Forum home› Fruit & veg
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Ailing hellebore

AshleafAshleaf Posts: 7
in Fruit & veg
Here are 2 photos of a very unhappy hellebore. It’s 4 or 5 years old and has been fine till now. Could this be the dreaded Hellebore Black Death? There’s no sign of mildew.

Posts

  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    edited March 2021
    If you're in an exposed, rural spot (especially in the north) the recent freeze may have done it in. You don't say what type it is, but it looks like one of those recent hybrids (x sternii or x ericsmithii) which are not the hardiest. Also tend to prefer good drainage and we've had a lot of wet as well as an unusually cold snap this year.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • AshleafAshleaf Posts: 7
    Thanks Loxley. I’m fairly sure it’s x sternii - here it is in better days (summer 2019) where you can clearly see that the underside of the leaves is darker, as are the stems. I’m in east central Scotland and we did have a few sub-zero days and some snow, but I don’t think it was as bad here as further south. The plant is in an eastish-facing border, protected from the wind by the house. The blackened stem-tips did suggest frost damage, but it survived the Beast from the East a couple of years ago so I wasn’t sure. If frost damage is the likely culprit I’ll cut it back and hope for the best - but will also think of what to replace it with! Thanks again for your help.
  • AshleafAshleaf Posts: 7
    Just realised that I posted my query in Fruit & Veg by mistake. Sorry.
Sign In or Register to comment.