How to Identify and Control Hellebore Pests

Hellebores herald the arrival of spring, often blooming as early as January with delicate cup-shaped flowers in a wide variety of colors.

These evergreen perennials don’t usually suffer from many issues with pests, and thanks to their toxicity, deer and rabbits avoid them.

Our guide to growing hellebores covers the basics of how to cultivate these plants in USDA Hardiness Zones 4 to 9.

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In this article, we’ll delve into the common pests that can plague hellebores and offer some solutions if your plants become infested.

The battle with aphids can sometimes feel never-ending. While several kinds of aphids have been reported to infest hellebores, the primary one to watch out for is the hellebore aphid, Macrosiphum hellebori. This particular pest is whitish-green and only attacks hellebores.

Sometimes aphids are visible as dense clusters on the leaves, flowers, or stems, but other times they hide on the undersides of the leaves, where they’ll be happily feeding and wreaking havoc without you even knowing they are there.

The earlier you catch these sap-sucking pests, the better. They leave behind a sweet, sticky residue known as “honeydew” which attracts ants and sooty mold – a rather unpleasant dark covering of fungi on the leaves and flowers.

The hellebore aphid is a particularly nasty pest because it is a vector for the virus Hellebore Net Necrosis virus (HeNNV), a pathogen that spreads black death. You can learn more about hellebore black death in our guide.

So what’s a gardener to do? The first step is to check your plants regularly, especially on the