symptoms and management, including information on the cultivar susceptibility trial, check out this link.
