Starting Hellebores--am I doing it right??

18 years ago

I received seeds from Elizabeth Town Hellebores near the end of March which I promptly set in a good seed starting mix and placed into the fridge. I have not seen any signs yet of any germination. I have seen where other GardenWebers have said that they have seen seedlings emerge while still in the cold stratification phase. Mid May will be 6 weeks in the fridge at which point I plan on bringing the pots to room temperature to go into the next warm period. Am I doing it right? and should I be concerned that I am yet to see any seedlings emerging? This is my first attempt at Hellebores from seed and I guess that I just need some reassurance or guidance if I am not doing something right. Thanks for any info provided.

Comments (3)

morz8 - Washington Coast
18 years ago
It's too early to be concerned you haven't had germination, 6 - 8 weeks of chill after the warm period is often recommended. Then if possible, cool temps rather than warm...what will your outdoor temperatures be like in Z5 when you have finished the chilling period.

My ET seeds were sown in containers and placed outdoors in January, they are just now germinating. In this Z8, they had a few nights below freezing, many days and nights in the 40s, most recently days in the 50's (a few warmer) and nights still in the 40's. One container of niger var. macranthus has not yet begun to germinate, but I've never had ET seeds fail so I'm confident they will when they are ready...
rgvnewf
Original Author
18 years ago
My daytime outdoor temps now are in the low 40's to mid 50's.
My nighttime temps are hovering around freezing and just below. I was wondering about taking my seed pots out of the fridge and placing them outside in a sheltered place and let mother nature do her thing. If I place the pots with the rest of my seedlings inside, then they will be exposed to temps in the range of mid 60's, which I figure may be too high for optimum germination of hellebores. Any thoughts??
morz8 - Washington Coast
18 years ago
That might just work very well, it sounds like your April/May temps might just about equal my Jan/Feb/Mar - mother nature seems to take good care of hellebore seeds here. (and in coastal washington, I don't have to worry about the containers drying out)

You may want to put a piece of screen or chicken wire over the seed pots if placing them outdoors, to keep the birds from poking around in the pots.