Valley Forge Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society Lecture Series: "boxwood Blight: It Is Here! Are Your Boxwoods Safe?"

Speaker: Chuck Feld

Boxwood blight is a fungal disease caused by Cylindrocladium pseudonaviculatum (Syn. Calonectria pseudonaviculata). It has been reported throughout Europe since the 1990's and is a new disease for the U.S. It arrived in Connecticut in 2011 and is now reported from Connecticut to the Carolinas. Once infected, a boxwood will quickly yellow and drop its leaves. There is no treatment or cure and the infected plants and surrounding leaf litter must be burned and soil sterilized to prevent reinfection.

Chuck Feld teaches horticulture at the Williamson Free School for Mechanical Trades and has participated in the last 43 Philadelphia Flower Shows. He was employed by J. Franklin Styer Nurseries for 20 years and is in the PA Landscape and Nursery Association "Hall of Fame."

This program is free of charge and all are invited.
www.jenkinsarboretum.org for directions.