Boxwood circling the drain

[crab apple]

Both these chinese boxwoods seem to be loosing steam at the same time, they were a vibrant green. I quit fertilizing about a month ago when it got pretty hot here. They were purchased this summer so are still in their nursery pots, I water them twice a day. The heat never got too bad here and most of my plants are doing ok. Just noticed these two turning a weird color green, does chlorosis ever look like that?

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Be careful you don't overwater. These are one of those species that thrive on neglect. Their roots are sensitive to overly wet conditions. Twice daily watering sounds like a lot - particularly in Florida.

 

[crab apple]

yikes, ill back it down some

 

[Orion_metalhead]

Agree with the overwatering diagnosis. Id repot at an appropriate time for your climate into a better draining soil.

 

[Joe Dupre']

I hope it's just a watering problem. I've sworn off of boxwoods in our area due to dieback. Two local bonsai friends and I have lost a dozen trees over the last few years. When the dieback started, one branch died and the rest of the tree looked healthy. Soon, another branch would die and on it went until the tree was lost. No more for me.

 

[Orion_metalhead]

Boxwood Blight has had a huge impact in our area. I wont invest much time into em.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

yikes, ill back it down some

Get yourself a ficus to satisfy your watering needs Truly, a ficus will be like "what? only twice a day?" while other trees will drown.

 

[Joe Dupre']

No proof, but I have a hunch. My friends and I have gotten boxwoods from dug up hedges. They seemed to be fine in the ground. Once in a pot, they seemed to go downhill. My hunch is that the large, dense root ball is necessary for them to thrive. Nature doesn't do unnecessary things. Boxwoods might well grow a large, dense root ball because they NEED a large, dense root ball. The ones we salvaged were from 2" to 8" in diameter.........fairly big trees possibly not destined for pot life.

 

[ShimpakuBonsai]

In the Netherlands the last few years we have a severe problem with the box tree moth (Cydalima perspectalis), see wikipedia for more info about this moth.

This moth is killing almost every box wood tree in every garden all over the country.

I don't know if this is also a problem in the US but if so it's a real problem because they seem hard to kill.

 

[rockm]

I have a feeling the problem is with the soil. It's too dense and is probably staying too wet. Boxwood like neither.

Here in Va. where there are billions of boxwood hedges, old and relatively young. I've got several American boxwood (sempervirens) and Japanese boxwood (microphylla) that were dug from old hedges planted in the 1940's or earlier. They were dug out with only a few feeder roots and bare rooted, planted in bonsai soil, or in one case, straight Turface. They haven't looked back and are extremely healthy now.

Boxwood don't really need large root masses. I've got all my boxwood in very shallow pots. I had one mame sized in a pot about the size of a mayonnaise jar lid for more than ten years. Sold it though. They're among the toughest plants I've have. They can take extreme root reduction at collection and repotting (which I do in late spring).

The species is very shallow rooted and likes free draining soil. Boxwood also like things on the drier side, so watering them twice a day is overkill. I water mine once a day or less, depending on the weather and rain.

Boxwood blight gets blamed a lot when bonsai boxwoods die. I don't think it's the cause of most bonsai boxwood death. I think dense soil, deep pots that remain wet are more likely causes. I think that's the case here.

 

[Joe Dupre']

I have a feeling the problem is with the soil. It's too dense and is probably staying too wet. Boxwood like neither.

Here in Va. where there are billions of boxwood hedges, old and relatively young. I've got several American boxwood (sempervirens) and Japanese boxwood (microphylla) that were dug from old hedges planted in the 1940's or earlier. They were dug out with only a few feeder roots and bare rooted, planted in bonsai soil, or in one case, straight Turface. They haven't looked back and are extremely healthy now.

Boxwood don't really need large root masses. I've got all my boxwood in very shallow pots. I had one mame sized in a pot about the size of a mayonnaise jar lid for more than ten years. Sold it though. They're among the toughest plants I've have. They can take extreme root reduction at collection and repotting (which I do in late spring).

The species is very shallow rooted and likes free draining soil. Boxwood also like things on the drier side, so watering them twice a day is overkill. I water mine once a day or less, depending on the weather and rain.

Boxwood blight gets blamed a lot when bonsai boxwoods die. I don't think it's the cause of most bonsai boxwood death. I think dense soil, deep pots that remain wet are more likely causes. I think that's the case here.

But would that explain only one branch dying back completely while the rest of the tree is lush? Don't have any idea, but 2 of my friends and I have sworn off of them.

 

[rockm]

But would that explain only one branch dying back completely while the rest of the tree is lush? Don't have any idea, but 2 of my friends and I have sworn off of them.

I've seen that happen and it is usually root related. There seems to be a relationship between roots and the branches directly above them. I have a feeling your climate is too hot and too humid and without winter for them to do well. They're not tropicals. They're native to drier Mediterranean climates.

 

[Scotty]

There’s a boxwood blight going around. There’s very little to nothing that can be done to stop it from my understanding. The spores can live dormant for years. A lot of box stores have a 1 year policy on plants dying. Try and return them?

 

[JackHammer]

I've seen that happen and it is usually root related. There seems to be a relationship between roots and the branches directly above them. I have a feeling your climate is too hot and too humid and without winter for them to do well. They're not tropicals. They're native to drier Mediterranean climates.

I would second climate, more specifically direct sun. I had them growing up as a kid and now have them now as "bonsai". I would hedge clip the crap out of them as a kid and I have chopped one to inches of life recently -- they always seem to spring back. While I am not great with cuttings, I had 4 or so that I simply tossed in compost late last summer. It took a year but they are all growing great.
I water the nursery pots every day and they are in full sun (read as organic, and really terrible/wet substrate).
Could it be that there is too much sun in FL and they need more protection?

 

[rockm]

There’s a boxwood blight going around. There’s very little to nothing that can be done to stop it from my understanding. The spores can live dormant for years. A lot of box stores have a 1 year policy on plants dying. Try and return them?

It gets a lot of blame, but in bonsai boxwoods, it's not really a thing if you're doing things right--i.e. keeping them off the ground and allowing air circulation. I'm in boxwood blight central here in Va., but it's never been a problem with any of my boxwood bonsai over the last 30 years. Where it has been a problem is where it can spread easily--closely packed boxwood hedges. The spores are heavy and spread by splashing to new hosts in the rain...