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Contact: Public Information Officer, 828-693-4178
Boxwood blight has been discovered in 150-year-old boxwoods at Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site. Staff will begin removal of the affected boxwoods on Friday, March 19. Staff will wear protective clothing and the plants will be bagged and removed to prevent spread of the blight to other boxwoods.The North Carolina Cooperative Extension office has helpful information for visitors and homeowners about boxwood blight. Boxwood blight is a disease caused by a fungus and was first diagnosed in North Carolina in 2011. It has been reported in 27 other states. There is no cure, so infected plants should be removed from the landscape to prevent further spread of this contagious disease. Common symptoms of boxwood blight are brown leaf spots that lead to dieback of branches and eventually the entire plant. After dying, the leaves will fall off the stems. Black streaking is sometimes visible on the stems.
Boxwood blight fungus can spread on pruning tools, clothing, equipment, or other items that come into contact with infected plants. If you come into contact with an infected plant, be sure to sanitize your tools, clothing and shoes. A solution of 9 parts water to 1 part bleach is effective for tools. Clothing can be laundered as normal. Although we do not know how these boxwoods were initially infected, we ask visitors to help us save the remaining historic boxwoods and help prevent the spread of blight to their own neighborhoods by staying on trails and limiting human and pet contact with these plants.
More information about the blight can be found at https://forsyth.ces.ncsu.edu/2019/08/boxwood-blight-info.
Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, located in Flat Rock, NC, is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily, except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Due to Covid 19, some visitor services are limited. For park updates and all parking options visit www.nps.gov/carl.
About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Visit us at www.nps.gov.
Last updated: March 18, 2021