Hellebores 2010

[Lesley Cox]

Previously there have been posts on the Forum - maybe the Old Forum? - showing H. niger which were entirely red or pink, in the wild. Simply, those populations were coloured instead of white flowered and they were superb. It wasn't a matter or their TURNING pink or red. They WERE pink or red, naturally, from birth, so to speak. I think they were in Bulgaria or Croatia or somewhere else in central Europe.

[Maggi Young]

I can't find anything like that in the Old Forum.....

but here: http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=2072.msg51025#msg51025   Hans J . quotes information he found about plants which may throw pink flowers.....

.....In the Triglav National Park Will McLewin has found forms which rapidly turn deep pink soon after the first flower on the plant is fertilised. Eric Hilton, writing in the AGS Bulletin in 1983 reports an interesting find south east of Klagenfurt in Austria, across the Yugoslavian border from Will McLewin's plants. In this population 'many of the plants were not the expected white but a kind of rusty rose. This is not a change of colour resultant upon fading or fertilisation,' he continues, 'for the unopened buds were of that same hue.' So it is clear that forms other than pure white do exist and this colouring is not found only in fertilised flowers.

Joe Sharman and Alan Leslie found populations with pink flowers in Slovenia and Elizabeth Strangman has also found them in the same general area. It seems that there are a number of separate populations with a greater or lesser degree of pink in the flowers, these being restricted to a relatively small area stretching from Klagenfurt in southern Austria into Slovenia, especially near the Italian border and as far south as Delnice; but there are also white flowered colonies in the same area......

[Lesley Cox]

I think they were posted by someone called Tim someone. Maybe Simon/Chris will know of coloured populations?

[Maggi Young]

Well, Tim Murphy, is very much a hellebore man.... but I'm still searching hios posts... I have found this from Rob Illingworth in a thread where Tim was taking part....http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=254.msg5601#msg5601

http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=254.msg5472#msg5472

[Stephen Vella]

Thanks Maggie and Lesley...looks to be genetics and a special micro climate, one that is in full sun in spring.

cheers

[TheOnionMan]

I've been following the discussion and Maggilinks with interest, and it makes sense now.  The lines from Tim Murphy when talking about intense color selections turning mostly white in cultivation: "We just don't get the long spells of intense, spring time sunshine that the plants would have to endure in the wild, so there is no need for them to produce the anthocyanins necessary to protect against photoinhibiton/high light stress". 

My H. niger always gets a degree of pink shading, but nothing like the strong pink color this year, but we've head the earliest spring in the past 10 years, with weeks of strong warming sunshine... so I too will put it down to microclimate.  Of the many seedlings that are coming up, I shall move some into positions where they get even more light.

[Lesley Cox]

Thanks for the links Maggi. It seems I may have been somewhat mistaken in thing RED H. niger and that it is a post-pollination trait, at least to a large extent. even so, it would be worth searching for those forms which turn so STRONGLY red.

[Gerry Webster]

Two plants of H. cyclophyllus from MESE seed (AGS Greek seed collecting expedition in 1999) flowering now.  They have been very slow to get established would probably have benefited from being moved but as they mark the graves of Milo the budgie and Fluffy the chicken they can't be touched!

I've only just seen these Gail - they are exceptionally beautiful. I had fritillaria seed from MESE; unfortunately they were all wrongly named!

[Tony Willis]

some different species,all green with the exception of the last.

Helleborus cyclophyllus
Helleborus viridis
Helleborus dumetorum this is only 20cms tall and tends to hide its flowers under the leaves
Helleborus odorus (slightly out of focus but it is sleeting and blowing a gale)
Helleborus orientalis

[Gerdk]

Tony,
Green flowers look magically - especially on Helleborus and Fritillaria, don't they?

Gerd

[Tony Willis]

Gerd not only magical but they seem to come up and flower much earlier than the hybrids and bring a bit of early interest to the garden.They are even better in the wild.

[TheOnionMan]

Following up on my H. niger that is a strong pink color this year, and aware that aging fertilized flowers can deepen in color, I've never seen my plant go so totally pink.  Here's a photo taken yesterday in driving rain and gale force winds, the image a trifle out of focus, but the plant would not sit still

[Lesley Cox]

Mark, you'd better change that file name or you won't find the Hellebore when next you want it.

[TheOnionMan]

Mark, you'd better change that file name or you won't find the Hellebore when next you want it.

Oops.. the photo before cropping shows Trillium nivale in the background too, you can see some of the Trillium leaves on the left, and the photo name had both plant names included... I guess when I backspaced part of the name I goofed up 

Thanks, it is back to being a hellebore.

[Michael J Campbell]

Hellebores hybs