John O wrote:

I have attempted twice to grow Kingsville boxwood as bonsai. Each time
the plant seems to be thriving for about ~6 months and then suddenly
begins to die off, a section at a time. It turn brown and once it
begins to decline there is seemingly, no way to reverse the decline. I
have assumed it might be a fungal infection and treated the plants
with merit fungicide. There does not seem to any insect damage or root
damage.We are located a half block from the ocean, but others have
grown them successfully here. What's the solution short of giving it
up a loss cause?

Depends on several things:
1) where do you live?
2) where do you keep the tree? Does it stay outdoors all year or come in for the
winter?
3) What time of year does the trouble begin?
4) Can the problem be that they are not receiving enough light, or too much water?

I have several kingsvilles in southern NY state that stay outside until about
Thanksgiving time. I keep them in 3/4 shade. When I bring them in they go under
fluorescent lights, very close to the light. They do quite well that way. Iris
Cohen has been doing the same with her kingsville for a number of years with
similar success to mine. That's where I got the encouragement to bring them in for
the winter since they're not hardy here.

Craig Cowing
NY
Zone 5b/6a Sunset 37

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