Hepatica

[chris]

Hepatica jap.'Hanu Kage' gives normally no pollen but this year I repot and divide the plant and I have a few pistels with pollen, I will use the pollen for pollinate two other plants who have now some flowers, the results I show you in 4 years I hope,

[ichristie]

Hi Chris, I have also been re-potting my Hepaticas and use two parts John Innes sterilised soil, one part peat, one part Melcourt composted bark and one part perlite. I use plastic long toms either one litre or two ltrs, at this time I also remove leaves with great care cutting them away as near the base as possible, I find that if I pull them they sometimes take a bud away as well. cheers Ian the Christie kind.

[chris]

Hi Ian, I never used peat, I water well and be afraid that the plants will rot, I cut leaves only when they are sick, most of the leaves I cut after flowering when the new leaves are coming, I also have tryed to pull the leaves and take some buds away.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Hi Chris !
Some beauties already out I see.
Isn't this very early

[Loripep]

Hello Chris;

Beautiful! The pics were an inspiration.

I have a few hepaticas which I do not think will survive the winter here (zone 5) so have planted them in pots. The mix is quite organic however, and I think I may change to the material you are using. Out of curiosity (and I realize off topic), what mix is used for the cyps?

Lori

[ichristie]

Hi again, these potted hepaticas are under cover for most of the year and we put them outside in the rain for a few weeks. I do use leaf mould instead of peat when I have it. I add some pictures taken today. Ian the Christie kind

[David Nicholson]

Chris, I would be interested to know please what you used for the base of your plunges (ie on top of you pebble columns)

[chris]

hi all,
Luc a lot of my plants give a few flowers in october and november, especially the ones I have repot in september. After these first flowers the plants go in rest and the major flowers appear in januari - februari, it is the first time I try to cross these early flowers.
Lorri the mixes I use for my Cyps. are more or less the ones I find in the book of M.Phillip Cribb, mostly his mix A: one part loam pellets, one part vulca (pumice gravel), one part leaf mould mixt with rotten wood and one part coarse sand.
David my plunge beds are filled with coarse sand about 2.500kg at the bottom 5cm drainage than 15 cm sand, 75 meter porious pipe and another 30cm sand.

[David Nicholson]

David my plunge beds are filled with coarse sand about 2.500kg at the bottom 5cm drainage than 15 cm sand, 75 meter porious pipe and another 30cm sand.

Chris, sorry I did not make myself clear. At the very bottom of your plunge does the 5cm drainage rest on, for example, concrete slabs??

[chris]

David, sorry I haven't red your reply well, on the botom there is 4 cm concrete with a iron net,when I made this I used wine corks for making holes in the concrete

[David Nicholson]

Thanks Chris, that was the information I wanted.

[mark smyth]

I have Hepatica flowers out at the moment also and many resting buds starting to open

[johngennard]

Hi! everybody.I have been lurking for the past few months but dropping in occassionally.What a surprise tonight when I found hepaticas back on the menu and in such strength.
Chris I join with all of the comments already posted and congratulate you on creating such an attractive home and environment for your superb collection of hepaticas.Only they could justify such an elaborate construction.If I were capable I would copy it to the last detail.I look forward to your next postings with great expectations.

[Diane Whitehead]

Would it be possible for someone to place all the hepatica pictures,
from both the old and the new forums, onto a webpage? I think we
must have the best collection of photos, and if they could be viewed
in alphabetical order, or according to colour, it would be so much
faster than scrolling through all the messages each time.

Galanthus is another genus with a superb collection of photos, but
there is a snowdrop book with all the photos grouped.  Hepatica
does not have its own book yet.

Maybe I should just restrict myself from opening the Forum in the
daytime when I should be working in the garden, and look only at
night.

[mark smyth]

adding the photos isnt a problem but please not by flower colour. I could do it in a few days with permission