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Boxwood with patches of brown leaves
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Date Posted: Tue, Aug 17 - 8:35 pm
- I just bought a house and I have a boxwood bush in the front that has patches of brown leaves. Is this that blight that I've heard people talking about? would it be a good idea to remove the bush or is there something I can do?
- Thanks for your question. This does sound like it could potentially be boxwood blight which is a fungal disease, and for which there is no cure. This disease first appears as lesions with dark brown edges on the leaves and black streaking on the stems. The foliage then turns brown and falls off. Observe the leaves and stems on your boxwood for these signs. If your plant is minimally affected, you can cut off affected branches, clean up debris from the ground, bag the trimmings, and put in the trash (do not compost). You may then be able to keep the disease at bay by spraying a chlorothalonil-containing fungicide every 7-14 days. Be sure and sanitize your garden tools with a 1:9 bleach to water solution to avoid spreading the disease. If your boxwood is heavily infected and unsightly, it may be easiest and safest in the long run to remove the whole plant. It’s also important to know that the spores from the infected plant can remain in the soil for 5-6 years, so if you want a replacement plant be sure and select a boxwood cultivar with a high level of resistance which will not require a fungicide treatment.