 Have you been concerned that the leaves on your English boxwoods are changing to an orangey color at the tips of the branches? This is not a disease, but something that happens when we experience a drop in outside temperature in late fall or early winter. The evergreen boxwoods are a subject to pigment changes as the days grow shorter and the temperatures drop to near or below freezing. The dominant green color is produced by the chlorophyll pigment in the leaves which are being superseded by the carotene pigment, thus giving the leaves that orange tint. Because chlorophyll is the primary pigment in food production (photosynthesis) it becomes less visible as the plant receives less sun and the process of photosynthesis slows down. But not all these changes occur uniformly. Some plants may exhibit significant changes to orange, while others may remain largely green. When the longer, warmer days of spring return, so will the green back into the boxwood leaves.
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