A fantastic and informative thread evolved from kbaumle's question about her hellebores, and is still going strong. Getting a bit long, so here's the continuation.
Here is the link to Part I:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/549141/
Helleborus discussion: Part II
Thank you Neal, although I haven't participated, I've been "lurking" and being on dial-up this thread was one of the long ones that was taking awhile to load - really appreciate it :) I finally have a few Hellebores blooming and if I get the chance I'll grab some shots!
Debbie
Double the thanks; facinating thread on a really great plant.
You're very welcome Debbie, and please do post pics. Always happy to see those, and there are so many variations in the flowers in the seed strains-practically no 2 alike.
My 1 Royal Heritage and 1 H.foetidus I got from ForestFarm last year look great and are growing well. The Royal Heritage looks like it should be mature enough to bloom. Is there still hope or would it already be doing it's thing if it were going to? I'm confident next year it'll be lovely, but I'm just wondering if it's too soon to give up hope for this year.
The H.foetidus is about 20" tall and still has a tight rosette of foliage arising from the center. That one has me wondering to. Do any of you have pics documenting the stages of maturity? I'll get some pics of mine to post as well.
Neal
I have a pic of Queen of the Night in bud, taken on 18th January
The red shades one taken 18th Jan also
Lovely!
Ohhh that Queen of the Night is awsome! Its my next purchase.:)
Thanks you
I have read the past thread and this one. Have enjoyed every min. of it!
I want to post a couple pictures of my hellebores. They are only a couple years old and they are blooming just great this year. This white one is loaded.
Carol
A close up of the bloom.
Another one that has freckles/spots in the center. Sorry for the fuzzy picture tho. Didn't realize that.
This one is a red one. The next blooms are much more red.
All these are grown in mostly shade against the north side of the house. In very good fertile soil. They seem to love it there.
I am not sure if I will ever get babies from these flowers tho. My cats love to dig there around the plants so..... Need to get more plants around so they won't go potty there anymore.
But I just love hellebores in the winter time. It brightens up my yard and day for me. One of these are to be the one that has the bloom that is to turn upward but am not sure which one yet. Can't find the dang tag yet.
Carol
All gorgeous daisy! I love the icy whites.
Well I have a pic today of my Ashwood garden Hybrid, still surrounded by winter debri. It's rarely been warm enough to get anything done, a mad rush is ahead of me!
daisy yours look like special hybrids, very nice!
Daisy what is it with cats and Helleborus? Its the stray cats that poop in my yard. I bought some stuff to keep them out, I sure hope it continues to work
I know, I just went to look at mine tonight after work because it froze and snowed here again and guess what I found nearby.
I have some coffee grounds so am going to try that too.
It is close to the house, good digging soil, and that dang cat didn't want to get wet so....
I put some bricks in place so we shall see how they move those now, LOL.
Maybe they like the smell of them. The leaves aren't the nicest to rub against tho so....
Let me know if the stuff works.
What is it called?
Carol
Wally, very nice pics of those flowers! I like yours better than mine, hehe.
Carol
Very nice pictures everyone. I just bought some last year and one of them has a couple of blooms on it- I'm so excited and can't wait to see what color they are! And yes- the cat ALWAYS uses my front bed (where the Hellborus are) as a litter box. :(
I must be the only one that is thrilled that my cats have always used the herb garden for a litter box. That is absolutely the most rich, loose, and wonderful soil we have.
Oh, my, yes, I guess so.
I don't really mind the droppings, I just mind that they keep digging so near the plants!
I need to get more plants in the areas so they don't dig.
The cats have a huge area that I am trying to get ready for a new bed but do they venture there? Of course not! Is too far from the house, LOL
Carol
LOL- they don't want to have to travel Carol. :) I just hate that they throw my mulch everywhere. They love going in the mulch.
You know, I must have the weirdest cats. They don't actually dig a hole. They just squat and go, THEN they try to cover it up. I don't think they've ever dug up even one plant.
Mine doesn't dig in dirt really, he just digs the mulch out of the way but never covers it up. He could at least try to cover it and move the mulch back in place LOL.
LOL
That Ashwood is GORGEOUS...here is my niger
Wow! That is huge! How old is that plant? I love the pure white ones, there is a newer one I think callled Potter's Wheel with bigger flowers, yours could be that. I have got one, bought several years ago as a young plant from a supermarket. It had set lots of seed, but those and the plant seem not to like their spot, I should move it before it expires completely.
Daisy I love them all! it's just that we want them all! I'm hoping for some good crosses from my seedlings as all 3 were flowering, but it's doubtful there were any pollinators around, I should think about hand pollination.
It is about 10 years old and has reseeded some but not alot. One year it completely wilted away from something and then the next year came back looking all perfect. I only have the orientalis and the niger...(just the plain ones)...I would love to have a double or a yellow or your Ashwood!
I found that one has it's 'off' years' last year was a mild winter, perhaps they like it colder? Or it could have been the long dry spell the summer before that. That is the best it's been, slow to really bulk up well, I've had it 7 years. The pinky/red orientalis hybrid I have has grown quicker than any of them. Queen of the Night is also very slow.
I would love some of the doubles I've seen on farmyardnurseries, they are selling on ebay now but you really need to buy a lot to justify the postage, unless money burns a hole in the pocket! If I visited when they are flowering I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to help myself! I will have to get some seed from them this year and do it the long way, but they are not all guaranteed to grow either. Oh well, something else will take my mind in another direction...
I agree ... it is like paying a fortune for something that may not be what it is supposed to be. Like the double trillium or the lady's slippers. AND even if it is ends up being what you want.....it IS TOOOOO MUCH MONEY !!!!
Wow, levilyla, yours has so so many blooms on it! That is great.
Well, if these plants need cold, they sure are getting it here in Oregon. We have never ever had such a long winter and cold and snow this late!
I could have bought a hellebore the other day at the gardening club meeting for $20. It was a double one and was so pretty! Now I wished I had gotten it. The nursery that had grown it had the healthiest plants I have seen in a long time.
So we all keep dreaming and hope someone will trade too. LOL
Carol
Well, my helleborus that began this whole discussion is not looking well at all. I don't think it's dead, but there are no healthy green leaves. :-(
Carol how long is never ever? We had 3 months of frost and snow like I've never seen before back in 1982 January through March, temps down to -20C. or -4F. The average day temp. for Feb was a minus. It just never went, you learn to cope with it, and I'm sure plenty have to cope with it on a regular basis! We are expecting 2C (35/6F) tomorrow, should be having at least 10C (50F), snow on Sunday, it just goes on and on, the forecasts give us hope just to be dashed once again.
I do have some seedlings waiting to be pricked out from seed I grew last winter from the three, but it will be some time before I know what they are as they are mixed. One pot is also well ahead of the other, strange as they were sown and left side by side, but the bigger ones may have got just a smidge more sun in the greenhouse. I can collect seed from the plants this year and keep them separate, that will be a few months yet.
kbaumble just read yours, don't worry about the leaves, the old ones just die back, then grow more after flowering. My red shades one has large healthy leaves but most don't, they get a bit dry. Some cut them off before flowering as they can be tatty, also I have read they can get diseased another reason to cut them off.
janet
Well, mine hasn't flowered, but I didn't expect it to, since it was just planted last May. I sure hope it will grow some healthy leaves when it warms up for good. :-(
My Queen of the Night took a long time to establish, I thought it was going to die. the first year it only had one leaf and the wind blew that off, second year not much better, so give it time and don't worry........
Thanks for the encouragement!
If I do get a double, do they reseed true?
levilya from what I have read on seed available there is only a small pecentage likely to be double, but you might also get some other very interesting singles. Seed is also very expensive, and if not fresh you will waste a lot of money. T&M have Washfield doubles 10 seed for £5 ($8.75). Even if you got it in the autumn and sown fairly fresh, they are not guaranteed to germinate, you can't be certain they are from the current year's stock.
I think it's best if you can buy a plant, and any seed will have a very good chance of some germinating, but it does take 3 to 4 years for flowers. They are a bonus and you should get some doubles. The extra money spent on a plant can be worth it if you can get one without all the postage costs.
I am thinking of buying some seed this year from farmyardnurseries, perhaps some double and single, I do know it will be fresh from there and I am curious to try it! I would still like to be able to go to a nursery and select a very special double though.
I have a bud on mine!!! Yipee!! I tried taking a pic, but it was chilly and I couldn't keep my hand still. I'll try again later!
I heard that all the way across here! Are you sure the shake was the cold or was it the excitement? First flowering? Do you know what colour it is? One happy Hellebore Mom!
The bud looks dark red, so I'm guessing red/pink. They are royal heritage from Wayside gardens. Yes, I am a very happy mom - thanks Wallaby!