Laurie's Garden Tour

While taking a walk today I saw a yard with Hells and they were very leggy. Can they be pinched to encourage more stems or will that take away the blooms?

That will take away the blooms i believe. Were they like this:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Helleborus_argutifolius.jpg&imgrefurl=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Helleborus_argutifolius.jpg&usg=__LjoL-SqbTb3Tvff7Qz-ptJXqi5c=&h=2272&w=1704&sz=594&hl=en&start=3&um=1&tbnid=iWBDYIKmDl1H-M:&tbnh=150&tbnw=112&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhelleborus%2Bargutifolius%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dcom.google:en-US:official%26hs%3DaLE%26sa%3DN

Some varieties have stems and some don't.

They vary in height, too. If you look at Ivory Prince, for instance, it's closer to the ground. It's supposed to be 12" high. The picture on the new thread about the Green Elephant is, I think, Ivory Prince.

http://www.heronswood.com/perennials-helleborus-hellebores/helleborus-ivory-prince/

Green Heron, on the other hand, will be 24" high.

http://www.heronswood.com/perennials-helleborus-hellebores/gift-of-perennials-hellebore-green-heron-3-plants/

This message was edited Feb 3, 2009 8:17 PM

I think they look like the Green Herons. Pix they are much more straggly that the pic - really long stems. So I won't pinch mine back!

How about a photo?

Laurie the "Dan" they are mentioning on the TNN website is the Dan Heims, President of Terra Nova Nurseries. He co-wrote a wonderful book a couple of years ago; Heucheras and Heucherellas, it is very informative and has great pictures of the many cultivars that he and TNN have bred and produced.

Yeah, Portland, Hellebores are definitely not one you want to pinch back. Did you see the link Melissa (Pixy) posted? With all the different types of Hellebores?

I will, as Laurie suggested on another thread, try to save (and label, always the hard part for me) seeds from my Hellebores this year.

Rach, that's good information. I really do like the tiarellas, though I mine remain pretty small. Last summer a planted a couple in a little brighter location, so we'll see if they do better for me.

too many Dans. Thanks for adding to my plantperson 'address' book Rach, I saw the H&H book on the website. I'll check to see if its available here.

tills, could the bluebells that are coming up be snowdrops? Snow drops have a more bluey grey foliage - long and quite singular looking. Bluebells come up spring green, really bright fresh green (usually a bit later than this, although mine are just about through) - and are much more fleshy than the snow drops.

Okay - there are 3 of us collecting hellebore seeds now. I'm sure tills will join in too - (she says volunteering her without asking)

I would also collect hellebore seeds if I know how! I will research how to do it.
These are the hellebores I bought the other day. First pic is the whole group - then a few of them up close. I think they are so pretty!

another

most of my bulbs look normal coming up but a few spots are like this pic - what is going on?

another hellebore

OOH- OOH let me see if I get this right. They are iris rhizomes, which are more toward the surface. Did I get it - did I get it?

I like the color of that last one, portland.

Yes they are iris rhizomes - you got it! Now what do I do about them?

Talk to them until they bloom. Plants like to be talked to, I find. :) Someone else will have more experience than me. I don't have these kind of iris.

I did talk to them today - I said what the hell is wrong with you? They didn't respond.

LOL You must talk nicely. hee-hee.

Portland, those are beautiful. As the flower matures, you'll see a seed head develop at the center of the flower. You can't miss it. As a matter of fact, here's a great picture:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22903885@N02/2461265615/

Pinch it off at the base and let the seeds dry - it's easiest if you leave them on the plant as long as possible, but that's the challenge - you don't want it to mature and plant the seeds themselves.

It looks like your iris are maturing and pushing themselves out of the ground. It's totally normal. Iris need to be lifted and divided every few years - how long have yours been there. As they run out of room, they stop blooming.

Thanks Katie - I just bought this house in June so I have no idea how long they have been there. Do I wait until the fall to lift & divide them?
I keep trying to post one more pic but fro some reason it won't go through. But it doesn't matter - I'm sure you guys have plenty of hellebores!

Today sure was warm and beautiful!

I was having trouble posting and it turned out I had some "malware" on my machine. Different than a virus. I ran a free program I got on the Internet that found it and removed it. You also might be having a low connectivity speed, which is making that feature blip. You should definitely try later and make sure that it works. Usually this feature is pretty reliable. I can give you the name of the site to get the malware removal software. My brother fixed my dad's machine and had to use three programs in addition to McAfee to get all the bad stuff off of it.

I think you can probably divide Hellebores any time. The key is not to stress the plant, which you do by dividing when it's dormant or growing the most slowly.

Some people say late winter or early spring. I don't get the early spring part - that's when they're blooming.

Others say to wait until the fall, which makes sense to me. Mine are due, but I don't want to disturb the blossoms right now. I'll probably do it in the fall when the plants go completely dormant if I get it on my list and get through my list.

I mean when do I divide the iris's?
I have a mac computer and they usually don't get malware so I will try again later and see what happens.

Iris are best divided right after flowering in early summer, but that's here in the Midwest. It might be different since you're in God's Country. Cut the flower stalks back to stubs and trim the leaves to create little 3" fans of foliage. Plant the rhizomes very shallow. It helps to create a little ridge in the hole to place the rhizome on, with the roots hanging over the sides for easy burial. They'll root and be ready to bloom next spring.

Portland - it's ok, the Iris can take that tough talk, and usually snap to attention.
Normal division time for Iris is as Hoosier pointed out.
However - if you are pressed for time and/or space, it can be done anytime the ground is not frozen. In the event of an untimely move, you will want to speak sweetly to them...

Thanks Hoosier - I will do that after they finish blooming.

Kayte - you mean sweet talk them then yank them up and hack them in half! I can do that! But I will wait until they finish blooming. LOL

EXACTLY!!!! =:0)

last hellebore pic - I couldn't get it to work before.

Yeah - if you're on a MAC, you're most likely okay. Good!!

So can you give us the names of the Hellebore pictures you posted?

Nice pics Sally, If you want to make sure you get the seeds, take a pantyhose and cover the flower till its ready to harvest. I did that with my Setosa Isis. Save old pantyhose, it works.

Laurie, they are Bluebells, bright green. Not sure about Snow Drops.
And yes I will be saving seed to share. LOL I knew you would volunteer
me. Love them and want to share the harvest. LOL

LOL on the sweet talk, yanking, then hacking!!!

Yes, talk nice to them or they will eat you!

Datura/Jimson Weed pod?
Looks like it talks/yells.....screams?

Portland, do you know what parts of the iris to keep and replant and what to toss? No hacking required, they break apart at the joins quite easily. Your hellebores are very pretty.

I have about 35 or more seedlings from last year if they all make it. They should be hellebores argulifloius (the one Pix showed), Heronwood red and H. yellow and maybe snow bunting. I also have some babies around my original lenten rose bunch. I will probably need to share some of those^_^

Funny, looks like it bites also.



This message was edited Feb 4, 2009 7:24 PM

Datura I think, Pretty purple, double, or triple flower. It came up in the compost pile. I looks vicious doesn't it?

Those are really lovely, Portland! You have a couple of kinds there and they will be outgrowing that windowbox fairly soon, so I hope that is their temporary home. Hellebores have deep roots and need a bit of room as they grow. I love the color of that peachy one. Is it a named variety? Such an unusual color on it. Definitely do not pinch back.

On your iris, if you just moved into the house, they are likely to need dividing as already stated, and at the time already stated. After bloom is best. Right now, be sure to protect them from slugs as they love to make the leaves really ugly looking. Talking to them is good, but be nice. As Kayte always says, everything wants to grow. Send a mean vibration to them and they just may fail to flower for you! If they have been in place for a long time, they may be several layers deep, with rhizomes growing on top of rhizomes... It can get crazy. Also, they actually like to have their tubers barely above the soil and this is the proper way to plant them, so when you divide and replant, do not bury the tubers. They like to bake in the sun during the summer and this will help them bloom beautifully.

Tills, here are some snowdrops. They are such a nice early bulb. If you want large areas of them, the best way is to lift them while they are blooming ("in the green", right, Laurie?) and divide them and replant. They will not miss a beat and next year you will have even more.

YIKes! I missed so many posts while typing! Nice seedpod there!

I have snowdrops up and blooming. I also have a larger one that is just now showing some growth, about 2". Thank for the info I didn't know you could lift them while they were up. Great.

What is your larger one? Is it a Leucojum? I saw some beautiful ones blooming up through hydrangea branches in early spring down in Salem at one of the gardens there. I bought a bunch of Leucojum vernum bulbs to underplant my many hydrangeas. I hope they were the right ones and bloom at the right time! Sometimes the sellers mis-mark them so the bloom time is off.

I didn't even take the hellebores out of the nursery pots yet. I do plan to put them in the ground when I decide where I want them. I enjoy seeing them every time I come to the front porch.
I love the snowdrops! And ok, I will talk sweetly to all the iris. I suspect there are layers of rhizomes under there. I will be busy next fall dividing them!

Just think how relieved they will be! I'm sure they do not enjoy growing on top of one another, and think of the blooms going to waste!