I’m a gardening pro and my top tip will clear your garden of hedge killing pests for free
LOOK very carefully in your box hedges right now, and you might see a tiny green and yellow caterpillar surrounded by webbing.
If that’s the case – unlucky. There’s every chance this is one of the last times you’ll see your Box, or ‘Buxus sempervirens’ alive.
Box leaf Caterpillars have started to feed, and they can decimate hedges in the length of a long weekend.
Arriving in the UK in 2007, by 2014 the box moth and caterpillar were happily wreaking hell in UK gardens.
Add to this the seasons of Box Blight that preceded it, only a truly dedicated gardener will take on a Buxus now.
It’s hugely time consuming and costly to get rid of the caterpillars and they can return in the blink of an eye.
So instead of wasting your precious gardening time, how about replacing it with hedging that looks and feels similar, but isn’t anywhere near as susceptible to blight and pests.
RHS Wisley Curator Matthew Pottage ripped out nearly all the box at Wisley when he took over nine years ago. There’s just one cultivar left called ‘Bowle’s Blue’ which is larger leafed and less interesting to caterpillars.
Instead he’s been trialling a variety of box alternatives since 2015.
He told Sun Gardening: “Life’s too short to be spraying for caterpillars, and picking them off by hand.
“At Wisley we’re all about planting something else and what else can do that service for you. The final plants that ended up in our trial were vigorous ones that could handle close clipping.
“One of the top successes for us at Wisley has been Taxus bacatta ‘Repandens’. It’s no secret that Yew can be clipped, but Repandens is a lower, slower growing cultivar, and it’s not throwing up lots of leaders because it wants to be a tree. If you’re a purist, this is for you.
“If you want a bit more excitement in your life, think about Podocarpus. They’re respectable, have varying colours and they will take the cold.
“We also have wildcards like small leaved Berberis Darwinii Compacta and Phillyrea angustifolia.
“We want to encourage everyone to be bold, I guess we’re just trying to get people to think outside the box!”
Signs you've got Box Blight and Caterpillar
BOX Blight is a fungal disease that causes die back, black streaks and brown leaves.
It occurs where you’ve got poor air circulation. And when you’ve got a tiny clipped dense hedge where moisture is sitting, and there’s plants spilling over the top, then the stagnant air will encourage it.
In wet conditions, you can see masses of the white spores of the fungus on the underside of the affected leaves.
Signs you’ve got Box Tree Caterpillar include a similar die back and browning of the leaves, plus cocoons of white webbing spun among the leaves.
Newly hatched caterpillars have a yellow and green colour with black heads – a bit like a cabbage white caterpillar. And they can also strip bark, known as girdling.
By June they’ll have finished feeding, pupating and will emerge as white and brown adult moths
THE WORLD NEEDS BAT-FANS
ON Wednesday it was Bat Appreciation day, and despite their bad press – they’re a brilliant addition to your garden.
They eat hundreds of tiny flying insects a night, including plant-killing pests, pollinate plants and disperse seeds.
Getting a bat box is the best way to tempt them into your outside space.
CJ Wildlife expert Eric Michels said: “Sit your batbox in a sheltered south or southwest tree or building where bats have been seen or are known to feed, so it’s exposed to direct sunlight throughout the day.”
A HIRE POWER
WILKO has launched a tool and equipment hire service. Visit wilkotoolhire.com to select the tools and dates you require. Services include gardening and landscaping, cleaning, painting and decorating, drilling and breaking, sawing and cutting.
THIS WEEK’S JOB
All types of potatoes can be planted in April and there’s still some seed potatoes left in the shops. Plus direct sow wildflower seeds in the ground. Start off Cosmos and Zinnias.
THIS WEEK’S TIP
Once you’ve started to see weed seedlings come through, then you know the soil is warm enough to direct sow into the ground.
WIN!
We’re giving away a Cobra cordless scarifyer worth £360! The scarifyer will remove thatch and moss from your lawn, and also aerates.
To enter fill in this FORM
Or visit www.thesun.co.uk/COBRACOMP for more details about the prize.
Or write to Sun Cobra competition, PO Box 3190, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8GP.
Include your name, age, email or phone. UK residents 18+ only. Ends 23.59GMT 4/05/24.
Full term and conditions HERE
LEARN!
Q. Can you name this plant for me please? Sheila Carmichael, Potters Bar
A. It’s a Choisya x dewitteana ‘white dazzler’ – a kind of Mexican orange blossom. It’s an evergreen shrub, covered in white scented flowers that burst into bloom around now, then again in late summer so a great choice for a garden.
