I love Hellebores. In addition to their early flowers, they are low maintenance, easy care plants which provide a rare spot of green in the absence of snow cover in the middle of winter. About all they need in the way of care is deadheading and deadleafing at the end of winter. Frances waits longer than I do to cut her Hellebores, but I prefer to cut off those winter-worn leaves just as the new growth begins, to make sure I avoid cutting off any buds. (Edit. 3/13/09, I was mistaken; Frances usually cuts her Hellebores just as they start making new growth. This year was an anomaly.)
Where I went wrong this year was with the mulch. A little winter mulch of shredded leaves around the Hellebores is a good thing. Shredded hardwood mulch on top of the Hellebores is not. After cutting back the leaves on one plant, this is what I found:
I suspect this bud was severed by pillbugs/sowbugs because of the damage on the other side of the bud.
These bugs usually eat decaying matter. They like moist, dark conditions, such as those that occur on days in the 60s under a layer of mulch. (In my defense, I have to say that I didn't put the hardwood mulch on top of this Hellebore. I blame the squirrels, who are always digging in the beds and kicking the mulch around.)
I suspect this bud was severed by pillbugs/sowbugs because of the damage on the other side of the bud.
These bugs usually eat decaying matter. They like moist, dark conditions, such as those that occur on days in the 60s under a layer of mulch. (In my defense, I have to say that I didn't put the hardwood mulch on top of this Hellebore. I blame the squirrels, who are always digging in the beds and kicking the mulch around.)A thick accumulation of unshredded, sodden leaves on top of the Hellebores is also not a good thing.
After dragging this mess off the poor plant, I discovered that some stems had started to rot.
Fortunately, it was only the old leaves, and I caught it in time before the new growth got damaged. This one is entirely my fault. Last fall, I cleaned all the leaves away from the north side of the house. But the wind blew more in, then it snowed on December 1, and didn't stop snowing for a month. The snow remained there for a very long time. When it finally melted, I should have immediately pulled all the leaves out of there. Lesson learned.
After dragging this mess off the poor plant, I discovered that some stems had started to rot.
Fortunately, it was only the old leaves, and I caught it in time before the new growth got damaged. This one is entirely my fault. Last fall, I cleaned all the leaves away from the north side of the house. But the wind blew more in, then it snowed on December 1, and didn't stop snowing for a month. The snow remained there for a very long time. When it finally melted, I should have immediately pulled all the leaves out of there. Lesson learned.
29 comments:
At least you learned a lesson! Come by and enter to win a homemade soy candle of your choice!
I hope things are all good now...and I'm looking forward to photos when they bloom!
I had a lot of trouble with pill bugs last year. They destroyed several plants. Last night when I opened the patio door to let Lilly out, there were hundreds of them on the patio. I hope no neighbors were looking, because I spent several minutes stomping around on the patio.
I hope your Hellebores will spring back!
A timely tip for me MMD! I will be planting these for the first time in my Woodland Garden this spring.
I hope your plant makes it without
damage. Look forward to seeing photos
of it blooming!
Great title, great post. Is it best to leave the plants themselves entirely un-mulched, then?
--Kate
Thankfully you got the leaf debris off the Hellebores before more damage was done. I've had the same problem with some of my perennials and so I'm pretty careful to check as soon as the snow leaves. Today, I can't imagine this snow will ever melt and I'll see them again.
When all else fails, blame it on the squirrels! Seriously though, it's not always easy to stay on top of this problem. As soon as you unbury something, along comes another squirrel scattering the mulch or a big wind blowing the leaves. I was out there last week on one of those balmy days clearing mulch away from plants, but I'm sure I didn't get all of them, especially since I couldn't find all of them. (It was fun finding so much stuff starting to grow already!)
I cut the old hellebores leaves off sooner than later having cut off flower stems in the past ! I am wondering whether pill bugs are what we call woodlice so am going to have to google :)
A lesson we all can learn from your mistake MrMcD. It has been so dry here that I haven't had that trouble this year.
I plan to buy some hellebores this spring and will remember not to mulch them under leaves, which I might be prone to do otherwise. I've not grown them before but my own inclination would be to cut back when you did--I do the same with peonies.
MMD, So glad you have blooms coming along...I look forward to seeing them...Each flower is a treat. I wonder if the snow blanket on top of the leaves is a problem...we have leaves on ours and they were fine...but we have had a dry winter. gail
MMD, I saw my first hellebore last spring on one of the gardening blogs and fell for them in a big way. However, I am still in the 'I am going to get one' stage. :} They had some gorgeous ones at the flower show. Thanks for the tips. I will be sure to follow them.
Uh-oh; I still have lots of garden areas covered with unshredded leaves. No hellebores under them, but who knows what else may be suffering. I'm waiting now for the wind to stop and the temperature to rise again, though, before I do much more outside.
As Beckie said, the display of hellebores at the Garden Show was enough to convince me they belong in my garden, too!
MMD, Gardening teaches us a lot, doesn't it? I love hellebores also. They were one of new-to-me plants I discovered during my Winter reading 6 years ago after we moved here. I know you'd understand my on-the-ground photography techniques that first Spring when they bloomed! :-) Thank you for sharing your Fall care experiences... hopefully I am now that much wiser.
And hopefully your plants will pull through and be as beautiful as ever before long!
Wait, wait- people please help me out. I planted some Hellebore here in Oregon in January on a mild week, it has grown a lot. Am I supposed to prune it like a rose? Leave it alone? No buds yet. Thanks in advance! LU
Doh! What a bummer that is. Pill bugs are my nemesis. (Nemesii?) Anyhow, I'm sorry you didn't get to experience them this year.
Hi MMD,
Thanks for the tip well learned. We don't really mulch ours because there's such a thick ground cover of ivy around them and leaves blow in anyway ... but we do clear them away in spring. Ours are about ready to be deadleafed because they're looking a bit weary after spending all winter under heavy snow cover!
I bet yours will pull through just fine, with your most wise and excellent ministrations!
Darla - I try very hard to learn from my mistakes.
Leslie - the Hellebores always have plenty of blooms.
Robin - eww! Those bugs are so creepy.
PG - Hellebores are wonderful, I hope you will be very happy with yours.
Cathy - never fear, there will be Hellebore photos. I took way too many last year, so I worry what I'm going to do now that I have 2 new plants about to bloom.
TMG - thanks! There's nothing wrong with mulching them, but they don't need as much as plants that go dormant.
Kate - it does seem hard to believe that in a few weeks our gardens will be bursting into bloom. At least I hope your garden will be.
Garden Girl - I love this time of year, as there's always something new sprouting.
Anna - if they are the same, I think I'll stick with the American name. "Woodlice" sounds so disgusting.
Lisa - it's too bad you're garden is so dry. But then again, last year you had the opposite problem.
Monica - It probably is better not to mulch them under their leaves, as the mulch always seems to end up in the crown of the plant.
Gail - it's not the snow on top of the leaves that's the problem, it's leaving sodden leaves on top of plants when the temperature is above freezing.
Beckie - the sooner the better with Hellebores, as they getter better as they mature.
Rose - Hellebores belong in every garden in which they can be grown. They are among my favorite plants.
Shady - among other things, gardening has taught me to accept imperfection and the importance of paying attention.
LU - if the leaves look good, leave the Hellebore alone. The cutting back of Hellebores applies to the leaves that formed last year and have been on the plant all through last summer & fall and over the winter. While it isn't necessary for the health of the plant to have the tattered leaves removed, it improves the appearance for when the flowers start to bloom and the new leaves appear.
Katie - it's ok, there will be plenty of flowers on the plant. It was only the first flower that got destroyed.
IVG - wise, excellent and slightly late ministrations!
A shame, but I look forward to seeing the blooms in the near future.
I read this this morning but was in a rush so I didn't have time to comment. I marked the advice down in my mind to be sure not to over mulch the hellebores. I was extremely relieved you said leaves are okay for mulch on them, as I have so many here. I hope the hellebores recover soon for you.
Hellebores are amongst my favourite plants. I agree they are so easy and like you I cut the leaves early to display the beautiful flowerheads.
I do hope that your plant survives.....
have not heard of the insects, I do not think we have them in the UK......but no doubt we have some other bug that will eat them.....
Oh no MMD, that is awful! Bug damage and rotting and squirrels, all the evils of garden nightmares! Thanks for the link love, but I cut mine back as the new growth is just emerging too, for the same reason to not cut the flower buds. I might have been late this year though, due to extreme cold! Waiting for that nice day that never materialized, you understand. I do hope there is no permanent damage to those beauties, that would be a crime.
Frances
Same situation here, MMD. It's the darn leaves. We raked and raked, but the oaks take forever to lose all their leaves and by spring, there are lots of them packed and matted after spending winter under snow drifts.
I'm going to move my hellebores when the days are warmer, to a location where the snow doesn't pack in.
It is always a learning experience. I hope your Hellebores come back, strong -- I look forward to photos of those beautiful blooms. :) (Speaking of learning experiences...I never knew what your first name was before today. :)
Try not to be too hard on yourself, MMD:-) Nothing in an 'evolving' and 'changing' garden can be 'entirely' your fault;-) This is my opinion, and I'm not an expert--but, don't you think it's true?
I bought a hellebore about 4 yrs. ago. It's been blooming every yr. but I never really noticed how pretty it is until last yr. I didn't even trim off the old leaves until THIS yr. when I've been browsing all the gardening blogs and learning about how to care for plants!! I just purchased 2 more from a garden ctr., in pots from last yrs. perennials that had overwintered in the garden ctr. They don't look real good at this point but I think I can nurse them back to health!
Thanks for sharing what you've learned - I'll be sure to keep my new hellebores uncovered!
There is always something new to learn. Mine aren't mulched so I've not had your problem. I have however got mulch over some Canna Lilies so I had better take a look under there. Who knows what pest might be there!
HM - it won't be long now, I can see buds.
Tina - I like shredded leaf mulch. I love leaf mold even more. Leaves are good.
Hi, Cheryl - the plant is fine, it was damage to only one bud. There's always something that wants a free lunch in the garden.
Frances - I will correct my error vis-a-vis the time you cut your Hellebores.
Kylee - Oaks are worth putting up with late leaf fall, unlike the Maple tree in my neighbor's yard that doesn't lose all its leaves til after Thanksgiving.
Nancy Bond - Hellebore season is about to start, and there will be plenty of blooms to photograph.
Jan - Hellebores are pretty tough. Some of the self-sown ones around my garden get pretty neglected, I'm ashamed to admit. I'm sure your new ones will do just fine.
VW - I'm glad that my mistakes can benefit someone.
EG - it's a fine balancing act, trying to decide when to pull back the mulch & how much to remove.
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