as long as the plant stays green.. it can process light into energy ... no matter how ugly the leaves look ...

in nature.. it is not uncommon for some plague to roll thru..and devastate certain plants.. and if otherwise healthy .. most plants can and do recover ... and usually bugs dont kill their host outright.. or it would be a form of suicide ...

check your pots at night.. to make sure you didnt move slugs with them..

keep in bright full shade ...

plant in early fall..when the temps start dropping overnight ...

ken

I think so. Keep the pots sufficiently watered, but not over-watered, and put in part-shade location. If you're sure it's slugs, I'd sprinkle Sluggo in the pot and around the outside of the pot. Better yet, I'd re-pot into 100% fresh potting soil, making sure you get most of the soil off the roots to ensure there are no beasties in there anywhere, and then wrap the entire pot with a light shading fabric -- tulle is cheap and works great, or you can buy a roll of insect netting.

Thanks for the responses. I dropped some slug pellets in the pot today but did not check the soil or roots for bugs Will do that. Amazing that none of the nearby plants - bigroot geranium, hellebores, hydrangea, aster— had any noticeable damage and these looked so bad. I don't know for sure it’s slugs but from what I’ve read these plants are susceptible to slugs, mealy bugs, aphids.