Re: Primroses

Yes, Kay, P. kisoana is a lovely child - I have some of those,
too....love the fuzzy leaves.

If you want to obtain a specific color Hellebore, you either have to
buy one in bloom or get a division from Graham (who is one of the few
breeders I know of selling divisions these days; most sell seed
grown)...or buy some of John's seeds as they will come true, but you
need to then be prepared to wait about 3 years for bloom.

There are several variegated hybrids out there...the only one I have
is Helleborus argutifolius 'Janet Starnes' - it might be a tad iffy
for you in IL as the species is usually rated to z 6.  Got mine from
Plant Delights and here's their photo of it.

http://www.plantdelights.com/Catalog/Images/sld16623.jpg

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@hort.net
Editor:  Gardening in Shade
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> From: Kay Dye <Kdye1@AOL.COM>
>
> Hey All,
> With all the talk of primroses and damp ground I had to jump in and
see if
> anyone grows Primula kisoana?  This is the primrose for people who
don't have
> the climes to grow primroses.  It has a gorgeous fuschia flower in
early
> spring, forms mats of furry leaves that are attractive even when
out of
> bloom, is vigorous almost to the point of invasive (but not really,
just
> wonderfully robust), and will grow in my dry conditions in
Illinois.
>
> Also, on helebores.  I drool when I see the pictures and last year
made
> copies of Marge's great articles about them.  I want to know how to
get some
> of the colorful ones I see pictured.  Do you have to grow them from
seed
> until you get what you want?  I haven't looked at the sites Marge
gave us,
> and if that answers the question, just ignore this.  Also, years
ago I was in
> Mich. and saw this beautiful helebore that had toothed leaves with
a
> "spattered paint" kind of variegation.  I think it was called
Caspian, or
> Caspian Sea or something like that.  Does that ring a bell with
anyone?  I
> have the name written down SOMEWHERE.
>
> I envy those of you talking about actual gardening and being able
to think of
> February as the start of a new season.  Although, I must admit, my
one
> helebore looks good.  But to take a walk outside, brrrrrrrr.
Besides, we had
> volumes of leaves come down this year and I just get tired looking
at
> everything I have to do yet this year or in spring.
>
> Great to hear the discussions.  Shadegardens never die; they just
go dormant.
> Kay D.
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