Hepatica 2022

[Herman Mylemans]

Since it will be -6C tonight, we had to put frost cloth over our Hepatica in our outdoor propagation area and cover some of plants in the garden. I won't be able to remove the frost cloth for several days, so I was looking through some of my Hepatica pictures from earlier this month.

Here is one of my H. americana from about two weeks ago. For some reason, even in the US, true H. americana is not easily available (especially on the West Coast), and what is sold is frequently actually H. nobilis or some sort of hybrid.

Peppa, that is a very nice H. americana. I have also one in flower.

[Herman Mylemans]

Arthur, first I saw your pictures but now I don't! Is the extension from your pictures something else then .JPG?

[Starking007]

That`s .jpg. But I dont find how large the Pictures could be.
May be tey are deleted again?

[Herman Mylemans]

That`s .jpg. But I dont find how large the Pictures could be.
May be tey are deleted again?

Arthur: look at https://www.srgc.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=65.0

[Gunilla]

Lovely H. americana, Peppa and Herman.  I wish I could grow them better. H. nobilis and H. acutiloba are no problems but the H. americana  I have tried are not happy at all. What am I doing wrong?

[Herman Mylemans]

Lovely H. americana, Peppa and Herman.  I wish I could grow them better. H. nobilis and H. acutiloba are no problems but the H. americana  I have tried are not happy at all. What am I doing wrong?

Gunilla, americana may stand drier and more acidic than nobilis and acutiloba. I have problems with japonica in our garden, I can’ t keep them. Probably our winters are too wet!

[Gunilla]

Gunilla, americana may stand drier and more acidic than nobilis and acutiloba. I have problems with japonica in our garden, I can’ t keep them. Probably our winters are too wet!

Same here, Herman. I grow H. japonica in pots and cold frames with cover. They don't last long in the garden. My garden soil is mostly clay and not acidic.  Maybe I should try to plant H. americana in the rhododendron area.

[Peppa]

That`s .jpg. But I dont find how large the Pictures could be.
May be tey are deleted again?

I was able to see your pictures yesterday, but I can't see them any more... I wonder why...

Herman, Lovely H. americana!

Gunilla, even though H. americana and H. acutiloba grow in different conditions in nature, I use a basically similar potting mix and they seem to grow fine for me. But I have noticed that H. americana is slower and needs more time to get going for me relative to H. acutiloba...

[Maggi Young]

Some photos from Starking007  were removed as they were not showing for the Moderator - it seems they may have been visible for  others so returning them to the thread.
Starking007's photos are still not visible here.

 Apologies if they are not visible to some viewers.

[Gabriela]

Some photos from Starking007  were removed as they were not showing for the Moderator - it seems they may have been visible for  others so returning them to the thread.
Starking007's photos are still not visible here.

 Apologies if they are not visible to some viewers.

I also cannot see them, which is fine. But maybe we can try not to have them included when someone includes the author quote; it will make for long scrolls through this thread, with  very large, empty 'squares'.

[Gabriela]

Same here, Herman. I grow H. japonica in pots and cold frames with cover. They don't last long in the garden. My garden soil is mostly clay and not acidic.  Maybe I should try to plant H. americana in the rhododendron area.

I agree with Herman and Peppa Gunilla. H. americana enjoys slightly acidic, drier locations. Clay is surely not good as a substrate. In my garden they do well even in regular garden beds soil as long as there is good drainage.
In nature they are often found on rocky slopes in deciduous forests, where they receive plenty of sunlight during flowering. They are also amazingly drought resistant, so in cultivation keeping them on the drier side after flowering is best than over watering.

Seedlings speaking, like Peppa mentioned, they are slower to grow than H. acutiloba, H. nobilis and H. japonica. If I would be to rate them all after a 2 or 3 years old seedling size, H. acutiloba and H. nobilis would be first, followed by H. japonica and H. americana last.
I never had a 2 year old H. americana flowering, although I am sure it could happen one day

[Gunilla]

Thankyou Herman, Peppa and Gabriela for your good advice.  I will try to give H. americana better growing conditions in my garden.  I do love them even if they are a bit slow to mature  . 

[mellifera]

Hep. jap. 'Utyuu' is flowering

[Diane Whitehead]

I have no luck with plants native to the Eastern U.S.A. or Japan.

Japan has a rainfall pattern opposite to mine - rainy summers and dry winters.  It was so odd to see all the brown grass in the winter in Japan, and persimmons put along poles to dry in the sun. 

I think the Eastern U.S.A. is similar, though I haven't been there except briefly in spring.

[Peppa]

I have no luck with plants native to the Eastern U.S.A. or Japan.

Japan has a rainfall pattern opposite to mine - rainy summers and dry winters.  It was so odd to see all the brown grass in the winter in Japan, and persimmons put along poles to dry in the sun. 

I think the Eastern U.S.A. is similar, though I haven't been there except briefly in spring.

Diane, I think I live in a similar climate to yours. I grow Hepatica mainly in pots because it is easier to cross them, but I found that Japanese Hepatica do best in pots here in Seattle because they need less winter moisture. They don’t grow as well as H. nobilis does in an open garden here since H. nobilis seems less finicky about the soil or moisture they get. Niigata prefecture in Japan (where many Hepatica grow natively) is frequently covered in snow in the winter, so the plants get lots of water with the spring thaw.

However, H. acutiloba seem fine in the ground in my garden and they don't care as much about soil conditions as Japanese ones. That being said, all Hepatica in the ground do much better when I divide them and clean the roots every few years while they are in their prime. Waiting too long will cause the plants to decline, and they will take several years to recover.