ATLANTA — An incurable plant disease is spreading throughout metro Atlanta, and recent wet weather has not helped.
Boxwood blight is a fungus that’s affecting some of the most popular shrubs in your yard.
“Once you have it, there’s nothing you can do about it,” said Kara Ziegler, horticulturalist and regional manager for Pike Nurseries.
Ziegler told Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologist Katie Walls that the fungus has taken off in the last three to five years.
“It seems that we’re seeing a lot of increased cases of it, and a lot of people coming in saying, ‘What is this on my boxwood and what do I do about it?’” she explained.
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The easy-to-maintain shrub is popular in the South.
There are numerous species, but some are more susceptible to the fungus than others, specifically English boxwoods and dwarf English boxwoods.
Ziegler’s advice is to nip boxwood blight in the bud before it hits.
“One [fungicide] that seems effective on the boxwood blight is the fungi-oil, which is a multi-purpose fungicide. If you start spraying this before you get the disease it is very effective in preventing it,” she said.
As you prune your boxwoods, keep a vigilant eye on dying branches.
“You want to look for whole branches dying out, and then you want to look for leaves on the branches that are dying out and have black spots on them. That’s indicative of fungus,” she said.
The only way to be sure it is blight is to send a sample to the experts. If it is indeed boxwood blight, she recommends removing the plant or affected plants immediately and cleaning your gardening tools with alcohol so that you do not transmit the fungus from plant to plant.
Spores from the fungus can even travel from your neighbor’s yard into yours and vice versa.
The fungus is specific to boxwoods and won’t spread to your other flowers or shrubs.
Zeigler said certain species like the Japanese boxwood aren’t as susceptible.