Winter box losing leaves

[fiorentina]

Two of my three saraccocas are losing their leaves at the moment. I thought they were evergreen so I'm a bit confused. Anyone else had this please and they were ok? Thanks

It is evergreen - so this shouldn't be happening. They are tough beasties too - happy even in dry shade. I wonder if it's had too much sun? (I hesitate to suggest this, given the dreadful summer we've had, but you never know).

Thanks. They are in a pretty shady spot but it would get sun occasionally. I wonder if feeding them may make them happier. Potentially it is just standard leaf shed rather than all of them dropping. I will go out and take a look.

Occasional sun should be fine... maybe try a feed.

They're not in pots are they?

No they aren't. They are adjacent to each other in the border. I will feed at the weekend.

I have had two die on me - planted one in shaded clay so gave the next one better drainage but it still went yellow & curled up its toes. Do they like acidic soil as mine is neutral/alkaline?

Interesting. Mine isn't acidic. Two aren't looking great and one looks fine.. It's annoying but maybe I will try again, they have berries but fewer leaves. It does get a little sun but is largely shady.

All the books say they are easy to grow but it looks like they aren't for me - a shame as I love them. They line a path at Angelsey Abbey and are just lovely. Hey ho!

They will tolerate acidic soil, but I don't think they require it. They're usually pretty tolerant - will even grow on my MIL's chalk.

I wonder if this is a question of different varieties being differentially hardy? This article is quite good on the differences between the various available plants:

www.hortweek.com/sarcococca/ornamentals/article/1327401