Skip to main content
Home

Service menu

  • Search
  • Where to buy
  • Contact
  • Sustainability
Home lovethegarden

Main navigation

  • Products
    Lawn Care
    Plant Food
    Soil, Compost & Bark
    Plant Control & Protection
    Weed Control
    Home Pest Control
    Hard Surface Control & Protection
  • Brands
    Miracle-Gro®
    Levington®
    Roundup® Weed Killer
    Weedol® Weed Killer
    Clear™
    Patio Magic!® Hard Surface Cleaner
  • Tools
    Your monthly planting guide
    Find hands-on guidance for what to plant and when.
    Learn more
    All growing guides
    Discover how to grow any plant.
    Learn more
    Pest, disease & weed identifier
    Find out what's wrong with a sick plant.
    Learn more
    Compost calculator
    Calculate how much compost your garden needs.
    Calculate now
    Mulch calculator
    Calculate how much mulch your garden needs.
    Calculate now
    Lawn Product Selector
    Answer a few quick questions, and we'll handpick the perfect lawn products and expert advice just for you
    Your perfect lawn is just a few steps away
    Videos
    Discover all of our helpful video content.
    Watch now
  • Advice & Inspiration
    Lawn care
    Plants, trees & shrubs
    Weeds, pests & diseases
    Grow your own
    Garden care
    Garden design
    Birds & wildlife
    David Domoney
    Peat free compost
    Sustainability
  • Search
  • Where to buy
  • Contact
  • Sustainability
  1. Home
  2. Tools
  3. Garden problem
  4. Box Blight Treatment

Box blight

What is box blight?

Box blight, or Boxwood blight, is a common fungal disease that can destroy box plants. At first it causes brown, bare patches on the plant, which spread as the plant dies back and eventually dies. It is particularly devastating to see neatly clipped box plants overtaken and ruined by this now widespread fungus.

There are two fungi which cause box blight. Calonectria pseudonaviculata and Calonectria henricotiae (also called Cylindrocladium buxicola) are the culprits. They thrive in warm, wet and humid conditions. The fungi will affect leaves and stems, but not the roots, so recovery is possible with tenacity and a little luck.

Any plant in the Buxaceae family can host and be attacked by the fungi. This includes the much loved winter-flowering Sarcococca confusa, as well the common Japanese spurge (Pachysandra terminalis). However it is plants in the Buxus genus, which includes the popular Buxus sempervirens - or common box - which are particularly vulnerable.

What does box blight look like?

You need to catch box blight early on for the best chance of managing it effectively. The fungus is active all year round, but especially in wet conditions, when you are most likely to find visible fungal growth on an infected plant.

Other pests and diseases can cause similar symptoms to box blight, so check for the those before starting any treatment. Volutella blight is often confused with box blight as it has most of the same symptoms, except that it has pink fungal growth instead of white. Box tree caterpillars also cause widespread browning and loss of leaves, and are usually accompanied by webbing across the foliage. Neither of these problems cause dark streaking on the stems however, and this can be another way to differentiate them from box blight.

You should monitor box plants closely for signs of pests and diseases, regularly checking them and taking action no matter what the problem is.

Boxwood Blight

Box blight symptoms and damage

What does box blight look like? Look out for:

  • Brown leaves
  • Leaves falling from the plant
  • Bare patches of foliage, particularly on the tops of plants
  • Dark streaky marks on stems
  • White-grey fungal growth on the undersides of leaves
  • Dying and dead plants

Box blight treatment

So, how to treat box blight? You should take action as soon as you see any symptoms of box blight. It will swiftly take over a plant and may spread to nearby plants in the Buxaceae family. It can quickly become difficult to control and it is unlikely to disappear of its own accord.

There are no known biological treatments for box blight. Chemical controls are largely ineffective as all above ground parts of the plant need to be coated. Box grows very densely, so reaching every surface is difficult. A fungicide spray such as FungusClear® Ultra 2 can be useful when pruning, to prevent the spread of spores.

For badly infected plants, wait for a dry day to dig them up and destroy them immediately. For smaller infections, you can try to prune out the affected sections. Just make sure to cut back further than where the infection is visible to catch any unseen infected material. If box has been used to provide a low hedge, use a hedgecutter to prune horizontally across the entire length. Box blight spreads from the top down, and this will keep it looking relatively tidy, with a hope that the infection hasn’t spread further down into the plant.

All prunings from an infected plant should be destroyed and not composted. Move them by placing them in a sealed container first, so that material does not fall to the ground as you cross the garden. You should then remove fallen foliage and topsoil from beneath the plants to minimise the chances of box blight spores surviving.

How to prevent box blight

Box disease can arrive seemingly out of nowhere, with spores spread by the weather and wildlife. It’s not possible to stop this happening, but you can help plants to resist and recover from attacks from all sorts of pests and diseases by keeping them healthy. To do so, feed regularly with a granular fertiliser, such as Miracle-Gro® Premium All Purpose Continuous Release Plant Food or Levington® Growmore Multi Purpose Plant Food.

There are some other actions you can take to reduce the chance of box blight arriving in your garden. Practice good garden hygiene by securely disposing of infected material, and cleaning tools and clothing between use. Use a fungicide if attempting to prune out infected material.

Avoid planting box plants in damp, shady areas of the garden, and make sure that other plants do not prevent good air circulation.

Newly purchased plants should be quarantined away from others for a month or more. Check them thoroughly and frequently for symptoms. Isolating plants gives the fungus a chance to emerge in a controlled environment before it has a chance to spread. If you notice symptoms, destroy the infected plants immediately.

Avoid planting anything related to Buxus close to an area where there was previously an outbreak of box blight. The minute fungal spores can live on infected material for up to 6 years. You could try planting something which is not in the Buxaceae family. There are lots of good alternatives for attractive topiary designs and hedging, such as Privet and Yew (Taxus baccata).

The best products to help with your problem
fungusclear-ultra-2-1l-119978.png

FungusClear® Ultra 2

miracle-gro-all-purpose-continuous-release-plant-food-900g-121066.png

Miracle-Gro® Premium All Purpose Continuous Release Plant Food

levington-growmore-3.5kg-carton-121076.png

Levington® Growmore Multi Purpose Plant Food

levington-epsom-salts-1.5kg-carton-121086.png

Levington® Epsom Salts+

Find your local store

Looking for specialised gardening advice? Or just hunting for a specific product? Visit your local store and get help from dedicated staff.

Common plant diseases

How to control fungus gnats in the home

Fungus gnats

Read more about Fungus gnats
Plant die back - treatment and control

Plant die back

Read more about Plant die back
Tomato leaf mould - treatment and control

Tomato leaf mould

Read more about Tomato leaf mould
Peach leaf curl - treatment and control

Peach leaf curl

Read more about Peach leaf curl
Onion white rot - treatment and control

Onion white rot

Read more about Onion white rot
Boxwood Blight

Box Blight Treatment

Read more about Box Blight Treatment
Crane flies

Crane flies

Read more about Crane flies
Dandelion control

Dandelions

Read more about Dandelions

Pagination

  • First disabled
  • Previous disabled
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Next ›
  • Last »
See all diseases
Contact form background image

Unable to find a solution?

Please contact our online helpdesk to get in touch with our experts.
Contact us now
FungusClear® Ultra 2 main image
FungusClear® Ultra 2
Close
Product

Footer

  • Our purpose
  • Contact
  • Brands
  • Modern Slavery Act
  • Compliance
  • Terms of use
  • Product Ingredients
  • Sustainability
  • Evergreen Research Station
  • Garden Chemical Disposal
  • Privacy and cookies
  • Update cookie preferences
  • Trade enquiries
  • Work for us

© 2025 Evergreen Garden Care (UK) Ltd. Registration no: 10735156

Evergreen Garden Care (UK) Ltd, 
1 Archipelago, Lyon Way, 
Frimley, Surrey GU16 7ER, 
United Kingdom

Miracle-Gro® and Scotts® are trademarks of OMS Investments, Inc.
and are used under licence from OMS Investments, Inc.

Roundup® is a registered trademark and used under licence.

Flag of United Kingdom Change country
A local version of The Love The Garden website exists

Switch over if you want to find gardening products and brands available in your country.

Combined ShapeCombined Shapeicon--plusGroup