Novice in growing hellebores - advice, please :)
wisehedgecrone
Posts: 118
Hi! I am becoming obsessed with these lovely flowers, as with other winter/early spring blooms. I am focusing on singles at the moment because I know these are best to attract wildlife.
I have a very few - some unnamed, bought from a roadside stall as very small plants. They haven't done anything yet, after a year. Others are starting to bloom. Unfortunately I have acid soil and I read that they prefer lime, so what should I do to keep them happy? Will they flourish and produce seedlings in acid soil?
Also, how and when should I feed them and am I right in believing they shouldn't be divided because they don't like being disturbed?
Finally, I know hellebores are extremely expensive. Do you have any recommendations of nurseries or similar who offer them at more affordable prices, given that I'd like to buy more than one or two more?
Any advice welcome! I am growing some in a woodland garden I am creating.
Posts
I would buy the cheaper, toughest ones first - they are all beautiful - and see how well you can manage them on your soil. Mine self seed all over the place but I have slightly alkaline soil. I do find that plants make their own decisions, without regard to the gardening books so with a bit of luck, you will get a fine display. Try to plant them where, at some point in the day, the sun shines behind and through them - gorgeous!
Ashwood nursery will have a huge polytunnel full at the moment. Many are quite exquisite. I don't know where you live, but a trip to them in Kingswinford, west midlands is worth the trip. You can pick the ones you want in flower. Good flowering size plants are never cheap, because it takes at least two years to give a flowering plant.
Verdun has hit it on the head.
Division is done when the soil begins to cool down. I did mine in September. They hate having their roots dry out so when transplanting make sure the pieces stay wet. Seedlings are best moved when they get their first true leaves. Seeds should be sown fresh.
Thank you all
However, I planted some of my hellebores last year before I knew about mushroom compost, so all they've had is a bit of Rootgrow and some leafmould or garden compost! I will look out for some - haven't seen it in garden centres locally but it's possible they stock it.
Sadly for me, I don't live anywhere near the West Midlands - I live near Croydon in Surrey, but I'll look at the website anyway.
It's good to know that I can divide them at the right time if I'm very careful to keep the pieces wet.
As to feeding, there seem to be so many views as to what and when. Mine haven't been fed apart from when I planted them. *verdun* I'm intrigued about the Epson salts - what does this do, where do you buy it and how do you apply it - and in what concentration? Would a general purpose organic fertiliser be OK (blood fish and bone maybe) or do I need something more specific to encourage flowering?
Sorry to appear rather slow on the uptake - I just want to get it right, especially as they cost so much, and I'm keen to encourage healthy flowering plants as soon as possible
Epsom salts are magnesium sulphate. Have never used it myself so cannot help there.
Ashwoods feed their Hellebores in their display garden when the leaves of the x orientalis types begin to lie down, ie Autumn to late Winter. They feed with chicken pellet. Myself I use Growmore, but then our soil is very rich to begin with.
If your plants do not want to flower then you could try a Tomato type fertiliser (info on the container about dilution rates), again in Autumn or late winter.
By the way our soil is a peaty silt. The lime in it comes from the contamination by lime mortar from some Georgian cottages which were on site and allowed to fall down.
Harveys Garden plants is in Suffolk, that have a good range or so I am told.
Most decent garden centres stock Hellebores at this time of year.
I am also starting my open carpets of hellebores in a new woodland style border.
I have recently purchased 30 plugs from Hayloft Plants (mail order) which worked out at about a pound per plant. 10 varieties - 5 single & 5 double (I think). They are all sturdy little plantlets - potted up in December and already sending roots out of the pot and new leaf growth.
I have a couple of mature flowering plants and will collect seed from them this year but you can also buy packets of seeds.
I shall also buy a couple of choice specimens from Harveys Garden Plants (Suffolk - but they do mail order). Fortunately they are just up the road from me and they do a couple of wonderful hellebore / snowdrop days late Feb / early Mar - worth visiting if you fancy a trip out. Roger Harvey is a regular at Chelsea & has gold medals for his hellebores. Not cheap - but worth it if you want a couple of special plants.
Nothing to add to Verdun's advice re cultivation - he knows his stuff!
Brilliant! *makes copious notes*
Many thanks for all the advice.
Now, another question - apologies for being so slow to grasp. Where do you get your Epsom salts? Chemist or garden centre?
I've just bought two lovely hellebores from Homebase, believe it or not - Penny's Pink and Pirouette. Sturdy plants with lots of flower buds. Really pleased. Also a couple of pretty pulmonarias to go with them (another plant I really like).
I will check out Harveys online - and we're hoping to go away to Suffolk in March so it's possible I might be able to engineer a detour there....
It's lovely to have so much good advice!
Thanks again.
Now then Penny's Pink needs slightly different treatment. This type does not want the leaves removing as the orientalis types do. Only dead or damaged leaves should be removed. H. Pirouette is also one of the x ericsmithii types. Again no leaf removal except as above.