Approximately 3,600,000 boxwoods are produced each year by nurserymen in the southeastern United States. Although handsome and stately plants, boxwoods are sometimes difficult to grow. In the wrong situation, boxwoods are susceptible to leafminers, wax scales, and other insects as well as spider mites, nematodes, and various root diseases.

KEY TO COMMON AND IMPORTANT BOXWOOD PESTS

1. Boxwood leafminer- The leaf's lower surface appears "puffy" or blistered. Heavily infested plants have distorted and discolored leaves

2. Boxwood psyllid- New growth is distorted and cup shaped. Pale-green insects (up to 3 mm long) feed inside distorted growth and secrete a fluffy, waxy covering; or small, green, leafhopperlike insects jump or fly onto foliage

3. Japanese wax scale-White, waxy blobs up to 6 mm in diameter appear on the limbs and twigs. They are often accompanied by a sooty mold

4. Spider mites-The leaves are speckled with tiny, pale dots. The whole shrub may appear off-color, gray, or bronzed.
   1. Twospotted spider mite- —Damage appears as aggregates of single dots. The eggs are round and often reddish.

   2. Boxwood spider mite-Damage appears as tiny lines or "hen scratches" on the leaf surface. The eggs are flattened and yellowish