Fungal Blight That Infects Boxwood Shrubs Found In Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — State officials say nearly 25 Indiana stores have pulled their stocks of boxwood shrubs following the discovery of a fungal blight that can kill the plants.

The state Department of Natural Resources says an inspector found the boxwood blight fungus in early October on boxwoods at a store owned by a national home and garden chain.

The DNR's Division of Entomology & Plant Pathology says investigators found that 23 of that chain's stores across Indiana received shipments of infected boxwoods from an Oregon nursery. Those stores were required to pull their boxwood stock for disposal and to disinfect their garden areas.

The boxwood cultivar Graham Bland was found to be particularly infested with the blight, which creates dark leaf spots and causes rapid defoliation that sometimes kills young boxwoods.