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Hylotelephium problem?

WildlifeloverWildlifelover Posts: 380
in Plants
Afternoon,

Quite a few stems of my Hylotelephium spectabile have what appear to be red root-like structures coming out of nodes, mostly on the lower half of the stem.

The plants were planted last year and appear to be growing well, although some of the lower leaves on the plants with these ‘roots’ don’t look as healthy as the top growth.

Is this something I should be concerned about?

Thanks.
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Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Have you got a photo?
    They do produce shoots from the leaf joints. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Check the lowest parts of the stems and give one or two a gentle tug to see if they're still well rooted. Sometimes the stem can be damaged or die off low down and the plant will try to make new roots from higher up the stem. They're also susceptible to vine weevils eating the roots.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • WildlifeloverWildlifelover Posts: 380
    Here they are;



    The lower leaves are rather floppy compared to the leaves higher up.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    The foliage often grows like that, so nothing to worry about. It happens especially if they're in richer soil - it produce more lush, fleshy foliage.
    Slugs are the biggest problem with mine - they annihilate leaves, but vine weevils are certainly attracted to them.
    The little 'sprouts' at the leaf joints are flower stems.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • WildlifeloverWildlifelover Posts: 380
    I’m pretty sure these red growths aren’t flower stems. I’ve just checked and one with these growths has a blackened main stem at ground level. I hope this isn’t vine weevil damage :-(
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Ah - I've just seen the things you mean. I haven't seen that before, but vine weevil damage all happens below ground. The plant looks fine until it keels over one day. As @wild edges says, you can tell if the roots are being eaten by gently pulling on the plant to see if it's still well rooted.
    I think those might just be adventitious roots. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • WildlifeloverWildlifelover Posts: 380
    I’ve checked each stem and plant as a whole and they appear rooted well enough. However, the stems with the ‘roots’ have this kind of blackening below these ‘roots’;



    What’s worrying me now is that in the same largish bed, I lost a Veronica longifolia - this looked absolutely fine until last week when the tall stems started to fall over. The base of the stems were also blackened. I had put this down to the torrential rain and strong wind we had but I’m wondering now if it is vine weevil?
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    No - that isn't from vine weevil. Rain would only cause problems if the bed is completely waterlogged for a long time. Mine grow in clay soil, and not even in a very sunny spot. We also aren't short of heavy rain, but they have no problem with that.
     
    I don't know what that is, but there seems to be a cut across the area that's now black, which suggests external damage of some kind. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • WildlifeloverWildlifelover Posts: 380
    Ok, thanks. The cut is where I sliced it open to see if anything was inside after I removed the stem. 

    Some of the blackening is also at ground level in some stems.
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Stem rot is a fungal disease usually caused by prolonged damp. The plant may have had some damage and due to the weather being colder and wetter than usual it couldn't heal properly. Cut above any rot and you can re-root them stems easily enough. Try and make sure there's good ventilation around the stems of the existing plants to avoid it happening again.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
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