“What is the matter with my Boxwood?” Lesley and I have been asked this question much too often in the last few years. Boxwood (Buxus sempervrens, microphylla, etc.) have many troubles, for example: Leaf Minors, Leaf Curlers, Spider Mites, Psyllid, Volutella and Phytophora fungal blights, Nematodes, too much water on overhead sprinklers, or too little water, winter damage, frozen soils, heavy soils, Boxwood Decline and most recently, Boxwood Blight. None of these by themselves are the cause of most of the Boxwood dieback. We can go through all kinds of soil and tissue samples, fertilizers, fungicide and insecticide sprays and still be missing the main cause.

Mother Nature’s Moment - June 2019
by: Lesley Bruce Smith

This year Boxwoods, Japanese Maples and honeybees all have something in common. They were all very badly affected by the vicious “polar vortex” freezing temperatures we experienced over the winter. Gilbert and I and our crews have seen more winter kill this spring than we have ever seen before, and for Gil that means in the last 50 years of trimming and caring for trees. It is a sad thing for us and for many of our clients who have lost favorite Redbuds or Japanese Maples or long time hedges of Boxwood. If it is any consolation just know that about 30-40% of the Japanese Maples in our practice were lost through this last winter.