Caterpillars killed my bush. What now?
Discussion
Hi all,
As will become apparent, I’m not a gardener. I have a lovely garden and I look after it with two tools: A petrol mower and a petrol hedge trimmer. Once a pistonhead, always a pistonhead.
However, I’m now out of my depth. One of my nice cubic bushes has been killed by a zillion Japanese caterpillars (apparently).
Here it is now, in all its glory. It went from ‘nice’ to ‘horror show’ in about a month. b
ds.
Clearly, this is not coming back to life.
And clearly, replacing with something similar probably not a good idea.
I think I need to cut it all down, throw it all away, then dig out the stump/roots etc. Is this right?
Then I need replace it with something that won’t get eaten by bds but will fill a 1m cubed space and is easy to look after and thick so you can’t see through it. Any suggestions?
I’d like something mature so I don’t have to wait for it to grow and I’d like to have it delivered because my cars are too nice. Any recommendations for where to buy from online?
If it helps, the space is sometimes shady and sometimes sunny and the soil is mainly brown and dirty.
All help gratefully received! Thank you
As will become apparent, I’m not a gardener. I have a lovely garden and I look after it with two tools: A petrol mower and a petrol hedge trimmer. Once a pistonhead, always a pistonhead.
However, I’m now out of my depth. One of my nice cubic bushes has been killed by a zillion Japanese caterpillars (apparently).
Here it is now, in all its glory. It went from ‘nice’ to ‘horror show’ in about a month. b
ds.Clearly, this is not coming back to life.
And clearly, replacing with something similar probably not a good idea.
I think I need to cut it all down, throw it all away, then dig out the stump/roots etc. Is this right?
Then I need replace it with something that won’t get eaten by b
ds but will fill a 1m cubed space and is easy to look after and thick so you can’t see through it. Any suggestions? I’d like something mature so I don’t have to wait for it to grow and I’d like to have it delivered because my cars are too nice. Any recommendations for where to buy from online?
If it helps, the space is sometimes shady and sometimes sunny and the soil is mainly brown and dirty.
All help gratefully received! Thank you
Pheo said:
Presumably it was a box plant, if so it'll be Box Plant Caterpillar.
Yes, dig it all up, burn it. Likely others in your garden if you have any may cop it. There are some controls possibly coming onto the market, but not much.
I would dig it up and burn it to reduce the chance of spread.
RHS Wisley is trialing alternatives - Try their website for something similar.
Thank you! Yes - a box plant murdered by those wriggly black & green bYes, dig it all up, burn it. Likely others in your garden if you have any may cop it. There are some controls possibly coming onto the market, but not much.
I would dig it up and burn it to reduce the chance of spread.
RHS Wisley is trialing alternatives - Try their website for something similar.
ds. Do I need to get the stump/roots out? Or can I just plant something in the same place after I chop off and burn all the stuff above ground?
I had a quick look at the RHS Wisely trial (after a quick Google) and, if I’m honest, it’s all a little over my head and too much choice.
Ideally I’m hoping for a suggestion like… “Buy a doodah mate, it looks like box and won’t die from caterpillars, grows anywhere, hard to kill and you can get one delivered from doodahsonline.com for not too much money”
doogle83 said:
The little bds have got 2 at my place and 6 at my mum's this year as well.
Glad it’s my only box bush - imagine if I had my own maze ds have got 2 at my place and 6 at my mum's this year as well. 
. But yes, bloody annoying! sleepezy said:
Lovely little blighters aren't they
We have quite a bit of box and use Xentari to pretty good effect in keeping them at bay. Tend to spray everything 3 times a year and again if we see the impact of an infection.
One thing - the plant may be able to recover really well from an infection - but you need to ensure your new friends don't stay around or spread - or you may decide it's too much hassle and get rid, a view I could sympathise with. At least they're very particular over their diet so nothing else is really at risk.
I was just amazed by how quickly they destroyed it. At first I looked and couldn’t see what was doing it… then I realised that that the whole bush was basically made of caterpillars. In its last days, if you listened carefully, you could hear the whole bush making a chomping noise! We have quite a bit of box and use Xentari to pretty good effect in keeping them at bay. Tend to spray everything 3 times a year and again if we see the impact of an infection.
One thing - the plant may be able to recover really well from an infection - but you need to ensure your new friends don't stay around or spread - or you may decide it's too much hassle and get rid, a view I could sympathise with. At least they're very particular over their diet so nothing else is really at risk.
PhilboSE said:
Ilex crenata is the most commonly used box replacement at the moment that can be treated mostly like for like. You’ll struggle to find a 1m3 example ready grown though. Thanks
I also saw some bamboo trimmed in a similar way at the Hannah Peshar sculpture garden last week which looked surprisingly good.
Ilex Crenata! Brilliant, thank you, I’ll take a look. Thank you! I also saw some bamboo trimmed in a similar way at the Hannah Peshar sculpture garden last week which looked surprisingly good.
Johnnytheboy said:
Sarcococca as a replacement.
Nice smell in mid winter, prune after flowering in early spring. Looks a bit like box.
Thanks very much - I’ll take a look.Nice smell in mid winter, prune after flowering in early spring. Looks a bit like box.
One thing I’ve learned over the last couple of hours is that it appears that rather than a small, annoying inconvenience of a dead bush - replacing this bush with something of a similar size is going to cost me a f@cking fortune!
I’ve gone from being a little ticked-off to really annoyed! Who knew big plants were so flipping expensive!?
Pit Pony said:
What now? Butterflys.
Nope. I actually consoled myself a little with the thought that at least my personal bush tragedy was bringing thousands of lovely butterflies into existence.
But no. Turns out these black/green b
ds turn into the butterfly’s evil twin…. F@cking moths!!rxe said:
For future reference, drenching it in a can of fly killer works well….
Noted - thank youAC43 said:
If you're near Denham you can swing by Tendercare and see what they've got - I've bought a lot of large-ish shrubs from there and some small to medium trees.
There are several other nurseries in the same area, I just happen to have used Tendercare and can recommend them.
If nothing else you'll get some good advice.
Thanks, not close to Denham but there are local nurseries that I might try. There are several other nurseries in the same area, I just happen to have used Tendercare and can recommend them.
If nothing else you'll get some good advice.
AC43 said:
Another vote for Xen Tari. I first experienced the box moths in a rental 4 years ago. I was keeping a lot of pots in the garden with various plants in including a number of boxes. By the time I figured out what was going on, one was finished and the rest were badly damaged. The latter have since recovered and are now planted in borders round my garden.
Spotted what looked like a new outbreak the other day and, right enough, loads of caterpillars and eggs. Nipped it in the bud with some heavy spraying.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/TOPBUXUS-XenTari-Professi...
Thanks for the link - very helpful! Wonder if it's too late this time though...Spotted what looked like a new outbreak the other day and, right enough, loads of caterpillars and eggs. Nipped it in the bud with some heavy spraying.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/TOPBUXUS-XenTari-Professi...
Gren said:
We cleared out 20m of box hedge over the weekend. Buggers got the lot - front and back gardens. All in the 2 weeks we were away on holiday.
We've replaced one hedge with Yew and one with Euonymus 'Jean Hughes' which looks just like box but doesn't die.
Seen a few mentions on English Yew elsewhere so that might be an option - thank youWe've replaced one hedge with Yew and one with Euonymus 'Jean Hughes' which looks just like box but doesn't die.
Dr Mike Oxgreen said:
What on Earth are you blithering on about?
Unfortunately the OP seems to be taking your advice to rip it out and burn it.
Why???
I think you’re getting confused with box blight, for which it definitely is necessary to rip it up and destroy.
But what we have here is not a disease, so there is no need to burn anything. And actually box is amazingly resilient, and I really think there’s a chance that plant might come back. It’s certainly worth giving it a chance before giving up on it, because any replacement will be eye-wateringly expensive at that size.
As others have said, XenTari is the answer. It is totally effective against box tree caterpillars. It’s available on Amazon. And the best thing is that it only affects things that eat the box plant, which is pretty much only box caterpillars. So it doesn’t harm anything else.
The OP should get XenTari, and buy one of those pump-up sprayers from a garden centre. Spray what’s left of this plant, and any other box plants. Then wait and see what this plant does, at least into next spring. With luck, it’ll come back strongly next year.
And then, the OP should spray box plants with XenTari routinely, maybe about every six weeks during the summer months.
OP: Please don’t just take the first bit of advice offered on this thread. As you’ve discovered, replacing your box will cost a fortune, and there’s a good chance it’s unnecessary. Your box isn’t dead, it’s just had all its leaves eaten off. It might well come back if you give it a chance. Of course if you decide you don’t want to wait and are willing to fork out for a replacement, then fair enough - but this isn’t your only option. And I say again: your box isn’t dead!
Ah, a Dr enters the thread! Unfortunately the OP seems to be taking your advice to rip it out and burn it.
Why???
I think you’re getting confused with box blight, for which it definitely is necessary to rip it up and destroy.
But what we have here is not a disease, so there is no need to burn anything. And actually box is amazingly resilient, and I really think there’s a chance that plant might come back. It’s certainly worth giving it a chance before giving up on it, because any replacement will be eye-wateringly expensive at that size.
As others have said, XenTari is the answer. It is totally effective against box tree caterpillars. It’s available on Amazon. And the best thing is that it only affects things that eat the box plant, which is pretty much only box caterpillars. So it doesn’t harm anything else.
The OP should get XenTari, and buy one of those pump-up sprayers from a garden centre. Spray what’s left of this plant, and any other box plants. Then wait and see what this plant does, at least into next spring. With luck, it’ll come back strongly next year.
And then, the OP should spray box plants with XenTari routinely, maybe about every six weeks during the summer months.
OP: Please don’t just take the first bit of advice offered on this thread. As you’ve discovered, replacing your box will cost a fortune, and there’s a good chance it’s unnecessary. Your box isn’t dead, it’s just had all its leaves eaten off. It might well come back if you give it a chance. Of course if you decide you don’t want to wait and are willing to fork out for a replacement, then fair enough - but this isn’t your only option. And I say again: your box isn’t dead!
Don't worry - I'm not taking the first piece of advice, hence hanging on for 2nd, 3rd, 4th opinions.
However, the box looks very, VERY dead. There's literally not a single green leaf left on the entire thing. At this point, what do I do if not get rid? Spray the hell out of it with XenTari and wait and see what happens in the spring?
Is there a way of working out of it's DEAD dead or just not-quite-dead-and-might-make-a-recovery-dead? The idea of bringing it back to life by spraying it with stuff from Amazon is bang in the centre of my low-cost, low-skill, low-effort method of gardening
Dr Murdoch said:
Mine looked like that two years ago, but recovered fine. The buggers have done it again though, bit late with the treatment this year.
Stick with it, it will come back, but might take a year or two to come back to its former glory.
Two Doctors!?!? Both in agreement!?! Now we're talking! Stick with it, it will come back, but might take a year or two to come back to its former glory.
Right, I've ordered some of the magic spray from Amazon and I'm going to give my big box a chance (ahem). Tune in next spring for another exciting instalment to find out what happens
Thanks to everyone for their advice - PH delivers once again
Dr Mike Oxgreen said:
The test I use to determine if somethings dead is to try bending a stem. If it snaps with a sudden clean break then it’s dead (or at least, that part of the plant is dead); if there’s any give or bendiness in the stem then it’s too early to administer last rites!
I’d be surprised if that box is dead, even though it might look totally kaput (those caterpillars really do cause devastation). And whilst there’s no guarantee it’ll come back, I think there’s a 60-70% chance that it will - and I think I’m being conservative. It might even start making new leaves and shoots within a few weeks if the weather stays warm.
Yet more practical advice! A massive, massive thank you. I’d be surprised if that box is dead, even though it might look totally kaput (those caterpillars really do cause devastation). And whilst there’s no guarantee it’ll come back, I think there’s a 60-70% chance that it will - and I think I’m being conservative. It might even start making new leaves and shoots within a few weeks if the weather stays warm.
So I've been outside to have bit of a closer look and... there are signs of life. I found one (yes, one) green leaf still on the plant. And, although every other leaf is brown, dead and covered in web, dust and god-knows-what else those little sods leave behind, the stalks themselves are still actually green, and bend without breaking.
So, the magic spray arrives tomorrow and I can get cracking!
One last question.. is it best to 'give it the once over' with the trimmer to clear off all the dead stuff on the 'outside' before spraying and leaving it to come back to life? Or should I just leave as-is (covered in all that crap) and spray away?
Thanks in advance!
Sorry to hear so many are going through the same thing - as OP I guess I should do a quick update.
The main bush didn’t make it. What little green there was disappeared and we pulled it out and burned it last weekend.
The second bush is ailing but coming back - I doused it in the magic potion last weekend having spotted both caterpillars and the return of silk so let’s see how that goes.
This is the box that we had to remove:
The main bush didn’t make it. What little green there was disappeared and we pulled it out and burned it last weekend.
The second bush is ailing but coming back - I doused it in the magic potion last weekend having spotted both caterpillars and the return of silk so let’s see how that goes.
This is the box that we had to remove:
I’m seriously impressed by you guys getting them off.
When mine was fully under attack it was hard to see them - then I realised it was because there were SO many. Each ‘twig’ had dozens on. Must have been a million of them!
Long run, no way I’ll be having any more box in the garden - just isn’t worth the effort.
When mine was fully under attack it was hard to see them - then I realised it was because there were SO many. Each ‘twig’ had dozens on. Must have been a million of them!
Long run, no way I’ll be having any more box in the garden - just isn’t worth the effort.
As OP, time for another update... despite spraying, the second box bush started ailing badly (I guess I wasn't doing it either early enough, or often enough, or long enough) so I threw in the towel on that one too.. pulled it out and burned it. LIfe's too short to be spraying bushes.
Everything replaced with stuff that caterpillars don't like and life has returned to normal.
The very first reply in this thread was likely the right one for anyone who's not a super-keen gardener - just get rid.
Everything replaced with stuff that caterpillars don't like and life has returned to normal.
The very first reply in this thread was likely the right one for anyone who's not a super-keen gardener - just get rid.
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