I've heard there's boxwoods at Mt Vernon much older than yours..I've been planting boxwoods for about 15 years..12 years here and a few years at a previous house..used to look great but quite a few of mine are looking bad..I've removed at least 25 (lost track of the exact number)..I've been reading..heard of boxwood blight?..started in Connecticut..someone at an extension office here said they're pretty sure that it's reached Indiana..where do you live?..mine resemble spider mite pics too..anxious to read any comments you get..I'm not planting anymore boxwood..

I live in Central Florida. I had someone on another web site tell me that 20-30 year lifespan is fairly common for boxwoods. Hope others comment as well. I saw boxwood blight - may go read more about it. I don't know what else I would plant in their place - too many other plants seem to have more problems - and more quickly - than these boxwoods.

Oops..missed that you said you live in FL..I always loved boxwoods..very sad to see mine decline..the weird thing is some of them are still fine..but from what I've read it's likely they will decline someday..

a pic I took in January for a post on boxwoods..looks good doesn't it?..some still do but some are sick and I've ripped them out..

I read up on boxwood pests and diseases - mind-boggling! Although many of these ailments end up with the leaves looking a lot alike, I'm going to guess my plants have blight. Rain and high humidity has been our norm this spring/summer, more so than prior years - which seems to be a big contributor to blight. I also read articles where boxwoods should not be watered from above (sprinklers, rain dripping from eaves above, etc.) - that is the way mine have always gotten much of their water from their beginning. That it is only now beginning to impact them suggests to me that blight is their primary problem, perhaps exacerbated by age. Wonderful.

Boxwoods + Florida = nematodes!

I may just have to take a sample to local county group to get the real answer...

Not to my knowledge. I have boxwoods in shade in my front yard that I assume were planted when my house was built in 1975. They seem rather happy, but they have grown in a more open format given that they are in shade. Main stems seem to be almost 4-6" thick but I've neer officially measured them (it's kind of hard to get to the base of the plant, they are more wide than tall.)

If I lived in florida, I would be planting beds of gardenia, not boxwood. Think of it as an opportunity to improve your landscape.

Gardenia? Not particularly impressed with the flowers - and they smell a little too much for me. I am not a big fan of sweet smelling flowers. Plus, I would think they take a bit more maintenance than boxwoods - as they are prone to getting mites, aphids, and whiteflies. However, the maintenance argument may no longer apply since I need to find a treatment for whatever is wrong with my boxwoods.

Could just prune them down a few inches from the ground and see what happens. They may re-sprout with no problem.

HERE is the FAQ page from the American Boxwood Society. Whether this pertains to Central Florida I cannot answer, most of their contacts and headquarters are in the mid-Atlantic. One observation of mine from my "Mother of all Boxwood" thread, the healthiest and happiest ancient box had shade from the burning/bleaching effects of the afternoon sun.

ALL of mine are in shade..that's why I bought so many (shade tolerant) ..looked nice for years but now have issues..makes me sad..