hellebore

[ChrisJB]

Dear People,

I have a Stinking Hellebore in the garden that is looking rather sorry for itself. I'm sure I have read somewhere that you should remove the leaves from hellebores at a certain time of the year.

Should I be doing this, what time of year do I do it and do I whip the lot off?

Regards, Chris

[Susie]

Hello there,

I have several of these and I have never heard of the leaves having to be removed. I just leave mine to get on with it, which they do quite happily.

Is this plant one which you have recently planted or is it established?

[trampas45]

H.foetidus (stinking hellebore) prefer shaded areas. They are also evergreen so do not need to have their leaves removed unless damaged or diseased.
The soil must be moist and well drained. Once planted they do not like to be disturbed. Unlike some hellebores, propagation by root division is not a wise thing to do.
Hope this is of some help.

[Jez]

Hellebores are a hardy plant since they flower in cold periods. But in case of a cold nights snap will look sick but will usually pick themselves up after a while as the sun comes around

[ChrisJB]

Originally Posted by Susie

Hello there,

I have several of these and I have never heard of the leaves having to be removed. I just leave mine to get on with it, which they do quite happily.

Is this plant one which you have recently planted or is it established?

To be fair, I have heard Monty Don (and the late, great Geoff Hamilton), saying it about the 'Christmas Rose' hellebores, so maybe you don't do it with these.

I planted this one some time around spring 2006 and it seemed to flower well, late winter 2007. Now it just looks a mess. It is in a shady spot and the soil is rather damp where it is. I did try one a couple of years earlier and that finished up even worse, with some king of 'rust' on the leaves, which seemed to make the leaves deformed! I lost patience with the first one and turfed it in the compost bin.

Maybe there is something about my garden that just doesn't suit them, which is a shame (my soil is acid and I know they prefer limestone soils), as when I've seen them in the wild I am quite taken with them.

Regards, Chris

[aeshna5]

There are a couple of viruses that can affect hellebores. a fairly recent one is called black death but is thought to affect only Helleborus x hybridus (formerly H. orientalis), the Lenten Rose.

But Cucumber Mosaic Virus afffects various hellebore species + both viruses are spread by aphids.

If you are growing plants in suboptimal conditions (such as the wrong soil type) then they are more likely to succumb to disease.

One of the golden rules for successful gardening is to find out a plant's natural habitat + if you can provide those conditions you stand a good chance of success, if you don't then it's an uphill struggle + probably not worth the effort fighting nature no matter how glorious the plant!

Good luck anyway!