new Hellebore

[chris]

as you see the pictures from you Ian than there is no doubt that Ashwood is still the best nursery, Tim your plants are beautiful especialy the dard double.
here a few from me

[ian mcenery]

Chris you have some fabulous plants I particulary like the Apricot Anemone form.

[Maggi Young]

Chris, that black  IS BLACK! Wonderful!

[Tim Murphy]

Thank you Chris, I've been admiring your plants also. As nice as some hybrids are, I still (and always will have) a preference for species hellebores and as you also grow them, I thought you might be interested in these photos.

The first is a plant from very high up in the Velebit mountains, Croatia. I transferred the pollen from this plant to a pure white flowered hybrid. The second photo shows the result of that cross. It's nothing special by a long way, but it is interesting to see which characteristics pass across to the species x hybrid plant.

I might plant it out just to see how it stands up to hard frosts compared to the rest of the hybrids here, which are looking awful now that we've had a few very cold nights. Seed set will be affected here this year. The species parent in that cross is from a site that is so high up and that receives so much snow that flowering plants can been seen during late June and seed isn't ripe there until very late July/early August. As a comparison, I collect seed of all the other species in that part of the world in either late May or late June. It would be interesting if this hybrid proved to be a little more tough because of the pollen parent plant's origins.

[Diane Whitehead]

Tim, I am surprised at how pink the hybrid is - did all that colour come from the red rim on the Velebit wild flower?

[Tim Murphy]

Hello Diane, I can't give you a definite answer as I don't know the history of the pure white flowered hybrid; whether it came from a line of pure whites, in which case the pink is from the wild plant, or whether the white flowered hybrid is from a line of pinks, in which case the pink colour could be influence from the hybrid. Either is possible. If I had thought more about it when I did the cross, I would have used a plant of true species orientalis with wild provenance. Then, if the pink was as visible as it is in my photo, we would know that it originates from the species plant.

It's perfectly reasonable to presume that it is from the species plant too; this plant is from an extremely variable colony (like most hellebores) and all sorts of flower colours and patterns can be seen there. As I'm sure you know, one can take 20 seeds from one wild species plant (of torquatus for example) sow it, and find that three or four years later the offspring are extremely variable; some will resemble the parent whilst other seedlings show no resemblance at all. It's perfectly reasonable to presume that the species plant in the photo has the capacity to produce offspring with more colour on the sepals than it has on its own sepals.

Here is another plant from a site close to, but at a lower altitude than the site mentioned in the post above. It has a very attractive dark rim which breaks into veins.

[Geebo]

Hello to all,
I enjoy all the picures and post for the last day`s as always,in the same time we have been planthunting again,this time to Altemont Gardens in county Carlow where the run a Galanthus week every february,the garden center attached to the garden has always some hellebores in stock from Ashwood,so you understand the temptation,it is imposible to go home empty handed,Ian we know the feeling he,the are pricy but we wont mention,was reading an article in the press were a lady has a Hellebore growing in there garden for around 100 years,so its a small price realy.

Chris here is the Apricot after opening up and showing the colors ??!!
I just love it,Your double is fab,Im loosing sleep over it,found a anemone flowering pink today,post it on later

Tim,Your post is very interesting to read,I also like the species,this year im doing some crossing with Odorus and Multifidus/mult,who knows what the end result will be.
Here my pics enjoy,
Cheers,
Geebo

[chris]

Geebo, I wish I sow that Apricot, I'm looking forward to your crossings with odorus, sometimes the result will be good yellows.
Tim beautiful plants, about that pink crossing here my opinion: I made also crossings with a lot of species an with Hibrids where I can go 5 generations back and it is strange that some caracteristics from the first plant shows up afther all these crossings, so I think that your hibrid was maby a crossing where pink was involved, I hope you do the crossing with a true orientalis specie,
here one of me:

[Tim Murphy]

Very nice flowers Geebo and Chris. I agree with you Chris that Geebo may well end up with some nice yellows from crossing mult. mult. with odorus. The added advantage is that some nice foliage will also appear, mainly because of the finely divided foliage of mult. mult. Intermediate foliage would be very attractive, don't you think?

The development of attractive foliage appeals to me and I will be using H. abruzzicus in many of my crosses this year and in the future. Bringing finely divided foliage into the hybrid group will extend the season of interest, and H. abruzzicus has the added advantage of being a vigorous species.

[Paddy Tobin]

Geebo,

Fabulous flowers. I love the double picotee in particular.

HOWEVER, I think the chap in the garden centre at Altamont Gardens has the flower fashion well sussed out. He travels over to Ashwood to select and purchase hellebores, transports then back to Co. Carlow and can be sure of selling them - even at very high  prices. You see this plant gathering is an illness which strikes us and we are helpless to resist.

Paddy

[David Nicholson]

Chris-your yellow is beautiful, absolutely beautiful

[David Shaw]

See how we all have different tastes, even in one genera.
I go for Chris's black any day - though I quite like the yellow as well!

[chris]

here another three, the same yellow after 2 weeks, a double Picotee and another pink anemone flower

[Geebo]

Hello Chris,
The are just fab pictures again.and such beauties,Whow
Is there odorus involved in the first one ?
Geebo.

[chris]

hi Geebo,
no H.odorus but H.multifidus ssp.bocconei 4 crosses back