Hi
Been maintaining a large garden a year now which has a lot of recently planted ( two/three years approx) Box hedging - approx several hundred metres-
Extremely healthy up until this recent wet and warm spell of october / november
At the beginning of taking on this garden i id a large box ball that was suffering Box Blight -- plant was sprayed / removed and disposed of and was far enough away from hedging to not cause immediate concern
However now it appears to have spread into various areas of hedging -- last two weeks approx.
I know this has been a popular topic and ive tried reading whats out there but the search options dont seem to allow recent post priority and from all i read - current attitudes are changing as its such a 'new' and difficult issue.
So essentially im trying to build a treatment/containment strategy a.s.a.p.
Can anyone assist with either current upto date information on what might help : i.e. equipment needed to help / chemicals that may work /systems to put in place ?
This is a formal garden and clients are not going to be happy with a diseased looking hedge on the entrance to their house -- i fear all options are going to be a waste of time and the truth is horrific removal and replanting new species at great expense.
Thanks in advance
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Replies
Hi Dan,
Have a read of some info then feel free to give me a call if you want to chat over the options?
BOX BLIGHT
Richard@ Progreen
(01778) 394052
Hi Dan,
I have got a program drawn up which gives you not only a selection of fungicides that you can use, but also all of the cultural control methods that are available to you in order to reduce the chance of getting Box Blight in the first place.
If you want to drop me an email, I can send it over to you to have a look at.
Cheers Ollie
ollie.wright@agrigem.co.uk
Thanks both
As a side note whilst i get more info
Does anyone know the best machine products out there for sucking up the large amounts of shed infected leaves ? Which is clearly got to be stage one of dealing with this issue -
And as a future worst case plan -- ive started looking at replacement options long term
Lonicera nittida looks possibly cost effective and Ilex crenata looks a good visual replacement -- anyone got any other ideas ? Hate to be terminal but i just cant see long term success with treatment without having a untidy and sick looking hedge - but obviously treatment and process is first step for i guess a year and see how it goes
Anyone got any further personal experience of success ? I can see long term hope if you could have a rustic looking garden and work on building health and resistance in various ways - but rustic isnt going to work long term for this client :(
Hi Dan,
I'd opt for Ilex Crenata as a replacement, mainly as they look very similar and aren't affected by Box blight.
I use a Stihl SH 56 for collecting the debris after trimming Buxus, the leaves are fine enough to go through without clogging the shoot. It's only a domestic machine but copes well and certainly is more efficient at leaving the site tidy.
Hi mate,
I wouldn't like to use it as my main source for lifting all leaves etc as it can clog when it picks up a few horse chestnuts in a clump of leaves. It's only a 30 second job to unclog but still an annoyance. The added bonus is the fact it doubles as a blower, great for the small jobs when my backpacks are getting fixed but I couldn't rely on it as the main breadwinner !
Hope you're well mate.
The lonicera certainly grows quicker but is untidy - you'll forever be snipping off rogue shoots. The Ilex is a much better bet.
We have had really good reports from our customers so all is not lost but it may take a while to grow back to a pristine state - at you are asking/ treating now in an early stage rather than halfway through!
Regards
Richard@Progreen