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There can be several reasons for boxwoods turning yellow.

Yellowing leaves do not necessarily signal that your shrub is dead.

The good news is that there is usually a way to fix the problem of boxwood turning yellow.

Two rows of boxwood leading to a garden door.

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Learn some of the reasons boxwoods turn yellow and how to fix it.

5 Reasons Why Your Boxwoods Are Turning Yellow

There are many possible reasons forboxwood shrubsturning yellow.

Root rot is resulting from fungal pathogens in the soil.

As with all fungal problems, it is most prevalent where the soil is overly wet.

This transports the disease from plant to plant.

Buy your plants only from reputable dealers.

Shear them only on dry days.

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Alternatively, wrap your boxwood in burlap.

You’ll notice yellowing leaves come spring.

When the salt gets on the leaves, it can dry them out.

The salt can also get into the soil, keeping your shrubs from absorbing water properly.

The only fix here is to choose a different planting location for your boxwoods.

Alternatively,grow salt-tolerant plantsalong the road.

Dog Urine

Another cause of boxwoods turning yellow is stray dogs urinating on them.

This happens because urine contains excessively high concentrations of nitrogen.

Use repellents to keep stray dogs out of your yard.

Pests

Boxwoods are attacked by pests such as leaf miners and scale.

Serious infestations can result in boxwoods turning yellow.

Faithfully inspect your plants for pests, particularly the undersides of the leaves.

If you find any pest activity,spray with insecticides such as Neem oil.

Tip

Perform “the scrape test” to see if your boxwood is dead.

With a sharp knife, scrape off a bit of the bark on one of the branches.

If what you see underneath is yellowish-green, that branch is alive; if brown, it’s dead.

Repeat on all the branches with yellow leaves.

Prune out the branches you’ve determined to be dead.

Nor is it high-maintenance unless you will be trimming it in a hedge.

Here are a few tips to follow to keep your boxwoods healthy:

Not necessarily.

Perform the “scrape test” to find out if your boxwoods are still alive.

If your shrubs are still alive, first fix the underlying problem that caused their foliage to yellow.

After that, all it’s possible for you to do is wait for them to green up again.