Pachysandra disease? - Ask Extension
The established, usually lush pachysandra on the side of my house looks diseased. Starting from the left ( pach front picture), there is a large barr...
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Pachysandra disease? #929801
Asked April 27, 2026, 3:12 PM EDT
The established, usually lush pachysandra on the side of my house looks diseased. Starting from the left ( pach front picture), there is a large barren area that used to be lush. As we move to the middle and far side pictures, there are more barren areas and leaves with brown spots. If I could have uploaded a 4th picture, you would see that the pachysandra continues on the other side of the fence, and that is still healthy. I am concerned that if this is a disease it will travel onto to the areas that are still healthy.
1) How should I address the areas that are barren or have brown spotted leaves?
2)When can I plant new pachysandra in the areas that are not healthy?
3) Is there anything I can do to prevent the spread of this beyond the fence onto the pachysandra that is still healthy?
Montgomery County Maryland
Expert Response
We can't see enough detail with the small photo file size to make a diagnosis, but can give you some options. (Files at least 1MB in size are helpful, as are close-ups of any symptoms like browning or spotting on the individual leaves and/or plant stems.)
Volutella Blight is quite common on dense plantings of Pachysandra, and while outbreaks can be worse in wet years, even with the ongoing drought the planting might be contracting an infection if it was being watered with a sprinkler. (If it wasn't being watered, then drought stress by itself may be a main factor behind dieback.)
Frost/freeze damage from last week's overnight cold snap might be responsible as well. Many plants, ranging from various species of trees, shrubs, and perennials, were damaged by that temperature drop after warms spells forced early growth and hardy plants broke dormancy. Nothing can remedy freeze-injured foliage, but it will eventually fall off and be replaced by new growth if the plants are otherwise healthy and not dealing with an overlapping issue like the conditions above.
Was there a tree shading the planting that is now gone? Pachysandra do best as understory, woodland-setting plants, and exposure to too much direct sun (especially in summer) and heat reflected from the nearby wall may be more stress than they can handle, especially as it cumulatively taxes the plants from one year to the next. If the structures that look like roof downspout outlets empty into that planting bed and are not carrying the water further from the house and bed, that will definitely add to plant stress from the influx of water (when we're actually getting rain, of course). In that situation, you'd need to extend the downspout outlet further from the planting bed with a pipe extension.
No fungicide use is helpful or warranted, and since Japanese Pachysandra can be invasive, we recommend replacing areas you need to replant with another species (a groundcover or otherwise). If you keep the plants for now, mow down the damage and wait for regrowth, raking out any accumulated debris (not just what was cut down, but also any accumulated leaves) so the crowns of the plants get good airflow as they regrow, which will discourage future disease outbreaks. You shouldn't need to replant as this species spreads and can fill-in gaps, or you can just carve-out a couple clumps of plants from other areas of the planting and use them to fill-in any larger gaps. Check the entire planting for watering needs since, even if we get some rain in a couple days, it won't be enough to last very long considering the rain deficit we currently have.
Miri
Volutella Blight is quite common on dense plantings of Pachysandra, and while outbreaks can be worse in wet years, even with the ongoing drought the planting might be contracting an infection if it was being watered with a sprinkler. (If it wasn't being watered, then drought stress by itself may be a main factor behind dieback.)
Frost/freeze damage from last week's overnight cold snap might be responsible as well. Many plants, ranging from various species of trees, shrubs, and perennials, were damaged by that temperature drop after warms spells forced early growth and hardy plants broke dormancy. Nothing can remedy freeze-injured foliage, but it will eventually fall off and be replaced by new growth if the plants are otherwise healthy and not dealing with an overlapping issue like the conditions above.
Was there a tree shading the planting that is now gone? Pachysandra do best as understory, woodland-setting plants, and exposure to too much direct sun (especially in summer) and heat reflected from the nearby wall may be more stress than they can handle, especially as it cumulatively taxes the plants from one year to the next. If the structures that look like roof downspout outlets empty into that planting bed and are not carrying the water further from the house and bed, that will definitely add to plant stress from the influx of water (when we're actually getting rain, of course). In that situation, you'd need to extend the downspout outlet further from the planting bed with a pipe extension.
No fungicide use is helpful or warranted, and since Japanese Pachysandra can be invasive, we recommend replacing areas you need to replant with another species (a groundcover or otherwise). If you keep the plants for now, mow down the damage and wait for regrowth, raking out any accumulated debris (not just what was cut down, but also any accumulated leaves) so the crowns of the plants get good airflow as they regrow, which will discourage future disease outbreaks. You shouldn't need to replant as this species spreads and can fill-in gaps, or you can just carve-out a couple clumps of plants from other areas of the planting and use them to fill-in any larger gaps. Check the entire planting for watering needs since, even if we get some rain in a couple days, it won't be enough to last very long considering the rain deficit we currently have.
Miri
