The boxwood is actually an easy-care tree that can be easily established in almost any location. In recent years, however, fungal diseases and difficult-to-control pests have been making the rounds, which is why the popularity of the former gardener's favorite is now beginning to crumble. If the box tree loses leaves, this can have many causes.
There is often a disease behind it when the box tree loses many leaves
Fungal diseases often cause leaf loss
In many cases, fungal infections are the cause of leaf loss. As a rule, such a disease is initially accompanied by leaf discoloration, as well as drying of foliage and shoots. Brown and orange spots in particular indicate an infestation with pathogens such as
- Cylindrocladium buxicola: causes boxwood dieback
- Volutella buxi: responsible for boxwood canker
- Fusarium buxicola: causative agent of boxwood wilt
- Puccinia buxi: causes the rarely occurring boxwood rust
Here's what you can do about it
In the event of a fungal infection, it is important to act quickly. Affected leaves and shoots must be removed immediately, although you can cut back vigorously into the healthy wood. The box then sprout again, but due to its slow growth it will take a few years to return to its previous state. After pruning, compost and horn shavings (€32.93) are used as fertilizer, but before that it is advisable to replace the soil around the box, especially in the case of shoot death. Here, the fungal pathogens survive for several years, so that reinfection can occur again and again.
Other causes of leaf shedding
In addition to fungi, there are also many other causes of leaf shedding. An invasion of pests, especially with plant suckers, often causes the boxwood to shed its damaged foliage. This phenomenon is typical for a heavy infestation with, for example
- Boxwood leaf flea (Psylla buxi): Before infestation, spoon leaves and yellowish discolouration are often recognizable
- Boxwood spider mite (Eurytetranychus buxi): Leaves are covered with white dots and lines
- Boxwood gall midge (Monarthropalpus buxi): Characteristic is the formation of galls on the leaves
Here's what you can do about it
When it comes to pest infestation, the only thing that often helps is pruning (do not forget to apply fertilizer afterwards!) or treatment with a suitable pesticide. For leaf suckers, oil-based preparations, such as those based on neem or rapeseed oil, are often very suitable.
tips
In addition to the above, there are also comparatively harmless causes such as dryness / lack of water, root rot due to waterlogging or a lack of nutrients.