France in Focus

In the summer of 2019, busy with a terrace extension, it looked so nice our little buxus hedge. Today it looks different I'm afraid.

What happened ?? It was ravaged by insects??

That's terribly sad, RA. I remember Liz had a remedy or perhaps @Quiksilver knows ?
I've had a look and it seems that insectides based on the Bacillus thuringiensis bacterium are effective but should ideally be used as soon as the first signs are noticed.

Everywhere in Europe most hedges have been under attack of the pyrale de buis. We tried a lot of products to get rid of them. Earlier this year this hedge tried to make a new start. The sécheresse and the high temperatures did not encourage them. There are butterfly lovers who describe this species with a certain moth bias.

Wow, had never heard of them before. That is extremely destructive. And that is a very popular hedge plant in France.

Do they not eat other shrubs?

Have you tried a 10% solution of savon de marseille? It's what I use against tomato mildew. It's a bit late in the year but who knows?

Better than box blight - but still bad. Mrs N had a go at squishing the larvae on a boule and it is recovering. A hedge is harder.

Going forward plant Lonicera hedge, not Buxus.

One of our clients' gardens has lots of Buxus. Up 'til this year, they seem to have been missed by the moths. But had an email last week from the clients who said they got well ravaged this year, for the first time. They want me to spray the bushes in April, regardless of evidence of caterpillars or not. I wonder if that will be effective? The clients are only over here for a couple of months during summer, and like a perfect garden!

@ Bayleaf, when there is evidence, you are too late. We read about it in the newspapers, le Journal du Centre, warning everybody: it is heading to Burgundy as well. Don't panic I thought, relax, wait and see. A bit over-optimistic. I've seen hedges around a chateau here in the neighbourhood, hundreds of meters. They witnessed many wars in the last two centuries, but this one was too much. Almost no leaves left, or yellow/brown. I'ved been told that they managed to survive somehow, a comeback after two years.

Yes - the plants recover from the moth eating their leaves. Blight, on the other hand . . .