Tired of your carefully trimmed hedges or delicately shaped topiary being ruined by a bout
of box blight? Avid and hobby gardeners alike will be familiar with Buxus sempervirens and
box blight (Calonectria pseudonaviculata), the fungal disease that causes leaf browning and
stem dieback of Buxus plants. It spreads easily in damp climates, creates unsightly barren
patches, and will kill your plants if left untreated. Treating is no treat however, and takes a
lot of time, patience and fungicides, and, there is always the risk of recurrence.
Enter new hybrid varieties of blight-resistant Buxus. Belgian problem-solvers, Herplant
BVBA, developed Betterbuxus® after 15+ years of dedicated research in their intensive
classical breeding programme between different Buxus species in collaboration with ILVO
(Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food). Herplant BVBA, headed by
the very passionate Diedre Hermans and his brothers, has over 30 years’ experience in
growing Buxus varieties. When it became all too obvious that fungal diseases in Buxus were a problem here to stay in traditional Buxus varieties, Hermans set out to create an intensive crop protection scheme to combat the blight with 4 resistant hybrid varieties. Their mission is “to give Buxus another bright future in gardens…and to make Buxus one of the most popular and easiest garden plants again.”
Betterbuxus® hybrids are protected by trademark and plant breeders’ rights and have been created for every application. They are an environmentally friendly and cost-effective solution as fungicides are no longer needed to keep plants healthy, and, added bonus, they are also box caterpillar tolerant.
Herplant has four different resistant varieties in Buxus balls and Buxus hedging plants – each varying slightly in leaf and spread: Skylight, Heritage, Renaissance, and Babylon Beauty.
