Sick Hebe
 

I have a one year old hebe that is looking very sorry for itself. I
called the garden centre and they suggested i cut the stalk to check it
ws alive, and it is green so I presume that's a yes. However it is very
sparse, all the bottom leaves have dropped off and the top ones are
hardly what you'd call shiny. Some are half brown.

What should I feed it to try and perk it up

cheers
ed

Ed B wrote in message
ups.com...
I have a one year old hebe that is looking very sorry for itself. I
called the garden centre and they suggested i cut the stalk to check it
ws alive, and it is green so I presume that's a yes. However it is very
sparse, all the bottom leaves have dropped off and the top ones are
hardly what you'd call shiny. Some are half brown.

What should I feed it to try and perk it up

cheers
ed


Hi Ed,

Alas, Hebes suffer from a leaf spot fungus that causes defoliation, and I'm
sure this is what you're seeing. I have never sprayed mine - I don't know
if there is an appropriate fungal spray. I try and keep mine clean by
removing affected leaves from the plant and any that have fallen to the
ground. These are capable of reinfecting plants. You may feel it is worth
spraying with, say, a rose fungicide, or you could ask at the garden centre
for something more specific. If you spray, make a point of spraying the
ground under the Hebe as well, to kill any resting spores.

I am always wary of feeding sick plants but, once you have cleaned it up,
you could give your Hebe a half-strength foliar feed. I would personally
choose a high potash feed, as this will harden the plant and help it produce
flowers. (A nitrogenous feed would make the growth more soft and sappy, and
more prone to disease).

If there's enough healthy growth, you could take cuttings, which are really
easy: just trim them, pop them in cuttings compost, keep them watered and
lightly shaded until they 'take'. They grow really quickly.

Hope this helps and that you have success.

Spider

I had this problem with a hebe - turned out it wasn't fully hardy. Also - it needed quite a lot more water than I thought it did! I gave it lots of water and it perked back up.

Zoe

Well it has poured with rain for a week, so when the sun comes out on
Thursday we'll see what happens

thanks both

What happened to your Hebe, Ed? Any news?!

Zoe

What happened to your Hebe, Ed? Any news?!


Still looking very poorly. Not sure what to do. It is definitely
growing and the new leaves look healthy, but the rest look awful.
Unfortunately I've been really busy and havent been able to get any
feed. It's had plenty of water, but nothing else. Should I take a photo
and email it to you?

Ed B writes
What happened to your Hebe, Ed? Any news?!


Still looking very poorly. Not sure what to do. It is definitely
growing and the new leaves look healthy, but the rest look awful.
Unfortunately I've been really busy and havent been able to get any
feed. It's had plenty of water, but nothing else. Should I take a photo
and email it to you?

What sort of hebe is it?

I think I have five types here. The red edge is OK but has some yellowey
browney leaves near the top, and the stems are falling outwards to mass
up nearer the ground. I suppose eventually it will be a solid mass of
leaves, or I hope so. I had one die back quite a bit after I moved it,
but it recovered.

I have a hebe Caledonia (fine purple leaves and mauve flowers) which
looks a little strained this year, maybe the colder winter weather is
not doing it any favours. It suffered when it was east facing and rather
exposed, so I transplanted it to a south facing wall a few years ago and
it has been fine for the last few years.

The others I'm not too sure of their names, but they are well sheltered
and growing fine.
--
David

sick hebe update

Looks like it's gonna be OK. I stripped it of dead leaves and fed it
well and now it's flowering and gone green again. Must not be frost
hardy - what can I do next winter?

Ed B writes
sick hebe update

Looks like it's gonna be OK. I stripped it of dead leaves and fed it
well and now it's flowering and gone green again. Must not be frost
hardy - what can I do next winter?

You could try moving it to a more sheltered place :-)

I have three hebe caledonia which didn't like the exposed position they
were in, and yet the red edge hebe's were fine there. I moved the
caledonia round the house to a sheltered E-S facing coner by the porch,
and they have grown well (albeit slowly) and are flowering as we speak.
--
David