This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Please help with a hebe plant
Hello dear forum readers,
I recently bought a potted hebe plant. I think it's Albicans or Pinguifolia.
It looked lovely to start with, then on one side of the plant, some of the leaves started to dry off (it looks as if they have been burnt). This problem has been slowly moving to more branches. I have attached pictures. With all the rain we've had lately in London, I really can't imagine the leaves drying because of lack of water/too much heat. I also gave it some fertiliser once I got it home last month.
I am worried it might be root rot. Does any of you have any idea what it could be and what I should do, please? Thanks. Your help would be greatly appreciated!
Raffaella
0
Posts
Bumping up
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Hebe's don't do well in pots long term, and that has been there for more than a few years. I'd remove it from the pot and bury it 4 inches below the current soil level to encourage new growth from the bottom. Take some cuttings from the top growth now, they root quite readily. When the new growth starts to appear from the bottom, lift it, trim the root ball back and repot in fresh soil with some fish bone and blood and cut back the old top growth. You can save it and it will take a few months. By the autumn you should have a nice new plant.
Dovefromabove, I am afraid I don't understand what you mean.
Dave, thank you Dave for your suggestion. Do you mean that I should lift the plant from the vase and plant it 4 inches below soil level in the garden or back in the pot?
Sorry - posting 'bumping up' is a way of moving your post to the front page so others will see it
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
It needs to be planted out to survive raf. I'd add loosen the roots a bit to what Dave has said.
Dove was bumping up your question to the top of the forumbecause you hadn't got any replies.
My feeling is that it's over for this hebe and you'd do better to start again. Cuttings if the tips are growing well, an old, worn out bush doesn't provide the best cuttings. Or get cuttings from another bush or get a new one
In the sticks near Peterborough
Yes I do mean put it in the garden. Then wait, put the cuttings aside, they will root in about a month, if you don't get new growth from the main plant, and it can take time, then dispose of it. I my experience even the most bedraggled hebe can be salvaged, it just takes time and patience.
Some Hebes tend to get a bit leggy and spread anyway. The best way to keep them tidy is to trim them regularly into a neat shape. Some have a natural round shape to start with but these varieties are more sprawling. It would do much better in the ground. You mentioned that you think it might have rotted, but anything in a pot with a canopy of foliage will get much less water than you think. If you put your finger into the compost you can check whether it's dry or wet. It's a big plant so it might actually be a bit on the dry side. I'd tidy up all the weedy growth on the soil surface and mulch it with grit or gravel too if you keep it in the pot for any length of time.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Thank you very much to all of you for the responses!