Bad case of Hebe Jeebies
Hi All
Last autumn I planted 4 Hebes together - 1 Red Edge and 3 Super Reds (the 1 Red Edge was a mistake). After the winter, the 3 Super Reds didn't look great but I left them to see if they would perk up with the warmer spring weather.
During the summer one of the Super Reds finally died completely and I removed it (hence gaping hole). Now the other 2 Super Reds don't look particularly happy - mainly brown twigs as you can see from the photo. However, my 'mistake' Red Edge (just out of the picture on the left) looks happy and healthy.
Can anyone with Hebe experience tell me whether these Super Reds look like they are worth trying to rescue? Or should I just dig them up and start again with Red Edge to match my healthy, original 'mistake' plant?
They are in the ideal planting location for Hebes so I don't know why the 3 Supers have been so sickly - possibly I planted them too close together? Any thoughts much appreciated! 
Posts
Just to check the planting site - hebes require a generally sunny spot in well drained soil. They love chalky soils, too. Being close together won't harm them other than there not being a good air flow through and round them, but an open situation is usually good enough, however close they are to each other. I've found that 'Red Edge'is tough and reliable. I've had 'em chewed to an inch high by rabbits and come back stronger than before. The leaf is small enough not to suffer wind damage and it doesn't seem prone to fungal disease, either. 'Super Red' has proved less robust, in my experience, be it in the open ground or in pots in the garden centre. Perhaps it's just the breeding, the endless search for something 'better' which so often isn't. That's all I can offer.
H-C
Thanks for the comment H-C - I did wonder if the Super Reds being relatively new weren't quite as robust as the standard Red Edge. I think I'm going to go ahead and replace them with Red Edge since all 4 have had exactly the same soil/conditions and the Red Edge is healthy, so I'll go with the flow of the happy shrub! Many thanks for the feedback!