It’s disheartening to encounter a problem with your lovingly-sculpted box hedges – if you’ve noticed areas of die-back with brown leaves and bare patches it could be a sign you have box blight.
It’s important to diagnose the right condition though, so if your plants are newly planted and it’s been very dry weather then it could simply be drought stress, particularly as box blight tends to be worse in wet conditions.
It’s not the end of the road for your box plants if it appears though – as the condition doesn’t affect the roots, so there’s always hope if you act quickly, especially if the disease hasn’t taken hold too much. If you don’t do anything, however, it’ll take over and devastate your plants, remaining among the leaf litter and on the plant for years.
Here are some tips to help you with your blight problem – but be sure to lay a tarp down to collect all the infected clippings and dispose of them in a bonfire or bag them up and place in your household waste.
Check the soles of your shoes for leaves or stems and don’t traipse them around the garden.
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