Acanthus Mollis - rotting?

The leaves appear to be rotting - yellowing with brown edges, there are a few small circular holes. Plant info says mainly pest free but our plants are far from healthy! Any ideas??

Re: Acanthus Mollis - rotting?

Reply from Kathy C

Hi, J&L
I doubt the problem is a pest or root rot - the few holes could be caterpillars, but not the cause of the problem. I don't know where you live, but this is not uncommon for Acanthus to do in the summer, particularly if it has been hot & dry. When temperatures rise, Acanthus doesn't like it. Also, if it is getting a lot of sun as well as being very warm, that will cause it to yellow and brown. And even though they can handle dry conditions, they do that best if they are in full shade. Having said all this, does any of this apply to yours. Only other thought I have is if these were newly planted, there might be a planting problem.
Kathy C

Re: Re: Acanthus Mollis - rotting?

Reply from J&L

Hi Kathy - thank you so much for a really helpful reply. Sounds like everything is wrong for our poor Acanthus - mainly in the sun, very hot and dry and they are relatively newly planted!! Still, they're not dead yet so we'll try to make conditions better for them and hope they survive. Thanks again! L