Re: hellebores was: Shade Garden Gone?

Well, if one was blooming, at least you know it's blooming size:-)
It could be that they will skip a year of bloom - usually ( but with
hellebores, nothing is written in stone) they bloom first and then
put out new foliage.

No forgiveness is required.  We all start from zero with gardening or
when we get involved with new plants or new types of gardening:-)
That's what lists like this are for...

Well, H. x hybridus is the 'Lenten rose' and H. niger is the
'Christmas rose'.  So maybe you have H. niger in the back.  None of
the Lenten roses are species - all are hybrids with very mixed
parentage these days.  They used to be called H. orientalis or H.
orientalis hybrids, but the parentage is so mixed now that
'orientalis' is not appropriate (the true species is seldom found on
the market).  H. x hybridus seems to be the accepted moniker for
these hybrids now tho' there are some who take exception to it (as
with anything).

Hellebores are truly low maintenance plants, but you do have to
remove old foliage and spent flower stems to keep them healthy.  If
you don't develop any fungal problems leaving the old foliage for a
while - you can wait and do both at the same time;-)  Only caveat
there is that you need to be careful not to remove or damage the new
foliage.  If you're in one of the very humid parts of Texas, you may
need to keep an eye on the old foliage and remove it as soon as the
new starts to come on.  You can cut it back in fall before new growth
if you want to.  UK hellebore breeder, Graham Birkin, does this as a
matter of course.  I leave mine because their evergreen quality is
one of the reasons I grow them.

Hellebores put out two spurts of growth.  In spring, the put out new
foliage and flowers, that have been formed on buds made the previous
season.  In late summer / early fall, they form new roots, which is
why that is the best time to do any digging or dividing.

Wonder what's in your city water that turns the fence white?  Ack!
One thing I have learned is that most hellebores like a neutral to
slightly alkaline soil more than soil that's on the acid side.  They
will grow in more acid soils, but they are much happier on chalk.
Considering that a lot of Texas soils are more alkaline, that should
be good:-)  If your drainage isn't excellent out back, all that
excess water might not suit hellebores.

A few years back, I wrote a series of articles about hellebores that
might be of interest to you. This URL takes you to the first one and
you can go on from there if you wish.

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/shade_gardening/17614

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@hort.net
Editor:  Gardening in Shade
-----------------------------------------------
Current Article: Wild, Wonderful Aroids Part 3 - Amorphophallus
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/shade_gardening
------------------------------------------------
Complete Index of Articles by Category and Date
http://mtalt.hort.net/article-index.html
------------------------------------------------
All Suite101.com garden topics :
http://www.suite101.com/topics.cfm/635


----------
> From: Ann James <annfree@earthlink.net>
>
> Marge,
>
> I got the gallon pots, not the babies.  Wayside sends out such
waifs in the
> small pots, and I have learned my lesson, that I'd never invest in
their
> three inchers again.  One of the hellebores was blooming when it
got here
> last year.
>
> The species ones were the Christmas and the Lenten whatevers.  I am
not
> really up on hellebores or shade gardening in general, so forgive
me for not
> being up on the patter.  I just read the catalogs and order stuff
that I
> hope will settle down here and not have to be replanted.  The
primary object
> is to have something that will grow and flourish without my getting
down on
> my knees.  I get down fine, but getting up again is tricky.
>
> The front bed seems to be useful for all sorts of plants, but the
back one
> where the ferns used to be I fear needs to become grass.  It gets
our
> sprinkler system and our neighbor's sprinkler system, which I think
may be
> too much city water.  Especially since it turns the arc on the wood
fence
> white.
>
> Ann James
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index