Hellebores are early this winter

I have a couple hellebores in bloom, and several others with large buds that will be open for Christmas this year.

One flower on a helleborus niger clone only planted a few months ago.

buds

and more buds

I had no idea there were more D G'ers in Dahlonega . You make the second I've found this month alone .
We all need to get together for lunch , all of us .
My pitiful helleborus has been neglected for ten years but will transplant this spring to a better area where I can watch it closer . I envy yours .Can't post mine until I get back to Dahlonega this next spring , guess I'm called a "snowbird"

Sally will use any excuse to eat lunch (or breakfast or dinner) at a Chinese buffet. lol Kidding aside, my hellebores don't bloom in Atlanta or N. GA for several more months but then some last into June.

We've got a couple good chinese buffets in Dahlonega that I've been known to frequent. A good one in Dawsonville too.

Cleveland shouldn't be much differont than Dahlonega.

I was surprised at how early some of my hellebores were blooming. I have others though that are showing no sign of buds at this time. Last year I planted some potted hellebore plants from McMahon's Nursery just south of Cleveland and a couple of them are ones with early buds. I think the one with the full white flowers came from Thyme After Thyme in Athens last year. Maybe I'll get lucky and have blooms somewhere until the daffodils come out.

I think the early frosts we had are what brought the early ones out.

I;ll try to get the seed started from the early blooming plants so as to have some to share.

Ahh, hopefully some seedlings will make it to next year's RU.

Laurel , you're telling on me .
Randy , I've tried them all and on the top of my list of buffets at this time , is the one in Gainsville in the same shopping center as Hancocks fabric store . The only thing they don't have that I like is peanut sauce . None of them have it or sesame balls .
There is a very good one next to J&J food that has very good flavor , if Sangs DH , Hi, cooks. Not a lot of variety , but very good. The small one in Dahlonega, in the J&J shopping center has been bought out by a young couple and I've only eaten there once with them but the food was exceptional . He tells me that they will vary some of the food each day to give more selection. The other couple had the same thing all the time.The young man grew up cooking in his parents restaurant in another state .Glad to see them take it over.The best thing the other couple had was the sweet & sour soup .
Happy eating !

Laurel. I have tons of hellebores seedlings to share - I didn't know you wanted any.

I love them. Here's hoping I can do a RU this year. It might have to be a bit earlier since we are wedding planning here.

Maypop would be a perfect environment for hellebores - plant on a hill and the babies will be all down the slope.

I have a hill , I'll transplant mine on that because if it ever had babies , I didn't see them . A good friend gave them to me , so will enjoy grand plants instead of grandkids . They all live too far away'

I have to find the right slopes because everything on the garden side is south facing and very sunny. I have two under the overhang near the front door and one has a baby but even when I see seedlings they rarely mature. They would be nice further down in the more wooded areas or on the east facing slopes.

What with the orchids in the gh in Atlanta and raising heirloom seed from February onward for the veggie garden I don't have time or space to start other plants.

Actually, hellebores are carefree plants. They require very little if any attention. They thrive in my dry shade. After a few seasons the seedlings start appearing from all the dropped seeds. My problem is there are too many seedlings!

With all your luck with plants , you make me nuts . Hugs ,

Yep, digger, I am Nutz! I have had my share of hits and misses! LOL Are you guys in TX?


This message was edited Nov 30, 2011 5:26 AM

Yeah , and it's cold this morning . We've had a light freeze but I did get a hoop house up so am ready for the next one .It's going to be in the low 80's today and the temp swing is hard to live with ,have to keep a close watch on the weather channel .
Hope to see you at next years R U . Hugs again .

It sounds like I should do a tour of the local chinese restaurants with you digger. I haven't been to the ones in Gainesville for many years.

I'll try to get some seedlings going in pots

There's a hard frost this morning here. A bowl of water left outside had an inch of ice over it.

I better get my mulch spread.

No more hellebores blooming yet, but a couple more of them have buds starting to appear.

Hirts has some seed from double flowered hellebores. I may get some of that and try growing the fancy ones.

I'm always ready to eat Chinese . I like the buffets because of the variety in tastes and the fact that I get to choose how much of what instead of one entree and rice .
We'll do a Dutch Treat and maybe get Whollyhosta ( Brenda ) to join . All's welcome .If we get enough , even get the party room .

Here's the previous 'and more buds' hellebore Cotton Candy in fullbloom. This is the nicest one I have. I've harvested lots of seed from it and hope to have more of these in a few years.

second image is a small bed of hellebores and a few pink chionodoxa around a dogwood tree.

Rick/Randy (???), that Cotton Candy is lovely, I lost mine last year. I do have lots of double seedlings, tho, and hope to have some seed to share. Did you get any pods on the Cotton Candy?

Here are a few plants photos I hope to have seeds from- some set and some did not! I added a photo of one single yellow............sorry if some of the photos are not crystal clear,

Wanna trade? I am not good about collecting the seed, actually never have but I place dishes of soil below the plants and hope for the best. I always miss when the seeds are ripe. Any good hints for me for collecting?

Brenda, I love your doubles!! I only have singles but lots of them - LOL Brenda

Brenda, hey there!!! Great to "see" ya!
I have to dig some mature single hellebore plants up- I let them volunteer for years and now they are taking over my beds. Hate to do it, tho! Wish I could find an immediate home for them! So, yes, I have lots of single hellebores, too. Some have even drifted/migrated down into the woods at the bottom of our property.

I am going to attempt to divide one of my pure white doubles- if I am successful, I will put your name on one of the divisions, okey?!!!

Brenda B

Brenda , me too ! I'll be home middle of the week . The dragon fruit has three big , pre- bloom thingies on it . Can I break one off this fall to root another ?

Brenda B - sounds wonderful!!

Me too on the singles volunteering - I need to be digging up and selling in the yard sale soon.

Oh, yay, Sally's coming home!!! I will save one hellebore division for you too.
So, now we have to plan a get-together. The HCMG Expo is this next weekend on the 6th and 7th. I know we can meet there, it you make it!

Good luck on the blossoms. I have epiphyllum/orchid cactus going to blooming for the first time- they are three years old from leaf-cuttings. The dragonfruit can be cut off or snapped off, then let it set for a little bit to dry out the cut edge, then start it in half potting soil/ half perlite, in shade. My dragonfruit has no signs of buds yet.

~Brenda B

If I thought I could sell all my extra and mature plants, I would be out there right now diggin'! I'm afraid our heat may take a toll on them, put them into shock, altho it is supposed to cool down into the 70's and rain mid-week. That is a thought........ thanks, Brenda!

I have opened an invitation for a RU in response to Sterhill's post and want to let folks know on current threads.

I have a gold miners meeting this Sat . Maybe I can get back in time for part of it . Sounds like I'd rather go with you and I do . We have a board member that is having some serious issues , he's a good friend and need to find out more about him . I doubt if he'll be there so will have to depend on other members to fill me in . He doesn't ans his cell .
R U sounds good .

wholyhosta

This is the first year I'm going to try getting seeds.I'll let you know what luck I have.

So, Rick, we are hoofing it together. Then I need to check with my friend Mary. She is the Hellebore Queen..... She sell hellebores at the Expo (this coming Friday and Saturday), and her doubles go quickly, so get there early if you want to get any!

Hope you can make it to the Expo, Sally. Can you come on Friday or will you be ready for that more driving so soon after getting home? Have a safe trip home.

Really looking forward to the Maypop RU. We have the bestest hostess!! Hope everyone can make it!

~Brenda

I think I met Mary last year at the Hall County MG Expo. I bought a couple of her hellebores. I'll try to be there Friday morning.

btw. The article in the Gainesville Times about the Expo has a picture of me looking at some plants.

All right, Randy! I will look for it! My grandsons' photo was in one year; they were looking at the carnivorous plants (of course!).
I will wait and talk to Mary on Friday about collecting seeds. Since I have to work, I will be there @ 8 am.

~Brenda

I'm HOME!
Brenda , called last night , no ans . Will try again today . Just plugged in puter and will meet you Friday at the Expo. Gonna try to make it at 8:00 am.

Hey, welcome home, Sally. I sent you a dmail.

Good to be back????

Brenda

We are going to the EXPO too. Maybe see you? It says opens at 8:30.

Be there about 9:00 . Running late .

Probably be there at ten. Got your hat Brenda!

Missed everyone . Got a confederate jasmine .Randy's had a beautiful huge loquat for 49.00 . THAT'S CHEAP ! That plant would be 89.00 or more in the Texas valley .