Helleborus 2011

[Maggi Young]

It was on the Belgian forum Maggi:

http://www.vrvforum.be/forum/index.php?topic=250.0

Ah yes!Thanks, Pascal..... I knew I saw it in some Forum!! It's Chris Vermeire's photo from the wild... wonderful!!!


Point I was going to make about it was in regard to Mark's question

how does it survive in the wild if it is a bad seed setter

.... I would imagine that in colonies like this in the wild it has no trouble at all in setting seed. Oftentimes the plants we  have "trouble" with in cultivation can be ascribed to the fact that we are growing  a limited number of plants from a limited gene pool and so these difficulties arise, but it is all to do with the plants' reaction to the un-natural circumstances in which we grow them... in the wild they may have no bother at all with seed production... of course, they have to deal with other problems, habitat destruction, pest predation etc. but I wouldn't think that most plants have too many problems with sexual reproduction in the wild.

[Hoy]

Here it is


Kris, ik heb hier een plant of 10 staan en ze zijn allemaal verschillend, deze hier is één van de betere, als de rest open komt laat ik nog wel eens wat foto's zien, de meeste staan in volle grond en de bloemen moeten nog open komen, hier nog een foto van de vindplaats in Shiuan China

Translate for yourself! (I can translate to Norwegian if you like

Borrowed from Chris Vermeire   http://www.vrvforum.be/forum/index.php?topic=250.0

[mark smyth]

Where are they and I'll go get a couple for myself

They are much taller than my plant

[Luc Gilgemyn]

You'll have to fly to Shiuan - China, Mark ! 

[Lesley Cox]

I was given some seed a while back and though a number germinated, not one would shed its seed coat even though I tried very gently to make them. So eventually they all shrivelled up. I even made tiny cuts in the coat but it was difficult after germination. If I have another chance some time I'll cut the coats before sowing.

[chris]

it is verry difficult to dig H.thibetanus out, the roots can grow 60 cm deep, the best is to grow them from seed, it will take 5-7 years for having flowers.
I think for more seeds you have to cross tho plants better than selfcrosses, H.thibetanus gives not much seeds, they only have 2 carpels and if you have lucky than in the carpels there are 4-7 seeds
if you plant them out give them a light acid soil and verry good drainage, my plants are under Rhododendrons
label them well because at the end of may the plants go dormant until beginning december,
here a photo from a plant that I will show at the Helleborus show in Arboretum Kalmthout Belgium from 10 til 13 februari

[Maggi Young]

Chris, many thanks for posting this contribution.
Good advice , I am sure, and a lovely flower portrait.

[chris]

I find H.thibetanus one of the beauty's of all Helleborus, looking delicat but verry hardy
here some pics from others


 Note from Maggi: These pictures are rather large... but show great  detail if your internet connection can cope with them... otherwise, Mark has resized them and reposted in smaller versions in the next post 

[mark smyth]

Chris, I've edited your photos. The white and red plants are 

[Maggi Young]

Thank you  for doing that, Mark.... that size will be easier for those with slow connections etc.
Wonderful photos from Chris.

[Hoy]

No problems with any size - and I have decided to fill my woodland garden with this species - if I ever get hold of enough plants

[Hillview croconut]

Hi Everybody,

My name is Marcus Harvey and I live in Tasmania, just across the ditch from Lesley Cox and I'd like to join in the conversation.

I am gobsmacked by the quality of these plants. I cannot grow this species anywhere near as well. It would seem we just don't have the right temperature regime nor humidity. I find they emerge OK but fail to expand and extend. The flowers stay close to the ground on foreshortened stems and inevitably succumb to fungal attack over the course of the season.
Do any of the other southern hemisphere growers have any comments about this?

My plants came from Chen Yi some time ago now and I am prepared to say I am defeated by them. I don't think they will ever appear as a commercial product "Down Under", even if they can be tissue cultured. At 10 pound a plant does anyone think this is happening in Europe? Are there any name clones out there?
Cheers, Marcus

A

[Maggi Young]

I can't say I've heard of named clones yet, Marcus..... red form, pink form so far is about it! There is a fab hybrid though.... which Ian saw gorgeous stock plants of last year when visiting Ashwood's nursery....Helleborus 'Pink Ice' perhaps the first hybrid with Hellborus thibetanus involved (nigercors x thibetanus according to Ashwood)


http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2010Feb031265210953BULB_LOG__05.pdf
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=4942.msg133911#msg133911

[Lesley Cox]

Marcus, John Massey from Ashwood will be in NZ early next year for talk at Lincoln near Chch. I'll send you something. Better get yourself over here for that weekend.

[Tony Willis]

I have not had any trouble getting seed and in 2009 got about 30 from my two plants which have produced about 20 plants having germinated in the autumn of 2009. Last year the seed was shed whilst I was on holiday and so was lost.

In 2009 I went away and left paper bags over the seed heads but forgot last year.

I got my original plant from Aberconwy and my second from Chen yi. Both are planted in the garden but neither do well.

The seedling plants are just making their first leaves for this year..