Knowing how badly Box Hedge Caterpillars can ravage plants and bushes, we thought we’d share a happy tale about how we brought some back from the dead, to the delight of a local prestigious client.

Box Hedges at Fishbourne Roman Palace and Gardens

Fishbourne Roman Palace and Gardens is the largest Roman home in Britain, featuring the earliest gardens in the country.  It is a lavish residence, and also boasts the largest collection of in situ mosaics in the UK.

The gardens have been meticulously recreated with extensive Box hedging, to reflect the decorative style used by the Romans.  During excavations in the 1960s they found markings in the subsoil, which served as a guide for planting Box hedges to faithfully restore this ancient garden design.

Here you can see Sam, a Visitor Services Supervisor showing us photos from the excavations with the markings where hedges used to be located.

Box Hedge Infestation

Sadly though, in the spring of 2024, caterpillars had caused a serious Box infestation and the Palace team thought they’d lost them forever. 

Sam told us “We watched them die over a period of a month or so and thought that was it”.

He was right, as most of the hedging was brown and seemingly dead.  That was when they got in touch with Eradipest for a quote, to see if anything could be done to try and save them. 

The image below shows how most of the hedge was brown, with leaves having been eaten by some very hungry caterpillars! If you look closely you can see some of them, along with their webbing which is a tell-tale sign of an infestation.

After discussing treatment options with Tim and the team, they invited the European Boxwood and Topiary Society (EBTS) to visit the site. 

The EBTS is devoted to encouraging the appreciation, cultivation and knowledge of Boxwood and Topiary, and their visitors were horrified with the state of the hedges, offering to do what they could to help. 

Within days some generous members of the European Topiary and Boxwood Society had made a donation to cover treatment, and the first of three visits by Eradipest was arranged.

Treatment for Box Hedge Caterpillars

We noticed on our initial treatment visit that some of the hedging was very damaged, but the vast majority was OK, so we were confident it would sprout again.  

As you can see from the photo below, most of the box was brown and dying, with only a few green patches.

We treated all areas of box hedging ensuring all sides of the hedge were coated and sufficient penetration into the foliage could be achieved.

We advised that for the successful recovery of the hedge it was also imperative that the team at Fishbourne feed the box hedging with fertiliser after our visits.

On the second visit, the hedges looked so much better than previously, although moths were present and flying out of the hedge as we were carrying out the treatment.  We also saw a small amount of caterpillar activity on the end hedge at the bottom of the garden.

By the final visit in September the hedges restored to their former glory. 

Here you can see Luke and Kye delivering the third treatment.

The box hedges are expertly trimmed and lovingly tended by gardener Adrienne who is over the moon that they are still a key aspect of the original Roman experience at the palace.

Box Hedges and the Romans

Office Manager Penny Horsfield told us more about the Fishbourne Roman Palace box hedges and why they’re so significant, historically.

“Our box hedging is planted into the Roman bedding trenches. These were visible as dark lines in the clay sub-soil when the garden was excavated in the late 1960s. Box was widely used for decorative hedging during the Roman period, and so was planted into our bedding trenches to recreate the ancient design.

“Box (Buxus sempervirens) was highly regarded by carpenters as it is a hard wood with a pale colour, which was used for flutes and small wooden items such as boxes. Interestingly, it’s very dense, so does not float in water.

“Box may have had a funerary significance, as sprigs of the plant are often found in coffins from the period.”

Summary

We are proud to have played our part in restoring the gardens at Fishbourne.  Tim says “It gives the Eradipest team great pleasure to see the historical box hedges flourishing again. We are delighted to be a part of keeping the plants healthy and pest free for all to enjoy.”

Fishbourne Curator, Dr Rob Symmons commented “The Palace is home to the oldest formal garden in Britain and we think the only example worldwide of a garden planted into holes originally dug by the Roman nearly 2000 years ago. So, you can imagine our concern when box moth threatened to destroy this nationally important asset. But, thanks to Eradipest and the generosity of the European Boxwood and Topiary Society the hedges have survived and we can continue to share the story of this amazing place into the future”

Penny concluded “We thought we’d lost them – your guys have performed a miracle!”

Do get in touch with the Eradipest team if you’re concerned about any pest related issues.

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