you should report any seller who is selling infected stock to your local Agricultural and local county extension offices immediately .;..

this is how strange bugs invade and try to take over the world..

the thought that you need to treat brand new stock is ridiculous...

after reporting the seller.. return the product to them immediately.. and demand full repayment.. including shipping costs to return ...

btw.. you dont mention where you are.. nor where they came form... presuming they were 'clean' did you take hardening them off as a variable??

ken

You need to contact the vendor from which you ordered. Under no circumstances would I absorb the cost of 25 boxwood with pests. They really should send you a prepaid shipping label and take them back, credit you, and either treat or dispose of them on their end.

It hasn't happened to me often but I did receive a citrus (to be grown as a houseplant) a couple of years ago and found it had spider mites on arrival. Some of my houseplants have been with me decades and I do have a quarantine room where I put new things until I can really inspect them. With a flashlight. And sometimes reading glasses.

They took my word for it and credited my payment back to my bank card. I put the young tree in the garbage can outside.

@ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5 I'm not a pro gardener... just a guy who is trying to make his landscape look nice. I don't know what you mean by "did you take hardening them off as a variable?"

I live in Michigan and I ordered them online from a vendor here in Michigan. They do all of their customer service through email so I expect a response first thing Monday. If they don't remedy the issue I'll post more details but I at least want to give them the opportunity to do that first.

Per their website, they don't accept returns but they will offer refunds. Without knowing what their response might be I decided to treat them with the insecticidal soap (which kills by contact) and I was able to kill all of them.

@morz8 - Washington Coast A quarantine area would be great! I basically just tried to keep them in one area in my garage while I sprayed each one heavily (top and bottom of leaves, and soil.) Then I sprayed the ground with insect killer.

@ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5 and @morz8 - Washington Coast refund issue aside, do you both think it's OK to plant them now? I won't order/accept any items from that company again so if I don't plant these I'm back at square one trying to get 25 Sprinter boxwood ASAP. 😅

I wouldn't exert the energy into planting them until you hear from the vendor. You did say they don't accept returns, does the website address what they might do if they ship plants with a problem? It's not likely one treatment has solved the issue. There may be eggs, nymphs present that could take a more experienced eye to see.

I do understand wanting to get going on a project and finish it. I looked everyplace for 16 dwarf boxwood once and I think the second year I found them all and in a size deserving of planting. I didn't order them, I wanted to see them.

A few years later we sold the house and the new owner tore them out, lined that piece of walkway with a rockery ;)

Following up on my post in case it will be helpful for anyone in the future.

I ended up getting a complete refund and they let me keep the plants. Though, I destroyed them because I didn't want to risk having the mealybugs return and spread to my other healthy plants. I bought another batch of boxwood from Fast Growing Trees and they were actually 50% larger than the boxwood from the first place I ordered. So I guess it all worked out. Thanks for your input @morz8 - Washington Coast and @ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5.