If you have box topiary in your garden, then there are a couple of rather devastating issues that could compromise their health.
The first is the airborne fungal infection known as box blight. It’s a disease that was relatively unknown in the UK before the mid 1990s, and no one is quite sure where it came from. It has certainly got quite a hold now, and this is down in part to the warm damp summers that we have been experiencing.
Box blight has certainly been one of the garden plant issues that I have met often, but have hitherto felt rather inadequate in offering up a cast-iron solution to combat the airborne fungus called box blight.
That is until now
There is a product that’s fairly new to the market that is described as a ‘health-mix’ that is having some great results in combatting this awful disease in box. I haven’t yet seen it in garden centres, but it’s available on line. Often box blight is not identified until the disease has got a grip. This ‘health-mix’ works on the theory that it prevents the fungal spores penetrating in the first place, and it’s recommended that the spray is used five times a year.
The reviews from professional head gardeners up and down the land are extremely encouraging. For more information visit www.topbuxus.co.uk
The second issue is the box moth caterpillar, and the damage caused here is often mistaken for box blight. Examine your plant/s very carefully.
If you find any cob webs, or any other caterpillars shown, then you must act quickly.
First of all get your hands on a product such as Bug Clear Ultra or Westland Resolve Bug Killer and spray thoroughly every 14 days or so.
Not just on the outside of the plant, but part the branches an reach inside
Left to its own devices, the box moth caterpillar will completely defoliate your plant. You should then remove the damaged foliage, keep the plants well fed and watered and keep your fingers crossed for It’s a relatively new insect to Britain. Whilst the adult moth was first reported in the UK in 2008, caterpillars were not found in private gardens until 2011, it has since become widespread in London and surrounding areas.
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