BOXWOOD BLIGHT found in B.C.

Boxwood Blight Update:

2015: Boxwood Blight moves quickly, it can be spread on your shoes or pruners. It is favoured by warm moist weather.

• What to look for:
• Distinct Leaf Spots: Orange or dark margins with a yellow halo
• Defoliation

Volutella Blight ( not to be confused with Boxwood Blight)  leaves turn straw color- this blight can be pruned out and will not kill the plant.

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In 2011, the US Department of Agriculture sent out a notice to Nurseries stating that a new disease affecting boxwoods had been discovered at several sites in the US.  This new pathogen, Cylindrocladium buxicola, moves quickly and is very destructive, causing severe defoliation in a very short period of time. 
 
This new disease is not a regulated or quarantine pest like Phytophthora ramorum.  It is a pest of concern because of its virulence.  It affects only buxus, although sarcococca is susceptible to a small degree.
 
In early January 2012, one site in BC was found positive for boxwood blight.  Staff at the nursery noticed an issue with plants in one of their fields, and upon testing, boxwood blight was detected; results were confirmed by CFIA .  The plants at that site have been dealt with; no infected plants have left the site.
 
Landscapers should consider the effect of a new potentially difficult pest on boxwood when designing or planting gardens and sites.  There seem to be limited effective controls.
 
Over the spring and summer season, watch for how the disease moves and progresses; no one knows the effect it will have in the short and long term or if it will become significant enough to change plant choices.

For additional information on Boxwood Blight, Virginia Cooperative Extension has produced a good factsheet that is available online at:

http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/plant&pest/pdf/boxwoodblight.pdf