Discovering Top Choices for Coping with Box Disease and Box Tree Moth Infestations

Seeking a substitute for Box, compromised by Box Blight and Box Caterpillar? Consider these 13 eye-pleasing, trouble-free options instead

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2025 September 19 . 5:05 AM

2 min read

Exploring Options Beyond Traditional Containers: Strategies to Combat Box Disease and Box Tree Moth

Discovering Top Choices for Coping with Box Disease and Box Tree Moth Infestations

In recent years, the box tree moth has caused havoc in gardens across the UK, leading to a need for alternatives to traditional box hedges. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has been at the forefront of trialling various evergreen shrubs and conifers with small leaves for potential use as alternatives.

One of the alternatives being tested is the versatile and reliable conifer, Podocarpus nivalis. This plant, which can be readily grown from semi-ripe cuttings, offers a plain green foliage that serves as a great foil for other plants. It requires only one main a year to maintain a tight appearance and is hardy in the UK, indicated by the RHS H5 rating.

Another alternative is the dwarf yew, Taxus baccata 'Renke's Kleiner Grüner', which needs one main a year to maintain its tight appearance. It has a compact size of 2.5m x 2.5m.

The trial also included shrubs native to New Zealand, such as Corokia x virgata 'Silver Ghost' and 'Frosted Chocolate'. 'Silver Ghost' has dense, tangled, almost zig-zag like, black stems with silvery-grey leaves and requires two main a year to maintain a tight appearance. 'Frosted Chocolate', on the other hand, has frosty-looking, bronze leaves that are at their best in cold weather. It needs two main each summer on fertile soil to maintain a tight appearance and is smaller, measuring 1.5m x 1.5m.

Other evergreens suitable for hedges and topiary without strong pest or disease issues include the common yew (Taxus baccata), Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata), their hybrid Taxus x media, Japanese spindle (Euonymus japonicus), and Japanese holly (Ilex crenata).

Podocarpus totara 'Aureus' is another option, flushing mustard-yellow in the colder months and having a more open habit. It requires one main a year to maintain a tight appearance and can grow up to 12m x 4m.

Berberis x stenophylla 'Corallina Compacta' is a compact shrub with orange flowers in early summer, only needing one main in summer to keep a tight appearance. It grows to 50cm x 50cm.

The trial also featured Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Oliver Twist', which has yellow variegation to the leaf and slender, black stems. It requires three main each summer on fertile soil to maintain a tight appearance and can grow up to 4m x 2.5m.

The RHS began trialling these shrubs in response to the box blight, which began ravaging box hedges at RHS Garden Wisley around 2006. Another issue was the caterpillar infestation, for which there was no panacea, necessitating the search for alternatives to spraying or picking off caterpillars.

The trial considered the 'clippability' of the various shrubs, giving consideration to the plants' ability to cope with close clipping and their levels of vigour. Some shrubs, like Ligustrum sinense 'Sunshine' and Phillyrea latifolia 'Les Barres', require two main a year to maintain a tight appearance.

The trial is ongoing, but these evergreens offer a promising alternative to the traditional box hedge, providing a range of sizes, colours, and growth habits to suit various garden styles.