What's eating my green velvet boxwood?

Green Velvet Boxwood is susceptible to the same pest complex as all Buxus cultivars. Box tree caterpillar (in UK and expanding US range) can defoliate it in days. Boxwood leafminer causes year-round foliage blistering. Box blight is a critical disease risk in wet climates. Voles and rabbits chew bark at the base in winter.

Webbing within canopy, rapid defoliation by striped caterpillars; repeated infestations kill plants outright. Monthly inspection from spring; spray Bt or spinosad targeting young larvae. Hand-remove webs and nests. Multiple treatments per season required.

Orange-yellow blisters on leaf undersides; leaves drop prematurely, weakening the plant over successive years. Systemic insecticide (imidacloprid) applied at adult fly emergence in spring. Prune and remove affected stems to reduce overwintering populations.

Rapid leaf browning, defoliation, and black stem streaking in humid conditions; can kill a plant in one wet season. Remove and bag infected material immediately. Apply tebuconazole or trifloxystrobin fungicide. Avoid wetting foliage; improve drainage and airflow.

Gnawed bark at the base of stems in winter, which can girdle and kill entire branches or the whole plant. Install wire mesh guards around the base of plants from autumn. Rabbit-repellent sprays applied to lower stems.