Gotta Garden

Saturday, April 02, 2011

Fun With Hellebores

I know it's daffodil time (pictures coming!)...however, I'm so excited about the hellebores! For several years, I have been trying to add double hellebores. I've only had the one lovely pink I brought back from Hersonwood some years ago that was a dependable definite double. That changed this year!

My luck has been mixed (mostly bad) with the tiny starts of various doubles I've purchased through the years. This year, I am finally seeing some...and these guys have made it through some serious trials.

Enjoy with me....


in bud...


open....





Golden Lotus Strain...


(a lovely yellow, if my photo doesn't quite make that clear)


This one is actually blooming on the other side of the pink clump (above)...I'm guessing I got tired of waiting on it...or thought it might not make it...as these are clearly too close...


It's not as yellow as Golden Lotus Strain....hard to tell from this picture, though....

The one below has its extra petals clustered in the center...


These last ones were 'take a chance' ones...meaning that they were/are seedlings that had a high percentage of doubles (one actually isn't...oh well...no picture as it just a rather common mauve colored one)...


This picture is kinda amusing. It looks like Mrs. Betty Ronicar has been removed....by something....ha. Actually, she went missing (died) some time ago, but there is a lot of mischief in the garden by critters...


We're getting off to a good start here. March brought us more rain than the average, so right now the ground is moist and perfect for pulling all those weeds that grow by leaps and bounds overnight...perhaps I'll actually uncover my back yard one of these days...

5 comments:

Randy Emmitt said...

oh, my some of the nicest hellebores I have ever seen. Good source for these awesome doubles? Or seeds? We have lots of hellebores here and only one double that is too young to bloom.

Gotta Garden said...

Hi there: I have bought from Pine Knot Farms for years. You can order online or find them at some plant sales.

Hmmm, I would say, though, that the ones that most please me are not seedlings but selected ones (cost more)...even buying as small starts. The waiting is hard, though.

Some good advice I received was to not plant these small ones directly in the ground (as I had been doing), but to pot them up...and not in a large pot...let them grow and then plant them out in the fall. I wish I had known this before, as it does seem to make a major difference.

I bought some good ones through a co-op on Daves...would buy in a heartbeat if the same gal did it again; however, haven't seen or heard anything this year...

Good luck in your hunt...once you see the doubles, it's hard to go back...lol!

Rick Meigs said...

Ernie & Marietta O'Byrne at Northwest Garden Nursery are doing some wonderful work with hellebores. They have a list of nurseries that carry their plants on their website -- lots of pictures also.

Jean Campbell said...

They are lovely, almost too lovely to be real. I've never grown hellebores, do not know if they grow in hot and sandy south Georgia. Daffodils are done here. Ah, Spring!

Shady Gardener said...

Gotta - You have experienced great results with your double H's! I've just ordered some of my first, and I hope they do well. Isn't this a wonderful time of year? :-) Esp. when you see things like This!

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