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bhnash

Hellebore seedling forest

bhnash
15 years ago

I have read the other threads about potting up hellebore seedlings, thought I'd post a photo of my little hellebore forest before I move lots of them to pots. Too bad all I have is white. I purchased two 4" pots about 3 years ago, neither blooming at the time, hoping for some color. I got a short 9" white, and a tall 2' white. They are beautiful, but I still want some dark ones, and maybe a double too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hellebore seedlings

Comments (7)

  • georgia-rose
    15 years ago

    H. x hybridus can produce almost any color of flower, except red, but some of the dark pinks appear almost red.
    I have an old (~25yrs.) pink flowered one, not an exceptionally pretty one, that has always produced pure white flowering offspring.
    Self fed seedlings of a yellow one has produced various yellow offspring, including one double yellow, one with red-ish nectaries, another with green nectaries, 2 with rose pink exterior hue and yellow interior, and a solid pink one. Waiting for flowers on the remaining ones, to see what other surprises are in store!

    You may have several colors appearing among the seedlings.That's the intriguing part of growing these colorful winter flowering plants.
    I wish more gardeners were interested in growing Hellebores.Among my many Garden Club friends, very few grow them, most aren't even interested. Difficult for me to comprehend!
    Good luck!

  • bhnash
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Well that is good to hear! Don't know how many I can feasibly keep until bloom, but I'll leave many in the bed I'm sure. It will be fun to see if I get any variations.

  • finchelover
    15 years ago

    when can you see seedling from your plants....several years . I had Hellebore for about 3 years and see no seedlings and I don't disturb area around it.

  • razorback33
    15 years ago

    finchlover....
    It is not that unusual for Helleborus x hybridus to wait several years, before producing viable seed.
    I have 3 dark purple-flowering plants that were purchased about 8 years ago and each was placed in separate areas of the garden. One produced seedlings the second year, one required 5 years to produce seedlings and the third one has never produced a seedling.
    A white double produced seed within 3 years, but only 5 seed of the hundreds produced, were viable. It has not produced viable seed since that time (5 years).

    Some of my oldest plants (20+ years old) has never produced seedlings and in contrast, others have produced thousands!
    Most of my garden has basically the same soil composition, receives essentially the same amount of moisture and all is well drained, but there are many gradients of sunlight and light exposure. This does not seem to be a factor in seed production, as plants that are side-by-side, will not have the same propensity for seed production.

    I usually ignore the long established axiom of planting in groups of 3, but in the case of Helleborus, I tried that in hopes of obtaining cross pollination and seed production. It didn't accomplish the objective, in most instances.

    I would advise patience. You could be rewarded in the future. If seed production is an objective, you might try hand pollination, by collecting pollen on a Q-tip and depositing it on the stigma. The stigma is only receptive for a short period of time and that may not coincide with the maturity of the pollen on the same plant, so cross pollination could increase the odds of fertilization. An alternative might be, the addition a few more plants to your collection, increasing the odds of having a prolific seed producer.
    MO
    Rb

  • ikea_gw
    14 years ago

    bhnash, that looks just like my seedling forest near the two helleborus I have. I will probably move them into a designated helleborus seedling area. Does anyone know when is a good time to move them?

  • razorback33
    14 years ago

    I have moved them almost anytime during the year, but usually avoid the hot summertime. Am in the process of transplanting about 100 seedlings from cell-packs, where the seed were sown and roots are coming out of the bottom, into larger pots. I grow them in pots until they bloom and only keep the ones with attractive and/or unusual flowers.
    The seedlings are from yellow and mixed color doubles and a very dark puple/near black single flower.
    When removing the seedlings from under the mother plants, I wait until they have developed true leaves (three leaflets) and gently prick them out, handling them only with the leaves. At this point the stems and roots are very tender and can be easily bruised or damaged by handling, causing the plant to fail. After they become established in their new home and begin to grow on, I will often fertilize them a few times with a weak solution (¼-½ recommended concentration) of 15-30-15 water soluble MiracleGrow.

    I find seed to be an interesting and rewarding method of propagating Helleborus. I am currently growing 13 species, seed starting two more and on the waiting list for a third.
    Rb

  • geoforce
    14 years ago

    I generally move my seedlings as soon as the first true-leaf is fully expanded. True, most are moved to the compost pile but I generally set the ones from around my favorite plants in a raised bed where they will show first bloom in about 2-3 years. Then 90% of these go into the compost or donated to friends, neighbors or local plant sales. Keep only the best!!

    If I saved all of even 1 year's seedling crop I think it would cover several acres as mature plants. I save more of the H. niger seedlings as they are much slower growers.

    George

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