And last here is an almost open bloom of H. of a child of dark parent from Joy Creek.
Donna
Helleborus preparing to bloom...
Kingston Cardinal is a gem kedric, it has dark foliage too, very nice!
Donna, wow, that is a huge clump, what a show that must make! Mine don't seem to grow into large clumps, they must be lacking something.
Lovely warm pink in your first picture, Donna.
How old is that very large clump ?
Helleborus foetidus 'Sopron starts opening its first flowers, a very subtle dark-red rim is forming on the outside and inside it has more of it.
It got a place in one of my newly raised beds that still look too new, the plant will set off better once the walls gets all mossy and weathered.
and the flower;
You all have such pretty ones! I'm a little jealous.
Mine just beginning to open. What is she?
They are all nice.
Cisco Morris our local gardening guru says Helleborus need lime. He was dressing his with lime chips but said you can just use dolmite lime.
bonitin, I think the large clump is about 7 or 8 years. I keep it mulched with my compost.
Your Sopron is spectacular. I haven't frown any foetidus here, but did have a couple at my other place.
Kwanjin, your helleborus is lovely. Mine don't grow early in season with such nice tall stalks.
Donna
From this morning...
And the other...
So many beautiful Hellebores! Mine are just babies, but a few more have opened. The timing of this is horrible, but I have carpal tunnel in both hands; the left one is almost useless (surgery in 2 weeks). As fellow gardeners I am sure you can commiserate. I want to go dig in the dirt!!!
Anyway, this beauty is Goldfinch
And another view.
This one, Snow Bunting, only has 1 little flower, but it's kinda cute
And finally, after waiting for months, H. foetidus finally is starting to flower!
Just one more, another of Kingston Cardinal.
I'm envious of all the beautiful hellebores, and also concerned that all of mine are pretty dead-looking at the moment. They are under or at the edge of the canopy of a pine tree. They got plenty of moisture over our miserable winter. I'd expect them to be greening up by now but most of the leaves are pretty crispy. Guess I'll have to wait and see if they survived the winter.
'She' has a lovely wine colour, Kwanjin!
In you second picture, it looks like its a 'picotée' I find it very pretty!
I also like the pale green-yellow one.
They are all beautiful, Kudrick and I love the little red rim on your H.foedidus flower.
I've always heard that Hellebores like the soil leaning to the alkalic, Willow. I suppose that Dolmite lime is alkalic.
I have seen the effect on a sulking Hellebore in my brothers garden of a generous gift of seaweed chalk. The years after that it grew to three times its original size and became a real large clump.
The effect though was gone after about four years and the clump is shrinking again.. His soil is rather acidic.
I also give mine some seaweed chalk every year, but very moderate, as I don't want them to become real large clumps, my place is so tiny and I want so many different types..
Goldenberry, that makes me think of your Hellebores.
The soil under pinetrees is usual acidic from decomposing needles...
How old are yours and have they performed well in previous years ?
Goldenberry- I wouldn't worry about them yet. Here in the Indianapolis area, my hellebores are just now really showing flowers, and we're probably a couple of weeks ahead of you. Also, the old leaves will be crisp and need to be clipped off before the new leaves emerge. In milder zones, they are evergreen and remain nice, but not in our zone, for sure. I always trim all of them off in early spring.
beautiful beautiful beautiful. I have some more to photograph. I need to get out there and do it.
Thank you, HoosierGreen and bonitin! I noticed last night that mine are beginning to show a few tiny shoots, so they aren't dead, hooray! Maybe I will give them a bit of dolomite lime this weekend. Our clay soil is so alkaline that even around evergreens, the pH is not acidic. I learned that from a lecture at my favorite local garden shop.
My hellebores range from one to three years old, so they are still basically babies.
kudrick, gorgeous hellebores, especially like the first photo. I don't have any yellow ones, must get some.
Also it has been so cold here that I haven't been able to do anything outside. Haven't finished cutting off the dead leaves on all of the Helleborus.
Yesterday we had the first light rain of the year. Then last evening turned to pea-sized hail for half an hour. Got down to 25 degrees so most of hail still on the ground. Sure doesn't seem like spring. Got one of my old Jewel cold frames in place but still too cold even in that to put any seedlings outside.
Donna
Goldenberry: I don't know if you have Kroger's in your area, but I just found some gorgeous hellebores there for $10@, the Royal Heritage strain. Deep, deep purples and speckled whites. Nice.
Goldenberry: I garden in Omaha, NE(5a) and have been growing Hellebores for maybe 15 years in this variable climate. They love it. I am convinced that all they need is to be a bit neglected, never over-watered, and, of course, out of full sun; though, I had to remove a Forest Pansy redbud last spring that shaded a group of three year old babies and they did just fine with half-day sun. Luckily, they were on the East side of other trees. I do have naturally alkaline soil going for me, but all I use is compost in the fall to fertilize. On the first tolerably mild day in March I cut off last year's nasty leaves, stir up the mulch and watch for the first sign of life! I thought I would die last Easter when the hard freeze came and they were all in full bloom. The pic I have attached was from the day before the freeze. :-( Chances are that won't happen again for many years, I hope! They seem fine so far this year. Tip: Pine Knot Farms sells mature, blooming plants directly and the Ashdown strains are available from them too. Plant Delights has a great selection and has Dan Hinckley's hybrids from the old Heronswood, not the Burpee makeover. They are pricey, but after waiting for at least 5 years before my 2 yr. old plants produced more than a few flowers, I am impatient! Invest in one a year and you will not be sorry. Sorry to run on but these plants get me excited!
Very nice range of plants and blooms all. Mine are very late this year. Some blooms have not opened yet. Last year some were blooming by the end of January.
Ivory Prince is clearly the showiest in my garden.The blush of rose on the outside of the petals combined with the more upright position of the opened flowers and the deep red stems make it my current favorite. I have posted a few photos of it before but it is in full bloom now. On my other Hellebores last years leaves have to be cut away but Ivory Prince came through the winter relatively unscathed. Do you think it is the variety or placement?
edited to add: I was thinking of adding a red stemmed lady fern 'Lady in Red' (Anthyrium filix) behind the hellebore to repeat the red stems of the Ivory Prince.
This message was edited Apr 9, 2008 8:38 AM
White Beauty has not performed as well for me. I have 2 purchased at the same time as the Ivory Prince 2 years ago. One never blooms and the other has beautiful saucer shaped flowers but they face down and are low to the ground. The leaves can obscure the blooms. Still pretty though.
This poor plant has been moved every year for the past 5 years.I think I have the placement right at last. lol.
sempervirens, good photos of lovely hellebores
terim-- Lovely hellebore in your picture. I ordered and just received 2 from Plant Delights, I got H. x hybridis Dbl. Queen strain, and H. x hybridus Herronswod Dbl. Lavender. Both are still in shipping pots as too cold to do much outside and they need to acclimate to my climate.
Has been 27 degrees every morning this week, and yesterday snow down to at least 2000 feet so hills are white again, only a little rain shower here last evening.
Donna
Very beautiful, you guys. I'd have to say hellebores are some of the most underutilized plants. Such nice colors and form. Thanks for sharing ;)
Mine this morning.
And the other...this is the second time, so maybe it will come up this time.
kwanjin, What material is the dragonfly in your first photo of April 9. I collect dragonflies, either inside specimens or outside. Got a large one last week, wanted to put outside but know it will have to be in a weather sheltered spot. Great hellebores.
Donna
The dragonfly is iron. I've had it for several years and it's weathered nicely. I'm sorry, though, I don't remember where I got it.
I planted two Ivory Prince last year but they have been slow to start up. Perhaps next year they'll bloom. Anyway, Semp, it's wonderful to have a preview of things to come.
Very pretty hellebores kwanjin
Being a new member to Dave's Garden, I am thrilled to find this forum and to be able to interact and ask questions of such a knowledgeable group! Being a self-taught gardener, I have killed more plants in my gardening experiments (pushing zones, etc.) than I like to admit, but it has also empowered me and my creative side has bloomed. If there was a mistake to be made I have probably made it. Am still making them! But, hellebore culture was not one of them. My garden was begun in 1989 and I am pretty sure my original plants were in the ground by the fall of 1990. They have developed into a pretty patch of groundcover (maybe 8' x 12') over the years and have freely inter-bred. I do not take the flowers off to prevent this, as some do and it is a patient person's pastime to wait for babies to get to flowering age! What has resulted is a bed of multi-color surprises that has motivated me to try the plants in other locations. All of you are right when you say they have not gotten their due because they do not show well in pots and because it takes so long to get a large flowering. I say, what is gardening other than a labor of hope and faith? The picture here is a Pine Knot Farms 'Sunshine Series' ( I think!) in a bed planted four years ago on the NW side of my house. She is one of the early ones to push blooms in the midst of a large group planted there with hydrangea.
Rutholive: I have also purchased a group from Tony Avent at PDN this spring. They sent an email after their hellebore open house with descriptions of what was left and I could not stop myself! I am intrigued with the H.x hyb. PDN 'Purple w/ Pink Edge' and the 'Violet w/ Dark Spots'. A few years ago I put in a couple of anenome flowering hellebores and they are very pretty. The first pic I posted was a dbl. Heronswood, the 4-8-08 post. I would have to check my records to see which one, red or pink. My sister and I plan to go to the open hose at PDN one day. sigh.
All of the pictures are great! Keep them coming because spring is slow to help us out this year!
Beautiful color on that one terri.
Sempervirens, I think your Ivory Prince is just gorgeous!
It looks very much like my 'Silvermoon'. The flowers on mine are very abundant, but I noticed that they rarely make seeds.
Lovely 'White Beauty' too!
Your hellebores look happy and pretty kwanjin!
and that's a lovely deep pink-purple on yours terrim!
I have another one to share, too young to bloom but I love its foliage; Helleborus foetidus 'Wester Flisk', newly planted.
Here are a couple of my Hellebores that are in bloom now.
DonnaS
The first one was labeled Hyb. from Joy Creek growers. This next one is a Hyb. from Dark Parents.
DonnaS
So we have snow dusting the garden this morning! It has already melted, thank goodness and our weather is supposed to get nice and mild this coming week, so everything will move out of the ground faster than I will be able to keep up! Enjoy those gorgeous flowers, everyone!
Kingston Cardinal taken this past week...
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