In article ,
"William Tasso" writes:
| mike wrote:
|
| We've not done anything different to them - in fact they've always
| been left to their own devices - so we were wondering whether they've
| become diseased, succumbed to old age or whether the spell of wet
| weather earlier in the year put the kibosh on them. Is there anything
| we can do to return them to health next year?
|
| From experience it seems they need no care and eat snails, are resilient to
| the attentions of cats and foxes as well as small children.

Probably winter wet. Most forms of them don't like the combination
of winter wet and frost, which is often followed by fungal infestation
of the roots. I would dig them up and try again.

Apparently some species and varieties can take waterlogging, but I
believe that few of those can take any frost. Conversely, they can
take quite a lot of frost in well-drained soil if it is not
associated with a wet winter.

This is a common characteristic of many plants from that sort of
area (South Africa, in this case).


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.