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Bare-Root Hellebore Purchases?
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Posted by Cheryl_IL z5 NE-IL (My Page) on Sun, May 11, 03 at 22:22
| I've heard that disturbing their roots to that extent kills them. They may finish flowering and growing their first season but then die off.
Does anyone have experience with ordering bare-root hellebores and what was your success after planting? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Bare-Root Hellebore Purchases?
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| I have had some success and some trouble. I do not think bare root is a problem in and of itself. More important is how long the plant has been bare root and under what conditions. If you receive plants that have had their roots washed in the past few days, packaged carefully, and sent without delay, then there should be no problem. Also, I prefer to receive them in fall or early spring. |
RE: Bare-Root Hellebore Purchases?
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Given a choice, you will have better results with a potted plant, however small. Of all the bare root Helleborus that I have ever purchased, not one survived past the first year and some never showed any signs of new growth. I have a friend that has grown and sold Helleborus by mail-order for about 25 years and he states that he would NEVER ship one bare-root, nor will he sell one locally without the soil attached.
Rb |
RE: Bare-Root Hellebore Purchases?
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Hi Razorback33,
I agree with jwoodard, it is in how the plant is handled. I have never had a problem with bare root hellebores, they should be dug, divided, shipped and replanted promptly. I also think large divisions is the way to go. In my zone USDA 5, I divide and transplant hellebore all spring into summer and early fall. I send bare root plants most seasons of the year and receiving gardeners have reported good results. How else can we exchange clones of hellebores if not by divisions. Cheryl, the success of buying bare root perennials is with the grower and gardener. If both know how to handle hellebores you will no doubt have success. Check the grower out, go to Doug's Watchdog and do a search. Always Gardening,
Bruce |
RE: Bare-Root Hellebore Purchases?
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| I agree with Joseph and Bruce. My opinion is a rather strong one and I get tired of reading in books, magazines, etc. that hellebores resent their roots being disturbed. The caulescent species (H. foetidus, H. argutifolius and H. lividus) are more difficult to deal with but not impossible. The acaulescent group, which includes the hybrids, really don't protest all that much to their roots being disturbed. Okay, so a recently divided/bare rooted hellebore may take a year off of flowering but this often has nothing to do with being divided/bare rooted and everything to do with the plant simply not being large enough to produce flowers. Like Bruce, I deal with a considerable amount of divisions every year and can count annual losses on one hand. I have collected plants from wild colonies which means that plants often get carried around in a suitcase for a week or so. I bare root them and wrap the plants in damp kitchen towel and then in bubble wrap. I have never lost a plant that I have collected from the wild. Indeed, a very well known grower of species hellebores here in the UK, sends hundreds of bare rooted divisions out every year and nearly all survive. Bruce hit the nail on the head; whether or not your bare rooted hellebores survive is entirely in the hands of the person that bare rooted it and/or the recipient. The plant cannot be blamed if it dies! I pot all of my bare rooted divisions into a very well drained mix that contains a large amount of composted bark. I'm sure that many people fail with such plants because they pot the division into a stodgy mix that holds far too much water. The mix that I use needs watering more often than a 'normal' mix but never becomes waterlogged. If a hellebore that was received bare rooted does go dormant soon after being potted up, DON'T throw the pot away. I have received bare rooted species plants in May/June which have gone dormant only three or four weeks later and not emerged until the following February, having suffered no ill effects as a result of their prolonged dormancy. If only we could put the myth that hellebores resent disturbance to bed once and for all. Tim |
RE: Bare-Root Hellebore Purchases?
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| Re: the bare root problem(?): I'm fairly new to Hellebores. I started with a dozen of the Pine Knot plants last fall. This spring I impulsively bought three H. atrorubens that were "dirt cheap." This was during Wayside's "we've got to get rid of this stuff before it crokes" spring sale. Well, what I received was not only bare root - it was all root and nothing but root. I potted them up in some good dirt, snuggled the pots in under the gardenias, and babied them all summer. They were soon putting up leaves. I planted them in the ground in early September and they've put on steady growth ever since. Never give up on them. Just an observation from a novice who didn't know any better. |
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