Perennials for Shady and Part Shade Gardens

Lovely photo of your Helleborus foetidus Weerobin! Most of our Hellebores took a beating after the first brutal winter we've had in quite awhile. Finally seeing some great flowers but their foliage looks terrible :( Not so with H. foetidus, it came through with flying colors and even though the flowers aren't as pretty the foliage is striking :)

SunnyBorders,
Thanks for the information on the potential invasiveness of hellebore. Since I volunteer in a local reforestation project I would not want to add to the problem we are trying to fix. So far it is not one of the species we have seen be a problem. Do you have any more information on this problem?


I notice you thought they grow on old wood. What I have noticed is that last years leaves die back some time in late winter and new growth pushes up from the crown. The photo shows illustrates the old leaves pushed aside and the new buds growing from the crown.

Hi sempervirens
I heard this at a winter lecture (2007/2008) by David Tomlinson (the friend I referred to) who has a 3/4 acre garden here (Merlin's Hollow). David has a weighty resume in the interface between horticulture, planning and environmentalism. He also raises large numbers of perennials from seed yearly. I suspect strongly that what he said was based on personal observation.
I will confirm this when I see him next week.
Sunny

Went into the garden and the flowers on Hellbores don't come from old leaves but have their stems come directly from the ground. I took a photo but my camera battery is lame. Maybe once it's charged......

Anyway, here is a page from Wayside that says you should trim back your hellebores in late winter.
http://www.waysidegardensvoices.com/2009/02/hellebores-caring-for-your-winter-blooms.html

Hellebores blooming now. Got those old batteries loaded up.

And yes, EMs. Hostas will go dormant and come back in the spring in even my zone 9 garden but I'm trying to heed the list of recommended ones for warm winter gardens. Being in zone 8b though you may not need to worry.

Hi sempervivens,
Checked with David Tomlinson: referring to Hellebore orientalis hybrids (lenten-rose): his warning is for our area and based on
(1) his personal observations of what strong seeders they are in our area
(horticulturally) and (2) what's happening in the U.S. areas further to the south of us, where they are replacing trilliums. Currently, he says, they present a threat to our own trillium woods. I would just add that Ontarians have a sentimental attachment to the trillium as it is our provincial flower.
Just noticed that all of Hellebore foetidus, H. niger, H. orientalis and H. viridis are listed as Invasive and Noxious Weeds by the USDA (Agric. Dept.), Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Learning,
Sunny

Who would have thought. I've had them forever and they never go anywhere and I don't get new plants either. Maybe it's not cold enough for them here to germinate. That would be a good thing, right? :-)

Makes sense.

Thank you SunnyBorders for checking. I will definitely act on this information and pass it on.
Trilliums are important in our woods also.
So many of the plants I purchased in my earlier days of gardening have proved invasive but I had thought I was safe with hellebore. I'll have to find a replacement.

I did replace 1 last year with a variegated Jacobs Ladder "Stairway to Heaven". It's a native for me although a selected variant
on the species.

This message was edited Mar 11, 2009 6:47 AM