I haven't had too much trouble with slugs eating hellebores, but then I bait for them 11 months out of 12 too. The ravenous appetite that has gotten into mine, twice, is a climbing cutworm....both times I've found the worm by going out at night with a flashlight and killing it.

Are you seeing the spotting on foliage from last year, and not the new flower stems from the current season? I had a little on old foliage, cut those stems off, and the rest have remained unblemished this Spring...

slugs love hellebores like children love candy! The only way I know of protecting them is using slug baits, though have seen a few 'home brew' sprays on these forums which people claim will also do the job.
It's not uncommon to get spotting on the leaves - Alternaria and Acremonium can cause black spotting, also Botrytis is not that uncommon. These diseases won't destroy the plants but makes them look a bit untidy. At the end of summer as the leaves harden off it's not uncommon for various blackened spots to appear (again not life threatening) - as a rule we cut down all foliage in the autumn, lightly mulch around the plants andwait for the next springs fresh growth. Its a tough plant to maintain inpeak showgarden condition though - will cost it's owner dearly in preventative fungicide sprays for diseases which when alls said and done, effect only its appearance, not its life expectancy.

Dear Herb Gardener,

I'm sorry that the ravenous slugs have hit your Christmas rose and hope that it has bounced back by this time. In my part of the Pacific Northwest (Oregon), we had a very mild winter of 2003-2004, resulting in large populations of slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids to attack our plants.

Be sure not to salt your soil when you are salting your slugs and snails, as salt will render your soil infertile.

There are two methods of slug and snail control that work well for me. One is catch and release: I handpick the critters when they are out and about after a rain, early in the morning, late in the evening, or at night with a flashlight, as MorZ8 does. I pop them in a plastic bag and keep them in a lidded yogurt container in the refrigerator, and when convenient, I release them in my ex-husband's yard. This can be quite therapeutic.

The other method is to use the iron phosphate baits that have been approved for use in the U.S. since 1997. They have been used in Europe for a longer period of time. Iron phosphate interferes with the metabolism of slugs and snails and causes them to stop feeding almost immediately after they consume it. They glide off and die elsewhere. Iron phosphate is an excellent nutrient for the garden, so whatever the mollusks don't eat will benefit your plants. The iron phosphate is packaged in pellets of sweetened bran derivatives, which are safe in your garden.

The iron phosphate baits, which are sold in the U.S. as Worry-Free, Sluggo and Escar-Go, are not toxic to birds, insects, fish, pets or other wildlife and are non-toxic to humans, so after reading a lot of research about them, I feel comfortable using them in my garden.

I avoid the baits in which the toxic ingredient is metaldehyde, as it is toxic to birds, fish and other critters. If the chemical carbaryl is added to the metaldehyde as it is in some slug bait forumulations, it is also toxic to earthworms and beneficial insects.

I used about 3 ounces of Worry-Free so far this year, and am not having a slug/snail problem now.

This has also been a bad year for fungus in the Pacific Northwest, because of the rainy spring and the rampant aphids that carry the spores from leaf to leaf and plant to plant. I get pretty good fungus control by washing the plant leaves with a solution of a very small bit of baking soda in water, but I've really had to stay on top of fungus this year.

Good luck with both your Christmas rose and your teaching duties.

Best,
Elizabeth