The Garden Column: Hellebores
Thursday, April 01, 2010
By Juergen Jaenicke, MG
(Courtesy Cornell Cooperative Extension)
We just love them in our garden and like to share about them with you. Hellebores bloom from February-May making them the perfect perennial for extending the garden season.
Cultivation and Maintenance
Hellebores like a neutral soil (ph6) rich in organic matter but with good drain. They hate wet feet but like plenty of moisture when they are in flower. They are tolerant of sun and shade but grow best in dappled shade. An ideal place is between shrubs that can be pruned. They are great planted on a slope so you can look up into the flowers. Fertilize with liquid fertilizer in August and again when buds strart to emerge around February-March. If your plant does not bloom it may be because it is in too much shade or planted too deeply.
It has become standard practice to remove the old leaves when the new leaves and flower buds start to emerge. This is done not only for looks, but also to allow the new growth to get light and for the flowers to grow upright. Some winters the leaves become “ratty” looking anyway. Removing the old leaves will help to prevent any diseases such as black spot.
Propagation
Helleboris x hybridus is best devided in the fall, although it can also be done in the early spring. Dig up entire plant and wash off roots. With a sharp knife cut the plant into pieces making sure that each piece has at least two leaves, some of the rhozome, two buds and both the white and black roots (new and young roots). Plant at the same level it was before dug up.
Growing from Seed
Hellebores are easy to grow from seed but the seed MUST be fresh. Seeds wil usually ripen at the end of May, early June. The seedpods will pop open to reveal shiny black seeds. Plant seeds in 4” pots filled with well-drained soil, no more than16 seeds to a pot. Keep the pots well watered throughout the summer. In order for the seeds to germinate they need a warm and moist period, followed by declining temperatures. Germination usually occurs December-February. It takes 3 to 4 years to bloom from seed.
The seedpots if left alone will drop their seed around the mother plant. If you do not want this to happen or if you have a young plant, cut the flowers off whwn theseedpods strat to form. If you want to grow plants this way the small seedlings should be thinned out and moved away from the mother plant.
Recommended Hellebores
Helleborus x hybridus (Lenten Rose) are the easiest to greow and the most available. They come in a wide range of colors. The height can be 18” to 24” and increase to the same width.
H.foetidus (Stinking Hellebore) is also easy to grow but not long lived. Some wonderful cultivars to look for are ‘Wester Flisk’, ‘Sopron’ and ‘Red Silver’. It requires the same conditions as H. x hybridus. It grows to a height of 3’. The plant produces small green bell shaped flowers (sometimes rimmed in red) in clusters on one stem. H. foetidus cannot be devided.
H.niger (Christmas Rose) likes a more alkaline (ph7) soil. It benefits from an application of lime or epsom salts if the soil it too acidic. The plant grows to a height of about 18”. It is very slow to get established and should be planted a little bit deeper than H. x hybridus. It should not be devided and the old leaves should not be removed until the new leaves have matured.
(Courtesy Cornell Cooperative Extension)
We just love them in our garden and like to share about them with you. Hellebores bloom from February-May making them the perfect perennial for extending the garden season.
Cultivation and Maintenance
Hellebores like a neutral soil (ph6) rich in organic matter but with good drain. They hate wet feet but like plenty of moisture when they are in flower. They are tolerant of sun and shade but grow best in dappled shade. An ideal place is between shrubs that can be pruned. They are great planted on a slope so you can look up into the flowers. Fertilize with liquid fertilizer in August and again when buds strart to emerge around February-March. If your plant does not bloom it may be because it is in too much shade or planted too deeply.
It has become standard practice to remove the old leaves when the new leaves and flower buds start to emerge. This is done not only for looks, but also to allow the new growth to get light and for the flowers to grow upright. Some winters the leaves become “ratty” looking anyway. Removing the old leaves will help to prevent any diseases such as black spot.
Propagation
Helleboris x hybridus is best devided in the fall, although it can also be done in the early spring. Dig up entire plant and wash off roots. With a sharp knife cut the plant into pieces making sure that each piece has at least two leaves, some of the rhozome, two buds and both the white and black roots (new and young roots). Plant at the same level it was before dug up.
Growing from Seed
Hellebores are easy to grow from seed but the seed MUST be fresh. Seeds wil usually ripen at the end of May, early June. The seedpods will pop open to reveal shiny black seeds. Plant seeds in 4” pots filled with well-drained soil, no more than16 seeds to a pot. Keep the pots well watered throughout the summer. In order for the seeds to germinate they need a warm and moist period, followed by declining temperatures. Germination usually occurs December-February. It takes 3 to 4 years to bloom from seed.
The seedpots if left alone will drop their seed around the mother plant. If you do not want this to happen or if you have a young plant, cut the flowers off whwn theseedpods strat to form. If you want to grow plants this way the small seedlings should be thinned out and moved away from the mother plant.
Recommended Hellebores
Helleborus x hybridus (Lenten Rose) are the easiest to greow and the most available. They come in a wide range of colors. The height can be 18” to 24” and increase to the same width.
H.foetidus (Stinking Hellebore) is also easy to grow but not long lived. Some wonderful cultivars to look for are ‘Wester Flisk’, ‘Sopron’ and ‘Red Silver’. It requires the same conditions as H. x hybridus. It grows to a height of 3’. The plant produces small green bell shaped flowers (sometimes rimmed in red) in clusters on one stem. H. foetidus cannot be devided.
H.niger (Christmas Rose) likes a more alkaline (ph7) soil. It benefits from an application of lime or epsom salts if the soil it too acidic. The plant grows to a height of about 18”. It is very slow to get established and should be planted a little bit deeper than H. x hybridus. It should not be devided and the old leaves should not be removed until the new leaves have matured.