In article ,
says...
In message , stuartforrest
wrote

Sorry here is a link to the pictures

http://tinyurl.com/5uw9h6

I dont think they have been fine. These are new trees. The garden was
replanted last summer I believe and the membrane laid together with the
purple slate in the middle.

We always have a flooding event here, its the lake district!!

I did hear on the radio about box blight but they said you would have
black spots on the leaves which we dont have. I have not seen any vine
weevils either.

Perhaps we should try removing the membrane fully and also the Iron
thing.


Possible the clue is in your first post: "During the months since we
moved in"

The garden looks like something from one of the daytime TV makeover
shows where you spend £500 on the garden and an estate agent comes in
and values the house at £25K more. The garden only has to last until
the contracts are signed

The previous owner probably used some chemical method for removing the
jungle that was there before.

I am not sure I would have chosen box hedging for the lake district in
the first place, that said the membrane is not likely to be the cause of
the problem (although it does make improving the soil more difficult) The
only wild box I know of in the uk grows in the south of england on
chalklands so good drainage. Your problem is not knowing what was there
before, some plants may be planted over something they don't like or as
has been suggested are suffering from residual weedkiller (that should
wash through with time) Could even have been some old diseased trees with
roots still down there.
Should any trees die I would take the opportunity to dig down and see
what was under them. It sounds like something wrong at the roots Could be
so many things. Try the sequestral your soil is quite likely acidic and
thats all it may be and its the cheapest least disruptive solution!
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea