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Archive for the boxwood tag

Choosing plants for hedges

June 22, 2019 • Leave a Comment

I would like to create a formal English garden look, where “squared-off” hedges line the garden perimeter. Can you recommend hedge plant options (other than yews) that grow at least 4 to 8 feet tall, look thick and full (like a solid wall), and grow in sun and shade?

You have several restrictions in your plant request that limit your choices. Your height requirement creates a problem for boxwood (Buxus sempervirens), a favorite of formal English hedges, because they are a rather slow grower. However, they hold the geometric pruning well, are sun and shade tolerant, and form a dense thicket of glossy leaves. Boxwoods are the choice for knot gardens, parterres and topiaries because they are evergreen and hold a crisp line when pruned.

Privet (Ligustrum amurense) grows quickly, is easily sheared to shape and can reach your desired height. It is also tolerant of light and soil variations. Unfortunately, in zones 3 to 7, it is considered deciduous, even though its dense twiggy nature is a screening element in itself.

Since the perimeter of the garden is the designated planting zone, you might consider Japanese holly (Ilex crenata), which is very shearable and has a medium growth rate. Their leaves are spiny but lustrous. They will tolerate full to part sun, but need somewhat acid (low pH) soil and good drainage with sustained moisture. The downside is that they need protection from drought and wind.

There are few if any pines or spruces that meet your criteria. However, the workhorse of the residential landscape, the columnar American arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis), may suit them all. The varieties ‘Emerald’ and ‘Techny’ both meet your height requirement of 4 to 8 feet. They hold their color in winter, and have considerable heat and light tolerance. Shearing and pruning them before spring growth will keep them full and dense. They have a natural pyramidal tendency, but can be nicely shaped to be wider at the base, to give the “squared-off” hedge look you are striving for. Keeping them slightly wider at the base allows light to reach the interior of the shrub, allowing active new growth and preventing thinning of the interior.

Boxwood blight is detected in Michigan

January 12, 2019 • Leave a Comment

Boxwood blight, a serious fungal disease that attacks boxwoods, has been detected for the first time in Michigan. The disease was found in Oakland County in three separate locations: a landscape firm, a homeowner’s yard, and holiday wreaths for sale at a retail store. The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) was also notified by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection that infected boxwood may have been sold at other retail locations in Michigan.

“Boxwood blight is a devastating disease that has caused significant losses to homeowners and the nursery industry in states that already have the disease,” said Gina Alessandri, director of MDARD’s Pesticide and Plant Pest Management Division.

Boxwood blight produces dark brown leaf spots and causes rapid defoliation that sometimes kills young boxwoods. Boxwood blight first appeared in the 1990s in the United Kingdom and is now widely distributed in Europe. In the United States, the disease was first found in 2011 in Connecticut, North Carolina and Virginia, and has since spread to more than 24 states. Boxwood blight affects all species of boxwood. However, some species and cultivars are more susceptible than others. American boxwood and English boxwood are highly susceptible. This disease also affects the related shrub sweetbox, as well as pachysandra, a well-known groundcover. Boxwood and pachysandra are commonly used in commercial and residential plantings throughout Michigan.

Wreaths displayed outdoors are a potential concern if they are exposed to the elements. The biggest risk comes when people dispose of the infected wreaths after the holidays. MDARD recommends that anyone who has a wreath containing boxwood plant parts should consider it infected and dispose of it by burning or, even better, double-bagging and including it with their trash for deposit in a landfill.

Alessandri advised that anyone who suspects that they have plants infected with boxwood blight should contact their local MSU Extension office.

Identifying damage done by boxwood insect pests

May 24, 2013 • Leave a Comment

MSU Extension:

Boxwood leafminer, Monarthropalpusi flavus (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), is the most serious insect pest of boxwoods. This small fly is native to Europe and widely distributed throughout the United States. The leafminer causes serious damage and heavily damaged plants will become quite unattractive. The larvae feed between the upper and lower leaves, which causes blistering and discoloration.

Both littleleaf boxwood, B. microphylla and common boxwood, B. sempervivens, are commonly attacked, but there is resistance found in individual varieties of both species. Common cultivars with reported resistance are ‘Handworthiensis’, ‘Pyramidalis’, ‘Suffruticosa’ and ‘Varder Valley’. Buxus microphylla var. japonica has also exhibited resistance to the leafminer.

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