By Lijemc
London,
United Kingdom 
Hi,
I have a question about nerines. I've had nerines for years and not really had to do anything with them, but they had always come up every year without fail. They were always a highlight of the year that I looked forward to.
However, this year they are really looking unhealthy. At this time of the year there are usually masses of green healthy leaves and you would not be able to see any soil like you can in the photos below. Some of the leaves have turned yellow/brown. I'm not holding out much hope of them flowering this year.
Can anyone please tell what has gone wrong this year? Is there anything I can do to remedy this problem?
6 Sep, 2012
Answers
Hi Bamboo,
Thank-you for your really helpful reply. I'm glad it isn't something that I may have done by mistake. No the leaves are usually a lot wider. Would it help them better to divide them? Also, providing the weather is better next year will they still be ok and return to normal?
Lisa
6 Sep, 2012
They are much better than mine, which have totally disappeared thanks to the snails and slugs.
6 Sep, 2012
It's a small comfort Steragram that I'm not alone. I'm sorry yours have disappeared altogether. I never realised the slugs and snails touched nerines as I've never really had any problems in the past with them. I will follow Bamboo's advice and hopefully they will return to normal next year.
6 Sep, 2012
Neither have I before. This has certainly been the Year of the Slug. Love your avatar!
6 Sep, 2012
My Nerines are also very sparse this year but I know from past experience that they will bounce back...
6 Sep, 2012
Mine, in a pot, are just as bouncy as ever, which I take as testament to the idea that its the wet this year if they're in the ground - in their overstuffed pot, they get very little rain water and are too dry for slugs to hide in the foliage. I shall have to turn them out though, the pot's bulging and misshapen because its so stuffed.
If you don't want to split them up, then just leave 'em alone, if the weather's not wet all the time next year, they'll probably be fine again.
7 Sep, 2012
I thought the leaves of nerines died down before the flowers came out? clearly I must have been mistaken!!!
7 Sep, 2012
They do, but mine are only just starting to do that... mine don't flower till early October usually, and they still have some leaves even then.
7 Sep, 2012
thank-you everyone.
7 Sep, 2012
It's most likely a result of the wet weather this year -these bulbs like freedraining, dryish soil. Snails and slugs have been about in abundance this year, and the foliage is subject to attack by them. Although they don't really like disturbance, as they're looking so rough anyway, if you wanted to dig up the clump and divide it, now's probably a good time to do it. What leaves there are present look rather narrow too, I notice - are they usually that narrow?
6 Sep, 2012