Topic: hellebores leaves

[georgiesgirl]

I have tidied up my Hellebores.Is there any point in putting these leaves in my compost bin, in the hope of them breaking down
thanks
georgiesgirl

[Mrs Ava]

Firstly, welcome to the funny farm! ;D

I put everything in my compost bin.  (Well not everything obviously, but you kn, anything green and breakdownable)
The only reason I wouldn't is if they are diseased in anyway, then I would bin them.

[Hugh_Jones]

Quite right EJ. All vegetable refuse, including green leaves, vegetable tops and peelings, tea leaves (or bags) the newspaper you wrap your potato peelings in, pea and bean haulm etc. as long as it`s not diseased. Stalks of the cabbage family should be either shredded or smashed up with a hammer first.

Harder materials such as shredded shrub or tree prunings, or autumn leaves, should be stacked separately as the rotting process is fungal rather than bacterial and entirely different from that in the compost heap, and can take a coupleof years or so.

[merv]

Welcome GG  ;)

Would I add?

Nothing that has come in contact with cooking oil, of any sort?  Butter, fats etc?

[georgiesgirl]

Thanks for the replies, Emma Jane, Hugh, and Merv
I do compost most things, but i find the leaves of Hellebores,{of which i have many] are rather tough and leathery and feel that they may take some time to break down
when i could fill my bins with softer material, over the next few months which i can compost quicker. I would be interested if anyone has composted large amounts of hellebore leaves.
cheers Anne

[Hugh_Jones]

Just chop them up a bit - the more cut or broken surfaces they have the more quickly they will break down.

[Mimi]

Just a bit of a 'lateral'  question can someone tell me why the leaves have to be cut of  and when is the best time to do it? :-/ Some of mine are only just coming into flower and I don't want to harm them.

[georgiesgirl]

Dear Mimi.
I think removing the leaves from Hellebores is a matter of taste.
I have well established clumps of Hellebores, and find the leaves cover a large area around each plant, so i cut them back.It has had no effect on the flowers, in fact i think the flowers are seen better without to much foliage.
regards
Anne

[Palustris]

There is a fungal disease of Hellebores which attacks through the old leaves and can cause the whole plant to rot away. Removing the old leaf stems reduces the chances of attack. Obviously it is last years leaves which are removed. In any case they will soon have finished their useful life and would naturally die back to make room for the new ones.

[Hugh_Jones]

Eric is quite correct, and most of the professional raisers of hellebores recommend removal of the old leaves in winter for this reason.  There is an additional benefit, however, in that it also lets light and air in to the self sown seedlings which so often appear around hellebores and gives them a chance to grow a bit before you have to move them.

[Garden Manager]

This year is the second year my helebores have flowered. Last year, they flowered well with the leaves retained, so i left them until they started to die back. The flowers were held well above the leaves.

This year, though they have come into bloom early, the flower stems on one pant are quite short and the flowers were obscured by the leaves. So I took the decision to cut the leaves of all the plants and allow the flowers to dominate (the leaves were composted by the way).  Strangest thing they seem to have come on a lot for doing this and the plants do not at all look strange, due in part to the foliage of surrounding plants.

I shall certainly consider doing this again.

By the way Eric, what are the symptoms of the disease you mentioned?  Just so as i can be on the lookout and prevent problems. thanks.