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Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

Help me save my bush

31 replies

wombpaloumbpa · 20/04/2024 13:22

I am pretty rookie so please be kind.

At the end of last summer I noticed my box hedge looked in a bad state and was maybe dying. Thought to leave it over winter and see if it comes back in spring.

Long story short it's absolutely decimated by boxwood caterpillars and now looks like this

I've bought a boxwood moth trap to catch the moths they turn into so they don't lay more eggs but what else should I do? I didn't want to use pesticide but maybe I should just once?
Or is it actually too late?!

Would love to save it

Help me save my bush
Help me save my bush
Help me save my bush
OP posts:
wombpaloumbpa · 30/04/2024 07:03

UPDATE: after a lot of soul searching my bush is no more. I didn't like the idea of spraying chemicals every month, forever... and spending the money on that. So decided to dig it up. Big shame but that's life. Will be planting something else.

And all because of a tiny, very hungry caterpillar!

Huge thanks to everyone for all the advice and messages.

OP posts:
Bonbon21 · 30/04/2024 15:57

Sorry to read your update..
Have you consider Lonicera nitida? .. similar leaf and quite tough..

TheBirdintheCave · 30/04/2024 16:05

I only discovered these bastards were a thing last weekend. Thankfully my box hedge is still a baby one and we were able to cut the infested plants back as best we could then spray them down last night. I have everything crossed that they'll bounce back if we keep up the XenTari treatments.

Sorry your bush didn't make it :(

TheBirdintheCave · 30/04/2024 16:07

Bonbon21 · 30/04/2024 15:57

Sorry to read your update..
Have you consider Lonicera nitida? .. similar leaf and quite tough..

OMG! Thank you! THIS is the plant we have on the other side of the garden. Box was the closest match I could get. At least I know what to choose now if our box doesn't make it.

Thegreatgiginthesky · 30/04/2024 16:10

Is Xentari safe for use near vegetables? I was not sure if it causes any wider harm to the environment?

Also has anyone tried the plant gp treatment?

BlackboardMonitorVimes · 30/04/2024 16:10

I saw box plants being sold in Morrison's this week, all of them already got by the caterpillar. Hopefully no one buys them.

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