I could not resist buying a large (expensive) Helleborus x nigersmithii 'Ivory Prince'. Now, I am not quite sure where to plant it. Anyone grow Lenten roses in South Central Texas? I thought I would plant them in a shady area; however, I read that they need to be in sun in the winter (under a deciduous tree) and shade/afternoon shade in the summer. I may have made a serious mistake buying it ... but, it kept asking me to take it home. Any help with cultivating it would be appreciated. I need to stick to native plants! :o)
Lenten Rose
Htop the Helleborus is one of the hardiest and blooming plant around... it takes sun and shade ... but not as much sun... once they are established ... it blooms profusely.I must have about 15 or 20 and got more on order from one of the coops.
I will take pics tommorrow I:)
Years ago a friend gave me a Lenten Rose. I moved it seven years ago when I came to this house. This year it didn't come back. I am so sad. Can't imagine what happened.
City_Sylvia and gabriell, thanks for your responses.
I've planted mine facing east ~and facing west. The ones facing west do far better than the ones facing east.
They can take more sun that you think.
They are planted near a fence, so they don't get full sun all day, but I'd say they get from 1-2, on.
The others facing east grow much more slowly, and skip flowering some years.
seedpicker_TX, thanks for the info. I was going to plant them in an east facing bed that receives morning sun for a short time until I found several sites that stated that they needed more sunlight to bloom. Decisions, decisions ...
Dear Lord ... I dont know which way is east or west! I think mine are going north and south. :0)lol
htop,
When I got my first hellebore, I planted it in what I thought was a partially shady bed (I'm new to this house and am still learning where it's sunny and shady). It turned out that that bed got afternoon sun and faced west. The poor hellebore did its best to just hang on and didn't grow much that first year. Then I got others and put them in a more shady bed and they took off. I moved the first one to the shady bed and in only a couple of months it had caught up in size to the others that were planted directly in the shady bed. This is the first winter they have all been in that bed. It's partially under an evergreen tree and partially under a pomegranate which is deciduous. They all have grown a lot and are blooming heavily. This bed will get a short amount of afternoon sun in the summer. They are planted with hostas, ferns and heucheras, so they enjoy some moisture and will wilt if they get too dry but they do recover quickly. There are several online sources of them in the US and their websites provide growing information. Don't know whether I can mention them here since that may be construed as promoting them, so I won't, but if you need more info, please dmail me.
I'm by no means an expert as this is my second year growing them, but I've done a lot of reading up on them.
Sarah
Hazel, you know that they are evergreen, too. As lovely as their blossoms are, that's one of the things I like best about them--they are a splash of green when everything else is dormant and bare. It's also a thrill when it's early Feb and you're so ready for winter to end, and you look outside and they're blooming. So cheery.
All of mine grow under deciduous trees, so they get more sun in the winter. I haven't paid a lot of attention to orientation. Really, nothing seems to bother them much. The only drawback I can think of is that they take 2-3 years to mature to bloom. That makes the larger ones relatively expensive.
City_Sylvia, sometimes I don't know if I'm up or down. :o) Thanks for the information.
Sarah, the plant you moved seems to be a happy camper now with all of its brothers and sisters. Thanks for sharing your experiences with them. I am going to wait and see how this one does before obtaining others. I have a feeling I won't be able to stop at just having one. I will dmail you when I decide to buy some more.
pbtxlady, their being evergreen is a real plus especially when I have a lot of native plants that die back each winter. I did not know that it takes 2 or 3 years for them to bloom. No wonder the one I have was so expensive. Thanks for the information.
Has anyone tried to propagate them.I wanted to share one with a dear friend.
I have 3 in a west facing bed under a deciduous tree. 2 are blooming, one is barely hanging on.They been there about 2 years.Lovely evergreen and long lasting spring flowers.
Some hybrids may be more hardy , but don't know what to recommend. I have orientalis.
bananna18, thanks for the photo of your beautiful plant. It sure looks happy showing off its blooms. Maybe someone will come along that has some experience with propagated them. Is that a Knotweed 'Red Dragon' (Persicaria microcephala) in the background? I love this plant and mine is about the same size as yours right now. Thanks for your reply.
Yes that is Red Dragon! I have been pleased with it. It has returned 2 years now and is well behaved! I love the leaves.
I have a lot of shade as it seems you do too. I found it was getting too dark...so I am looking for lighter color plants or flowers.
Your white blooming Lenten rose stands out even more with the 'Red Dragon' in the background. In my shady area, I am doing the same thing. :o)
Since I first posted on this subject, I have discovered my Lenten Rose has appeared. I just can't imagine why it is so late, always it blooms before Easter. At least it has come back.
gabriell, yippee! Maybe it knew you were thinking about it and it couldn't let you down. :o)
Here is one of my little Helleborus. its heavy with flowers. I really want some of the darker colors, but they are so expensive. These I have had for about five years and they multiply rapidly ... just takea while to bloom. I am sitting here with a box full i just got from a Coop plus 30 Toad lillys ... we never stop planting do we? I went to HD to get mushroom compost, came home with Crimson Queen, a Taumo? and a Chocolate Mimosa ... I was never so excited...and I have about forty Ferns coming. lol I love it! No telling what else I got coming ... oh yes ... more Hostas!
Your plant is so healthy and happy looking. I hope mine does as well. We could have worse "addictions". :o)
Thanks Htop ... yours will look good, just think of it as a evergreen for a while. :)
I will!