Content
- Common diseases and pests on the boxwood
- Diseases
- Boxwood dying (Cylindrocladium buxicola)
- Boxwood Crab (Volutella buxi)
- Boxwood wilt (Fusarium buxicola)
- Boxwood Grate (Puccinia buxi)
- pests
- Boxwood Borer (Glyphodes perspectalis)
- Boxwood leaf flea (Psylla buxi)
- Boxwood spider mite (Eurytetranychus buxi)
- Tips
The boxwood calculator causes great damage
Common diseases and pests on the boxwood
For centuries, the evergreen boxwood from European gardens has become indispensable: cut-friendly wood is particularly popular as a high or low hedge or as a molded wood. Especially the common boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) with its estimated 60 varieties can be found in many gardens. Although the heat-loving shrub, which grows up to eight meters tall, is comparatively easy to care for and hardy, it is also very susceptible to all sorts of diseases and pests.
Diseases
In terms of diseases, problems caused by different fungi dominate, many of which have only been on the rise for some years now, threatening valuable populations. Combat is often difficult.
Boxwood dying (Cylindrocladium buxicola)
Probably the most dreaded disease of the boxwood is the boxwood dying caused by the fungus Cylindrocladium buxicola, which first manifests itself as rapidly growing, dark brown spots on the leaves. At the same time, white spore beds are formed on the undersides of the leaves, which are a clear sign of recognition in addition to the black stripes on the shoots. Later, it comes to leaf fall and dying of shoots and whole plant parts. Prevent the disease by:
Particularly susceptible to this disease are the varieties 'Suffruticosa' and 'Blue Heinz', instead you can plant more resistant varieties of the small-leaved boxwood (Buxus microphylla), such as the popular variety 'Faulkner'.
Boxwood Crab (Volutella buxi)
By a faulty pruning or by the use of contaminated garden tools and cutting tools of the fungal pathogen Volutella buxi is spread, causing the so-called boxwood cancer. You acknowledge an infection
In case of illness, you should cut the affected plant deep into healthy wood and dispose of the infectious clippings with household waste.
Boxwood wilt (Fusarium buxicola)
In contrast to other fungal diseases, the boxwood wilt caused by the fungus Fusarium buxicola is usually restricted to individual plant parts. These first show a yellow discoloration and then die off. In addition, dark bark areas are typically visible on the bark. As a rule, it is perfectly sufficient to cut out the affected areas.
Boxwood Grate (Puccinia buxi)
The rarely occurring boxwood rust mainly affects older stocks of the common boxwood (Buxus sempervirens). An infection initially remains unobtrusive for a long time, as the causative fungus Puccinia buxi initially confines itself to the interior of the plant. The leaf tissue initially shows only thickening, the rust-red, conspicuous spore bearing show, however, only months later. They appear mainly in autumn. Infested plant parts are highly infectious and should be promptly removed and disposed of.
pests
Leaf juice sucking lice, mites and fleas are common on the boxwood. To prevent infestation, you should ensure optimal location and growth conditions. Pests colonize primarily weakened specimens. Many of the animals listed here overwinter directly on the plant, usually in egg or larval form. It is therefore necessary to cut back the affected boxwood even before larval hatching in spring. This should be done by mid-May at the latest.
Boxwood Borer (Glyphodes perspectalis)
The boxwood conifer introduced from East Asia has only been active for a few years, but threatens the boxwood massively. The plants that cause damage to the plants are, above all, the larvae of the small butterfly that lives only a few days, which eat the plants in a short time. As the green caterpillars live inside the bush, an infestation is often very late. The fight is difficult because many generations hatch and plants are attacked again and again even after a successful treatment. The following measures have proven to be particularly effective:
The dusting of the whole plant with algae lime shows good results in the short term.
Boxwood leaf flea (Psylla buxi)
If the young leaves are cupped at the shoot tips - the so-called "spoon-blade" - this is a typical feature of an infestation by the frequent boxwood leaf flea. The adults lay their eggs in the summer in the leaves of the boxwood, where they overwinter and hatch from the larvae in the spring. In case of infestation, the affected parts of plants should be cut off in late summer or autumn.
Boxwood spider mite (Eurytetranychus buxi)
The boxwood spider mite, also occurring only a few years ago, appears only in dry and hot summers. It combats well with predatory mites as well as preparations based on neem or rapeseed oil. Clearly recognizable, yellowish bile in the leaves, however, are a hallmark of an infestation with the gall mite (Monarthropalpus buxi), in which a strong pruning should take place in the spring.
Tips
To save yourself the trouble of diseases and pests, you can choose instead of the boxwood and similar plants such as barberry or privet as a substitute.