Can my boxwoods be saved?

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

I am not sure what is causing my Boxwoods to turn yellow and the leaves to curl up. I think its winter damage or boxwood blight.

They were lush green in the early summer and it turned this way around June/July.

I live in Dallas and the boxwoods were exposed to the snow storm we had but they should be hardy enough to survive.

Any way to save them or are they dead?

Featured Answer

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

4 years ago

That is NOT winter cold damage! Certainly not if "they were lush green in the early summer and it turned this way around June/July". Winter cold damage would have shown up much earlier than that....within a few days to a couple of weeks after the cold event.

It does look a lot like boxwood blight. But would need a diagnosis from the plant pathologist at your county extension service to confirm. Although not as common as it may be elsewhere, boxwood blight has been found in Texas. There is also the possibility of a related fungal organism referred to as 'boxwood dieback', which has an appearance very similar to the OP's photos and is prevalent in the southeast. Again a proper diagnosis would be required to confirm.

Like the blight, there is no known treatment or cure and the plants should be removed and destroyed.

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Comments (7)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
4 years ago
the damage from the freeze remains.. damaged leaves are not going to green again ... and the next leaf flush will be next spring ...

look close.. and see if you can see the buds for next years ...

the brown leaves will probably fall off over winter .. or eventually ...

next spring.. properly prune out anything that didnt put out a spring flush as being dead .. no green ='s dead ...

all that said.. if they were outside my front door.. and i had to get pissed off every time i used the door.. i would probably replace them next spring ... as i wouldnt be happy about a many year renovation of them ... or dig them out.. and plant them out back and see what happens.. but perfect your front landscape ... in other words.. you guys have until spring to get your act together.. or your outta here ... [and if they were irritating me enough right now .. i might do it right now .. life to short to be pissed off by your plants ... lol ...]

ken

btw .... snow rarely does this.. i thought you guys had a freeze .. and that WILL do this ...
Eli Lee
Original Author
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Thank you for providing insight on this. We did have a freeze and I was hoping it was something else since my 7 other boxwoods are still lush green. Just these 3 random ones seems to have been effected.

I did scratch in the branches and they are still green so I am think they will recover. Should I remove the brown leaves or let it fall on their own? Some of the leaves are bleach green, I am guessing these are no good either?

I've been putting up with it since June so I may wait till Spring. But you are right, they are beginning to annoy the hell out of me. But I don't want to put a gap in hedge I am trying to grow and is the only reason I am trying to get them to recover.
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Jurassic Park
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
I agree with gardengal, I don't think this is winter damage. My dwarf English boxwoods have been through subarctic cold and raging blizzards, they never looked like this. I would rip them out and start again. You don't have to wait till Spring to plant, btw.

But I have a couple of questions.

1.) When were the plants planted?

2.) Were they being irrigated before they were established?

Thank goodness I never had to deal with bw blight. Gardengal, any prevention from the blights and what environmental/cultural conditions facilitate it?
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
4 years ago
No prevention and no treatment. It is highly contagious and easily transmitted by pruning tools or even contact with infected plants. And drifting fungal spores are always a concern :-) No environmental or cultural conditions seem to encourage or deter this pathogen. There ARE boxwood cultivars that are resistant.......but not immune.
zekeafroid (Z7 - South Jersey)
4 years ago
It looks like they are planted near a downspout, so I would guess that it's root rot. I have some boxwoods that get a little bit of that discoloration in sections and they are the ones that are planted in areas with not the best drainage. If you decide to replant boxwoods there, you might try to divert the downspout away from them.
Eli Lee
Original Author
4 years ago
@zekeafroid (Z7 - South Jersey) The picture is a bit deceiving. The downspout is actually a good 4 feet from the boxwood and never had this problems before.

@Jurassic Park These boxwoods are at least 4 years old. I pruned them heavily after the winter freeze we had here, hoping that it will grow back. took it down about 10 inches from the top but it hasn't grown much since spring. I did transplant some of them in the spring but I don't think that is the issue because only 1 of the 4 boxwoods I transplanted is like this.

@gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) Thanks for the help! I will remove them. My neighbor told me to try 1 part hydrogen peroxide and 3 parts water. Is this worth trying?