February 2009

[ashley]

Thanks Kata.  Spring is on the way

[Tony Willis]

Both those daubenya are wonderful.

here is a picture of a couple of Helleborus niger from seed collected in Italy to show the before and after pollination colour. Not the best of plants particularly to grow in pots but they will not grow in the open garden with me.

[johnw]

Both those daubenya are wonderful.

here is a picture of a couple of Helleborus niger from seed collected in Italy to show the before and after pollination colour. Not the best of plants particularly to grow in pots but they will not grow in the open garden with me.

Tony - Interesting to hear that Helleborus niger is cranky by you.  Here it is not the easiest Hellebore to grow, in fact it is downright difficult here.  A friend here had a huge clump on the north side of his house, the soil had sharp drainage and was on the alkaline side but evenly moist. Anemone japonica Honorine Jobert grew nearby and was equally as lusty, yet both of these plants are terribly difficult to get established here and to live long term.

This year we actually had a niger in full flower at Christmas time, the first time it has lived up to its name. I wonder what it looks like now having been under snow since the New Year.

It would be interesting to hear from others who grow H. niger successfully.

johnw

[Stephenb]

Even after a very mild (for us) snow free winter with little frost in the ground, it didn't flower until April. I have a picture of it in flower from 26th April.

[Katherine J]

I have one in a pot, grown from seed (not by me). Last year I put it in a frost free place to flower for Christmas. It was timed exactly, it had 3 flowers on Christmas day. Then I put it in a cold (16°C) room. In March (already with three new leaves) he went out in the garden. And I put it in a bigger pot in fresh compost.
This year made exactly the same. On Christmas day it had 3 flowers and 2 buds. But the last bud hadn't open at all and no leaves until now.  I think I'm going to get it out from the pot, to see what happens down there at the roots.

[David Shaw]

I was about to respond, John, and then I read the very last word of your posting!

[johnw]

I was about to respond, John, and then I read the very last word of your posting!

David - It would still be interesting to hear about your experiences with H. niger.

Here it just dwindles away after a couple of years, sometimes sooner.

johnw - cold today -3 but temperature rising, +7 and rain tomorrow.

[ichristie]

A real surprise today with this iris holding its head above the snow, cheers Ian the Christie kind.

[David Shaw]

It is not a plant that I have tried very often but, like yours, it does Ok the first year, poorly the second year and then does not bother at all. I have tried it in open ground on the north side of the house and in semi shady areas elsewhere but it seems that it is just not a 'doer' for me

[Carol Shaw]

Lovely Iris Ian, we've got a couple struggling up through the snow... will send the man out with the camera tomorrow if the weather is suitable. 

[gote]

As I reported around Christmas.
I have tried Helleborus niger from various commercial sources and they have always failed.
Two years ago I was given a "local clone" that is supposed to have grown somewhere in the neighbourhood for (many) decades.
That one grows very well and I even had (a) flower to Christmas which is an achievement in my climate.
I have no idea wether those that died were virused or had some other disease. However, I should think that it was a variation of the "normal problem"
I.e. that the plants we buy here in Sweden are not those that grow best here but those that are most easily propagated in Holland.
H.n. is a great flower so some research would perhaps not be out of place.
Göte

[David Shaw]

Would growing our own from seed be likely to ease the problem?

[Katherine J]

I have one in a pot, grown from seed (not by me). Last year I put it in a frost free place to flower for Christmas. It was timed exactly, it had 3 flowers on Christmas day. Then I put it in a cold (16°C) room. In March (already with three new leaves) he went out in the garden. And I put it in a bigger pot in fresh compost.
This year made exactly the same. On Christmas day it had 3 flowers and 2 buds. But the last bud hadn't open at all and no leaves until now.  I think I'm going to get it out from the pot, to see what happens down there at the roots.

I took it out and washed the roots. I found a little part (where the unopened bud grew), which was rotted. The rest seemed healthy. I cut it down, sprayed the whole thing with a fungicide, and put back in sterilised compost. 

Hungarian horticultural magazines say (maybe nothing new for you), that if one grows H. niger in the garden, at flowering time better remove the old leaves, because they could be centers of many fungal diseases...

[gote]

Ashley,
Do you have a name to that Hamamelis?
I have at last managed to get H virginianum growing and flowering reliably but in November.
Your picture is very inspiring to get another one for the spring.
Göte.

[gote]

David,
You are probably right. I will try to sow seed from it and get them out in the open ground quickly. Natural selection would do the rest. This is of course also a possibility in other climates. The problem would be that this kind of strain would be expensive if it should go into the market for others to buy. It is of course better to buy one expensive plant that grows well than five cheap that die.
Katherine,
Your adivce is good. It also shows off the flowers better. I was thinking about it but felt that I had not observed the plant enough to be sure it was the right thing to do.
Göte