Is this box blight?

Question

Hello
I have an expensive box ball which browning on one side. But it’s really healthy and green on the other side.
It’s been well watered since it was planted in June and the brown side faces south. I’m thinking of digging it up and turning it to hide the brown side.

Answer 1

It sure looks like boxwood blight. Your only hope of saving the plant is to prune out all discolored leaves and branches and carefully removing all plant debris. You can see that it is starting to spread toward the center by the leaf color. Blight gets into the soil from dropped leaves so planting a new boxwood, if you decide to take this one out, is not advised. Here is a great article on all aspects of boxwood blight including boxwood species that appear to be resistant to this fungal disease. https://pubs.ext.vt.edu/content/dam/pubs_ext_vt_edu/PPWS/PPWS-29/PPWS-29-pdf.pdf

Answer 2

I should add that there are other diseases of boxwood and it could be one of those instead of blight. Your state extension service likely has a “plant clinic” or diagnostic service. Call or go online to see what they offer. Some states want to see the actual leaves and branches and others accept photos.