Hepatica 2020

[Carsten]

It has been a mild autumn this year, and some Hepaticas have already very big buds above ground. The most advanced are H.japonica and H.x schlyteri and to some extent also H.pubescens. H.nobilis doesn't show buds yet.
Many times we can have cold temperatures without snowcover in the beginning of winter, it is often -10C and it can be even -20C.
Last winter was very mild, -13C was the lowest (with practically now snow) and there were no damage then, but I don't remember if buds were this advanced then.
What would you advise be to protect these buds of H.japonica? Can I put more soil around them or is that bad? I have dry oak leaves which I always spread on top of my most precious plants just before the frosts come, but is that enough?

Dear Leena,
'Shirayuki' indeed seems too much grown out of the substrate as you can see the roots as well. I would give them just a bit of extra substrate to cover just the base of the buds or 1/3 of it. When they do not get extra leaf litter every year like in the woods they tend to grow out of the substate easily. And extra protection as the others said helps, too 

[Leena]

Thank you Herman, Gabriela and Carsten!
I was thinking of adding more sandy soil around the plants, but wasn't sure if it was ok. Now I will do it! Thank you.
I'm glad you could see from the picture just how above ground the buds are.
I use dried oak leaves around many of my special plants, and so far it has been enough for my seed grown H.japonica, but these double ones are even more precious for me, so that is why I asked.

Those buds are looking very promising Leena! I suspect is because H. japonica has its genetic clock set to flower much earlier than other species.

I was thinking just the same, that it must be genetical, but as long as they don't get damaged by the cold, it is ok.
I can't wait for next spring, there are so many nice plants coming into flower, some for the first time, and some have grown so they look now even better than previously. And then there are new seeds which should germinate in the spring:).

[Gabriela]

I was thinking just the same, that it must be genetical, but as long as they don't get damaged by the cold, it is ok.
I can't wait for next spring, there are so many nice plants coming into flower, some for the first time, and some have grown so they look now even better than previously. And then there are new seeds which should germinate in the spring:).

What I hope Leena, is that by growing successive generations of H. japonica, some will adapt and reset their flowering clock. Wanting to flower somewhere February in the ground is a big no, no here, or other cold regions.
Yes, there is a lot to look fwd in the spring! and just to let you know that some of the Hepatica japonica seeds have already started the germination! (found them last week in few leftovers bags, I just sowed them all of course).
H. japonica - the form I showed with pink/white flowers, call it 'Cherry Blossoms'

H. japonica ex. Murasaki

[Leena]

Yes, there is a lot to look fwd in the spring! and just to let you know that some of the Hepatica japonica seeds have already started the germination! (found them last week in few leftovers bags, I just sowed them all of course).

Gabriela, good to know!
My Hepatica seeds are in pots in the root cellar (from my own plants, from your seeds and from seeds bought elsewhere - there are 14 pots of Hepatica sown this year!), I have to keep an eye on them if they start to germinate this early. Actually it is nice to have seedling pots inside under lamps during winter, it helps winter pass more quickly:).

[Gabriela]

Gabriela, good to know!
My Hepatica seeds are in pots in the root cellar (from my own plants, from your seeds and from seeds bought elsewhere - there are 14 pots of Hepatica sown this year!), I have to keep an eye on them if they start to germinate this early. Actually it is nice to have seedling pots inside under lamps during winter, it helps winter pass more quickly:).

Only 14 Leena? 
Only the roots will grow now, the leaves should appear somewhere in the spring. It is good to know some of the forms are growing roots and will germinate completely in the spring though; not all are doing it in the first year as we know.
This remains a mystery for me, why when kept in the same conditions some Hepatica seeds germinate in the first year and some only in the second spring? unless is an adaptation to produce offsprings over successive years, as a back up policy.

[Gunilla]

What I hope Leena, is that by growing successive generations of H. japonica, some will adapt and reset their flowering clock. Wanting to flower somewhere February in the ground is a big no, no here, or other cold regions.
Yes, there is a lot to look fwd in the spring! and just to let you know that some of the Hepatica japonica seeds have already started the germination! (found them last week in few leftovers bags, I just sowed them all of course).

That is something to hope for Gabriela, then it would be much easier to grow them outside in the garden. Some of my H. japonica have already started to flower and winter hasn't even started yet.
Last year at the beginning of December I emptied a pot with hepatica seed sown earlier that year. I wanted to see if something was going on under the surface. The roots were more developed than I could have guessed.

[Leena]

Gunilla, the roots are really big. I didin't know Hepaticas were also plants which grow roots first, then after cold leaves in spring.
It seems many spring plants are like this.

Maybe a  stupid question, but what time of year Hepaticas grow most roots? In summer after flowering or autumn?

[Gunilla]

Leena, I believe they grow most roots in spring and autumn. This is also the time when I repot and/or divide my plants.

[Leena]

Thanks Gunilla:). We were just talking with a friend about Hepaticas, and how if they are planted/transplanted in spring/early summer, they don't grow any more new leaves all summer, and seem to start growing again well only the next year. I was thinking that maybe they grow only roots the same year when transplanted and then after rooting properly, grow more and better leaves year after that.

[Herman Mylemans]

Very interesting comment! Thank you. We still learn every day.

[Gabriela]

That is something to hope for Gabriela, then it would be much easier to grow them outside in the garden. Some of my H. japonica have already started to flower and winter hasn't even started yet.
Last year at the beginning of December I emptied a pot with hepatica seed sown earlier that year. I wanted to see if something was going on under the surface. The roots were more developed than I could have guessed.

Wow, it is so early Gunilla. Are they in the greenhouse?
I am confident that some will adapt in time. I also left pots with H. japonica in my cold frame last winter (a simple frame with minimal protection) and the ones old enough flowered in late March and April, so almost the same like the native ones. In the ground, the soil heats up fast in the spring and it may be different though.

Thank you for the picture! They are so cute. I always wondered at the long roots the tiny seedlings can grow.
I will look for few pictures showing the roots I took last spring before transplanting young seedlings. I had a best ever success with transplanting very early before they started to grow.
I only transplant early spring and fall now (sometimes even very late fall); even when I moved plants in the garden I noticed these are the best times to do it.

[Gabriela]

Arranging and transplanting the Hepatica japonica I keep in pots, I remember about a subject I wanted to open in the spring. Now there is more time.

It is about fragrance in Hepatica flowers. I found the first H. acutiloba and H. americana with +/- fragrant flowers by getting down on the ground to take close-up pictures.
I though it was normal people never noticed fragrant flowers because how many will lay on their belly in the woodlands close to the flowers? And the flowering is very short some years, because it can get very warm, very fast in early May.

I was very surprised last spring though when one of the H. japonica seedlings (ex. Murasaki) flowered with a nice fragrance! It is much easier to notice it when the plants are in pots displayed at height.
So, how come there is no mention of fragrance from anyone who grows Hepatica japonica in pots? Or there may be mention in some Japanese publications that I don't have access to read?

This little cutie is the fragrant one, the only from the whole batch of flowering seedlings ex. Murasaki (all delightful though)

[Gunilla]

Gabriella, I grow my H. japonica in pots in coldframes. When they start to flower early I sometimes take them inside to enjoy the flowers.
 
I have one plant, a Hepatica japonica from Gunhild Poulsen, with very nice fragrance. It is also always one of the first to flower and when I bring the pot inside in the warmth the fragrance fills the room. I have not noticed fragrance in any other hepatica but as you say, you don't get that close to the ones growing outside in the garden  .

I found a picture comparing a first year seedling and a second year seedling and also an old picture of the fragrant H. japonica.

[Véronique Macrelle]

Murasaki is very cute.

 are there any european Hepatica which are also fragrant.?
 I'm still fumbling with the culture of Hepathica. those of the Pyrenees give me white flowers.
 but I still have trouble getting nice, big leaves (normally they have nice speckled leaves). maybe because of the slugs.

Are the varieties easier to grow than the type species?
 do you get volunteer sowing around? not me.
 are the seeds collected by the ants? 2 years in a row that I miss them.

[Gabriela]

Gabriella, I grow my H. japonica in pots in coldframes. When they start to flower early I sometimes take them inside to enjoy the flowers.
 
I have one plant, a Hepatica japonica from Gunhild Poulsen, with very nice fragrance. It is also always one of the first to flower and when I bring the pot inside in the warmth the fragrance fills the room. I have not noticed fragrance in any other hepatica but as you say, you don't get that close to the ones growing outside in the garden  .
I found a picture comparing a first year seedling and a second year seedling and also an old picture of the fragrant H. japonica.

Thank you very much for the confirmation Gunilla - I always thought there must be other fragrant specimens! It is a very nice plant
We should all definitely 'stop and smell the Hepaticas' more often!

After it gets very cold here and it snows, I cannot open the cold frame anymore, until we have what's called a 'January thaw', a few warm days in late January or early February. That's when I will bring under lights few of the potted H. japonica; so in a way I force them to flower early.

Thank you for the seedlings pictures as well; here are a couple from last year when I transplanted them in early spring: H. acutiloba 1 year and a 2 year H. nobilis. The white root tips can be observed. It shows well why tall pots are best to be used, even for younger plants (unfortunately I don't have much choice on the subject).