Hepatica 2021

[Leena]

Gabriela, I couldn't be more happy with them!

[Joakim B]

Nice to see great success with seeds giving rise to flowering plants

I am now trying to figure out where to plant my hepaticas
The present place has been extended further out in the "grass"
The photo is looking straight south and in the east it is huge conifers giving morning shade.
Sun is there only in the afternoon.
The further away from the hedge the more of the sun it will get.
Is it so that transsylvanica likes sun more than nobilis? in that case I will by having transsylvanicas furthest away from the hedge.
Is it so that either of the two are more prone to get problems with draught? If so then they should be planted further away from the conifers.
I placed the seedlings in between the conifers and the hedge so they get almost constant dappled light only
The Cat Pixel is guarding against any diggers
The crown jewels are my double nobilis and two named transsylvanicas so those 4 must get a good spot and the rest will get as good as possible.
So far I had nobilis further away from the conifer and the nobilis are doing well. Should I mix the plants by colour or subspieces?
How have You done? How would You plant if you were me?  Have in mind that I am playing with 3 square meters.

Thanks for input

[Gabriela]

Joakim, many times there has been mention of the fact that Hepatica (all species) needs shaded locations! especially in regards with the afternoon sun.
I also shown pictures with H. transsilvanica in the habitat, growing in dense shade after trees leaved out.

The only time when they enjoy the sun is in early spring when they flower.
So, I have nothing else to add but wish you good luck.

[Gabriela]

Even if this is a flowery time of the year, I thought that it may be useful to also show Hepaticas during the summer. We mostly post sun drenched spring pictures when they flower and some people may get a wrong impression regarding their growing requirements.

Mainly H. acutiloba, plus a H. nobilis fo. crenatuloba (maiden form) growing under a Carya tree, there is also a Calycanthus floridus nearby. Other species growing in the same spot are Galanthus and Viola odorata fo. alba, plus few ferns.

[Herman Mylemans]

Gabriela, you are right! Hepatica's can have nice leaves in the summer in the shade. The crenatuloba form looks beautiful. He looks a bit like 'Cremar'.
Here, the seedlings that have chosen a sunnier place have their leaves damaged by the sun and heat (dehydratation).

[Leena]

Gabriela, your plants look so fresh an healthy. Very nice looking leaf forms!

[Gabriela]

Thanks Herman and Leena.
Yes, I also think the marbled one looks like Cremar, but who knows, it was a stray seedling from a batch of some H. nobilis.

I water during very dry periods and is a narrow bed so unfortunately I cannot plant more. Because I plant dense, I cannot see how I will keep all plants when they grow more.
I already have (in another narrow bed) H. acutiloba fo. rosea which is in need of more soil badly. The flowers were smaller than usual this spring.


One needs to be inventive to create more suitable spaces for Hepatica I think. For ex. I am trying H. nobilis var. pyrenaica beneath a large Helleborus
In early spring I have to cut some of the leaves anyway, so more light is allowed in that spot (plus the sun has a different inclination).

[Herman Mylemans]

Gabriela, I always cut the leaves of my Helleborus in September.

[Jeffnz]

I remove all leaves when the flowerer spikes start to develop. helps reduce fungus disease, and to achieve a better flower display especially for plants that have a reduced stalk length. In out r climate hellebores do remain in leaf all year round.

[Herman Mylemans]

Here are some pictures from places were I grow Hepatica. You know that in the names of my pictures are always a letter code referring to parts in the garden. So welcome in our garden. Now all the hedges have been trimmed. The shrubs are giving shade in the summer.

[Herman Mylemans]

Not only Hepatica, but also Trillium, Cyclamen, Erythronium, Galanthus, Roscoea....

[Herman Mylemans]

Here Cornus florida ‘Rainbow’ died for a part because of a few dry summers. So a part of the Hepatica's get more sun as you can see on the leaves, but they recover in the spring (till now). 

[Herman Mylemans]

The Hepatica leaves stay better with more shade.

[Herman Mylemans]

Another garden in the garden (OBW). So you always need to go around to see and discover everything.

[Herman Mylemans]

Going further to another part.