yellowing boxwood

I have some 3 ft tall ball and burlap English boxwoods that were planted 5 months ago in tilled beds. Over the past 4 weeks, some of the outside growth appears yellowed, and at the top 4-5 inches of a few branches, the leaves are dead and papery. I've been spraying with insecticide every 10 days with no benefit. I think the drainage is probably adequate, and I've been careful not to overwater. It has not been cold here (Tennessee) yet. Any ideas?

Just a guess but I've had more trouble with ball and burlap plants than any other method of bringing plants into my landscape. I can tell you here with actually true perfect soil, where all else flourishes, ball and burlapped stuff bites the dust. Should I have inspected the roots - probably yes. And also, should I have removed the soil that came with the plant - again, probably yes and that's not to mention that the roots should have been spread over a crown of my native soil.

In my experience, often what happens with these field grown plants is the ball is cropped too small to support the plant, nutritionally -speaking for lack of a better term, or for a better method of explanation, there aren't enough roots to 'feed' the plant.

As a result, I no longer buy anything that's BandB'd.

Spraying for insects this late in the year doesn't seem like a likely scenario. You'll get all your activity during spring and escpecially during the warmest, most heated times of the year and that time being summer.

Then again, who knows! However, that is my opinion.

Regards, and best of luck.

Dax

Thanks for the advice!

You're very welcome.

Mulch the heck out of them, do keep them moist until winter, and after this first winter should the make it, dig them up early spring before growth exumes, and carefully remove the soil that's on them now. Massage it off with running water. Then build your 'crown' and plant them in your native soil, and again, keep them moist the entire year next year. Give them a light organic fertilizer when you do the work as well.

Get em!

Dax

My ilex glabra are doing the same thing, and they were container grown. I believe it's due to they're going dormant for the winter, but I don't have a better scientific explanation at the moment. So maybe just keeping them well-watered until the ground freezes and applying an organic fertilizer like Holly-tone, in spring, will suffice?

You two could give them a light application of phosphorus right now, but nothing with nitrogen. Then go forward with whatever fertilizer you prefer (I use Sustaine) next spring. Come August, stop any nitrogen-based fertilizer of any kind though.

Transplant shock will tally up a few dried up branches and or foliage here and there:) Look at the root systems in container grown as well as they too need untangling just like anything could and if you don't have real good soil, then these can be should be planted in the same way I mentioned above.

The concencus nowadays is to remove any media and plant in native soil regardless of what soil you have, however with what I have here, the plants prefer my soil over the container grown so I don't even bother. I just make sure at planting time, that the roots are loosened and plant the dang thing. I could go into further detail citing more examples of poor root systems and their care before planting, but I think you get the idea.

Dax

Thanks Dax!

Can you recommend a phosphorous supplement? TIA.

Yes, pure phosphorus. Nurseries will carry it. Throw it under your mulch or work it in the top few inches of the soil (it's like chunks of rocks/slate-like and dusty too) and allow the water to carry it to the roots.

Dax

Dax, I live in a town that quarries limestone, in fact it has the largest working limestone quarry in the world! I'm pretty sure we don't need to add more here, but I will use a fert in the spring to keep the bushes healthy. :0)

Phosphorus is for root production - lime is for combatting moss, and also lowers ph! Not sure what else it does though as I ain't smart enough!

Dax

oh right, LOL!

A couple of thoughts here --

First, your limestone could be covered by many feet of very acidic overburden. The soil profile in glaciated areas of Illinois does not necessarily have any relevance to the bedrock beneath it.

Second, and I'm sure Dax meant this but mistyped, lime raises your pH rather than lowering it.

Third, I usually have more problems here with container-grown trees than with B&B. It all depends upon the soil in the nursery field and the care taken at the nursery to develop and dig an adequate root system. If the nursery soil closely matches your own, you might reconsider before digging everything up and starting over. I agree with about everything else that has been said.

Guy S.

I saw new growth on these after planting, so I'm guessing they're adjusting. They're planted along a west facing foundation, with little protection from wind, except what's provided by the concrete steps. They're not boxwood, they're ilex, so I guess I've confused the issue? The native soil is (I think) a sandy clay, but this bed has been amended regularly with organic matter and is now loamy clay, pretty good in other words. :0)

Sorry, I thought the comment about lime was a joke that I didn't get. Anyways, I gather it won't hurt anything if I top dress with a little phosphorous, and it should help. I should try it. You guys already told me to pitch the wilt-pruf, so I'm saving that for treating the insides of hollowed out pumpkins, for fall container plantings. The nursery where I bought the ilex said to treat them with the wilt-pruf in order to prevent yellowing. Isn't that what we were talking about?

My well-established boxwoods have had leaves turning brown and papery on scattered branches this summer, similar to what Clarisa describes. I cut off the dead areas and make sure they are sufficiently watered, but have not sprayed the shrubs, or fed them since mid-summer.

Good to know that the experts here don't like Wilt-pruf; I gave up on it due to a) laziness and b) no evidence that it ever helped anyway!

Goldenberry - thanks! I'm pretty lazy, so I prob wouldn't have done it anyway. LOL Hope I remember to look for phosphate!

Dax - Do you know if HD will have it? They're closest, and I just found out I have a hernia, so can't be doing much lifting and toting. Thanks. :0)

I'll call them 4 ya!

I bought some in a Ziplock freezer-size bag years ago. Maybe they will.

I don't get the lime joke either. You're not the only one. And yes lime is also used on plants with sweet fragrance...but as to which ones you can't use lime on, I'm not sure.

I hear ya on the hernia. The're fun. I'm going in next month on the 11th to find out what's wrong with my hands. I know I have tendon damage, but my general physician is sending me to a specialist as carpo tunnel seems to be likely. Anyways, sorry to hear about the hernia.

Take care,

Dax

I have carpal tunnel too, it developed when I was prego with my 5 year old son. I got these braces at Walgreens that have metal thingees in them to put pressure in the right spots, they really help. I still have mine somewhere, my husband keeps stealing one of them for his wrist, he's a bricklayer and he's even more wild and wooly than me!

The ilex were an experiment. Everyone here grows yews. Or the slower growing boxwoods, they smell funny. I thought the inkberry would be an improvement, since it's a) native b) faster growing and c) was fruit-bearing as well. I learned after the fact that the cultivars are mostly sterile males, and what that means is that it's unlikely, but not impossible, that I will ever get fruit. Not a major problem, I chose it for it's evergreen foliage. Plus they prefer moist, acidic soils, and I have alkaline clay. So they are probably chlorotic due to the fact that I have stubbornly ignored their basic growing conditions. LOL

edited for TMI, LOL

This message was edited Sep 30, 2006 7:58 PM

Take care.

Hey PrarieGirlZ5 I hear ya on the hernias. I have had two and I am a gal. The first one was from lifting a wagon full of wet hostas. The second one was a redux of the first. Sorry if this is two much personal info folks. Gardening can be hazardous I guess. I have both boxwood ( buxus sempervirens) and holly (ilex crenata and meserveae). The soil here is sandy acid pH 6.5. All three do really well with no soil amendments except regular additions of compost. When I say sandy I mean you can't get water to stand in a planting hole more than five minutes max. Rain puddles are rarely seen around here. Nothing would grow well without mulch and compost. Some stuff couldn't survive at all. I think both plants appreciate good drainage because without additional water they do fine in the sand with added compost.