In article ,
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We have bought a house that has a lovely box knott garden. During the
months since we moved in some of the box trees have started to turn
yellow and now many of them are completely yellow. As yet the leaves
are not dropping off.

Picture of the hedges

We were told that it was maybe because the soil was too damp and
indeed the box's are planted in soil which has a very tight weedproof
membrane and then the blue slate on top. We tried cutting the membrane
back about a foot fron the edge so the box were not totally surrounded
by membrane but this doesnt seem to have helped.

Interestingly many of the plants are flourishing and odd ones in the
middle of yellow ones are green. We have whole sections that are still
green and much taller and stronger than the yellow ones.

Does anyone know what else we should try.
We have bought a house that has a lovely box knott garden. During the
months since we moved in some of the box trees have started to turn
yellow and now many of them are completely yellow. As yet the leaves
are not dropping off.

Picture of the hedges

We were told that it was maybe because the soil was too damp and
indeed the box's are planted in soil which has a very tight weedproof
membrane and then the blue slate on top. We tried cutting the membrane
back about a foot fron the edge so the box were not totally surrounded
by membrane but this doesnt seem to have helped.

Interestingly many of the plants are flourishing and odd ones in the
middle of yellow ones are green. You cant see from this picture but we
have whole sections that are still green and much taller and stronger
than the yellow ones.

Does anyone know what else we should try.




--
stuartforrest

Try googling for info on Box Blight, If the hedges were previously
healthy and are now suffering I would suspect that. or garden chemicals
(which you will know whether you have used or not, main culprits are
lawn weedkillers) Unless you have had a sudden flooding event I would
have thought that if the hedge has been there more than a year it has
coped with winter wet before and I can not see why it should suddenly
decide to go yellow. Has anything else changed - do you have a male dog?!
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea