Hellebore

Discussion in 'General Gardening Discussion' started by newtoitall, Jul 25, 2012.

  1. newtoitall

    newtoitall Gardener

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2012
    Messages:
    89
    Gender:
    Male
    Ratings:
    +39
    I have quite a number of hellebore in my garden and someone has told me that they are highly poisonous! Is this true?, if so, with three young kiddies I'd better get rid of them!!

    Are they as bad as I'm led to believe?

    thanks,
    Steve
     
  2. Sheal

    Sheal Total Gardener

    Joined:
    Feb 2, 2011
    Messages:
    37,158
    Gender:
    Female
    Location:
    Dingwall, Ross-shire
    Ratings:
    +58,242
    Many plants and trees in our gardens are poisonous Steve and a few are worse than others. If you're children, like mine were, are brought up to respect the plants that are growing there shouldn't be a problem. :)

    I think there is a list of poisonous plants on GC somewhere, perhaps somebody else can point it out for you. I'll have a look round meanwhile and see if I can find it.
     
    • Like Like x 1
    • westwales

      westwales Gardener

      Joined:
      Feb 18, 2012
      Messages:
      706
      Location:
      10 miles from the coast in the rainy west
      Ratings:
      +599
      I think it's more that they can cause skin irritation if you handle them.
       
    • Phil A

      Phil A Guest

      Ratings:
      +0
    • shiney

      shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

      Joined:
      Jul 3, 2006
      Messages:
      67,277
      Gender:
      Male
      Occupation:
      Retired - Last Century!!!
      Location:
      Herts/Essex border. Zone 8b
      Ratings:
      +134,130
      In general, hellebores are pretty harmless compared to many garden plants. Normal handling is not a problem. Eating the roots can be serious but I can't imagine kids digging them up and eating them. The flowers and leaves are not a problem but the oils in the seeds can be a skin irritant - and it takes some effort to extract the oil.

      My personal opinion with regard to hellebores and children is that if you remove the hellebores as a precaution you will almost certainly need to remove most things from the garden.

      Privet hedges, laburnum, leaves and flowers of tomatoes and potatoes, rhubarb leaves, delphiniums, azaleas and daffodils can all be poisonous - just to name a few common ones. Not forgetting buttercups, of course.

      so the answer to your question is they, almost certainly, are not as bad as you're led to believe :dbgrtmb:
       
    • Sirius

      Sirius Total Gardener

      Joined:
      Jun 26, 2012
      Messages:
      1,449
      Gender:
      Male
      Location:
      Hertfordshire
      Ratings:
      +1,250
      I also have young kids, and have tought them to leave my plants alone. Not only from an eating point of view, but I want them to know that they mustn't damage my garden.
      What worries me, is if they get a friend over to play, friend might be tempted to break off leaves/branches/berries etc and might accidentally eat that.

      For this reason, I don't have the obivously poisonous plants (like Euphorbias etc) in my garden.
       
    Loading...

    Share This Page

    1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
      By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
      Dismiss Notice