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Last spring we planted some one gallon boxwood in three different beds in the front yard (we live in Houston area). Since that time I haven't noticed much growth to any of them and the ones that are planted one certain bed started turning lighter green. Now I can see the ones planted in the two other beds sprouting and making new leaves, but the ones in this bed are getting yellower.
I haven't added any fertilizer since planting except adding manure to the soil.
Can you please advise me on how to save them.
N.B. the sun exposure is almost the same for all of them except maybe this bed is getting a couple of hours more of sun.
Hopefully you mixed the manure 50/50 with dirt before filling into planter around plants.
The one that is turning lighter green could be getting too much or not enough water hard to say. Could be a blight attacking the plant as well or chlorosis.
Also what cultivar did you plant? Some boxwoods grow faster than others.
Pictures of the plants, leaves and surroundings cold also tell a better story.
Hopefully you mixed the manure 50/50 with dirt before filling into planter around plants.
The one that is turning lighter green could be getting too much or not enough water hard to say. Could be a blight attacking the plant as well or chlorosis.
Also what cultivar did you plant? Some boxwoods grow faster than others.
Pictures of the plants, leaves and surroundings cold also tell a better story.
If the manure was green,, not composted, it is tying up the soil's nitrogen as it composts in the planter, and that would definitely turn plants pale green or yellow. Years ago when we put our foundation beds in, the landscape guys used a popular soil amendment everyone uses around here. It contains manure, which is supposed to be composted. All the plants and shrubs in my beds turned pale within a few weeks. I asked our county Extension Agent what could be happening, told him what the bed was amended with, and he said that product often does that because the manure in it is still too green.
The solution was to keep adding more nitrogen until the manure was fully decomposed and no longer stealing nitrogen from the plants.
Original poster,
Yes, Tina is right.
Go to a local nursery and buy a small bag of miliorganite, and
spread in into the soil, get it down into the soil real good.
Not too much, read the instructions on the bag.
Your plants will be fine after providing a little more nitrogen.
You can use what ever Milorganite you have left on your lawn or
plants this spring.
If the manure was green,, not composted, it is tying up the soil's nitrogen as it composts in the planter, and that would definitely turn plants pale green or yellow. Years ago when we put our foundation beds in, the landscape guys used a popular soil amendment everyone uses around here. It contains manure, which is supposed to be composted. All the plants and shrubs in my beds turned pale within a few weeks. I asked our county Extension Agent what could be happening, told him what the bed was amended with, and he said that product often does that because the manure in it is still too green.
The solution was to keep adding more nitrogen until the manure was fully decomposed and no longer stealing nitrogen from the plants.
Yup. Thats why I always recommend a 50/50 mix before spreading it. Just in case.
I also always toss in some nitrogen fert granules.
I have two different types of boxwood. One (Winter Gem) is a hedge, about 30' long and 3' high. I started with about 20 individual plants and it's taken 9 years to get to where it is now, looking like a nice hedge.
The other type, (Wintergreen), I have three of and they're about 4' tall and trimmed to be round balls. Last summer, one of them suddenly had a large area die and I chopped it out (which drives my OCD crazy since they don't all match now!), but I have no clue what's wrong with it. I put some sort of disease control liquid from Home Depot on it. Right now, it's not growing since it's winter, but I'm hoping the rest doesn't die off this summer. Anyone know why a "chunk" of it would just die?
I have two different types of boxwood. One (Winter Gem) is a hedge, about 30' long and 3' high. I started with about 20 individual plants and it's taken 9 years to get to where it is now, looking like a nice hedge.
The other type, (Wintergreen), I have three of and they're about 4' tall and trimmed to be round balls. Last summer, one of them suddenly had a large area die and I chopped it out (which drives my OCD crazy since they don't all match now!), but I have no clue what's wrong with it. I put some sort of disease control liquid from Home Depot on it. Right now, it's not growing since it's winter, but I'm hoping the rest doesn't die off this summer. Anyone know why a "chunk" of it would just die?
Dear all thank you very much for the replies. the first two pictures show the flower bed with weak and yellow boxwood. The third picture is the for the flower bed on the same side of the house whose boxwood are doing well.
Last picture is for another flower bed whose most boxwood are good except for one or two.
I have sprinkler system and I think are all getting enough water and actually right now we have plenty of winter rain.
When planting, we amended the soil with humus and manure then mulched.
I know this is going to be a wildly unpopular opinion.....
But why would you go out of your way with your labor + money to save these clearly sick $3.99 landscape installations? One gallon boxwood cuttings are not worth the plastic container they're potted in. (Which reminds me of the many times I've seen immigrant landscape crews being pushed for time and production, dump the plant still in its pot, right into the ground. You might want to poke around to see if that might be the case.)
Pull that unsuitable junk out of there and plant something that is more beautiful and better adapted to your growing conditions. Then take care of it.
I wouldn't waste one more minute worrying about these cheap contractor-installed dull and unhealthy parking lot plants. Get rid of em. Stop worrying. Even the bare mulch is better than this.
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