Even in ancient Rome, garden beds were bordered with low box hedges. With their campaigns of conquest, the Romans finally spread the book throughout Europe, from where it increasingly began its campaign of victory from the 16th century. Since then, the evergreen tree has been an integral part of every garden, but in recent years it has been increasingly threatened by fungal diseases such as wilt.
Wilting and dieback have similar symptoms
Various forms of wilt disease
In addition to the dreaded dieback of shoots, wilting diseases also kill many box trees. The pattern of damage is often very similar to that of instinctual dieback and can easily be confused with it, but the pathogen and causes are different.
Phytophthora wilt
Phytophthora wilt is characterized by very poor growth of diseased plants. The foliage turns light green and curls up. The reason for this damage pattern is root rot, which is caused by fungi from the Phytophthora group and almost exclusively affects box trees standing in wet soil, as well as other plants. The Phytophthora wilt is the characteristic damage to a box tree suffering from waterlogging.
Fusarium buxicola wilt
Box wilt, caused by the fungus Fusarium buxicola, in turn leads to the death of leaves and shoots, primarily on weakened plants. However, in many cases only individual parts of the plant are affected.
prevention
Since fungal diseases are difficult to fight and, especially if the infestation is noticed late, it is no longer possible to save it, especially in the case of Phytophthora wilt, you should focus on prevention. The following measures are suitable for this:
- Provide humus rich and well-drained soil.
- If the pH is below seven, you should raise it by adding lime.
- Avoid avoiding nitrogen fertilization.
- Use preferably organic fertilizer, such as compost.
- Always water from below.
- Irrigation from above is not permitted, especially in warm weather.
- Avoid waterlogging at all costs, for example through good drainage.
- Always disinfect cutting tools before and after each use.
- Never cut in the rain.
combat
Effective control of wilt diseases is all the more successful the earlier the infection is discovered and treated. The following measures have proven to be useful:
- When the infestation begins, cut the boxwood back vigorously down to the healthy wood.
- Be sure to collect infested plant parts from the ground and dispose of them with household waste.
- Replace the top layer of soil as fungal spores can survive here for several years.
- Clear the infested boxwood if necessary.
- In this case, choose a different plant species because of the risk of renewed infection.
tips
Some boxwood varieties are less susceptible to wilt pathogens than others. Similar-looking but less disease-prone species are also a good alternative.