Diseases and Pests of Hellebore and Their Control

Pests of Hellebore

aphid

Aphids can often be seen on Hellebore on the undersides of flowers and leaves. Aphids can be controlled by pesticides or biological control. When aphids appear on hellebore, you can use manual control methods to remove the aphids with your fingers, or spray them with clean water or a solution mixed with soapy water and insecticide. Spray once a week.

Slug

Slugs like to attack the new buds of the plant and sometimes the flowers, causing irregular holes in the leaves of the plant.

Slugs like to live in dark, humid places and are active at night. When slugs are infested on helleborus, you can spray them with medicine to kill them, or you can use biological control or place baits. It is also a good idea to frequently repot and change the soil to disinfect the soil.

In foreign countries, people generally use safe and non-toxic methods to prevent and control slugs. Placing beer or melon peels in a container and placing it in areas frequented by these pests, burying a low-voltage electrical system near the plants, or placing crushed egg shells around the edges of the plants are all effective.

Diseases of Hellebore

Black spot

Black spot is a common disease of hellebore.

When hellebore is infected with black spot, all leaves (whether infected or not) can be destroyed to reduce the number of spores of the disease that overwinter in the soil. You can also spray fungicides in the spring when spores begin to spread, spraying every two weeks, even if there are no symptoms of disease.

Viral diseases

Hellebore is generally not infected with viral diseases. Once infected, the leaves or flowers will curl and deform, the plant will grow weaker, and it will be susceptible to other diseases. A viral disease of hellebore is the "Black Death", which can cause the leaves to turn black, with the disease limited to the veins.

The only way to prevent and control the virus disease of hellebore is to burn all the infected leaves.