Helleborus 2011

[John85]

Hello Helleborophiles
Is there really nobody who grows helleborus whith flowers that are not nodding.I have such a plant(about 30 degrees up) but the flower is only a pink medium sized one.I now try to improve size and colour by crossng with more beautiful ones.This has certainly already be done and I'd like to see your results and have your suggestions.   Pleeeeeeease.

[monocotman]

Marcus,
thanks for the offer but my garden is already swamped with hellebores and their seedlings. I've no room for any more.
Remember that Ashwoods are continually updating their parents from each batch they grow.
So what you buy as a strain one year may be better the following year following a change of parents.
They grow 10,000 plants a year and pretty much don't let any go until they've flowered.
On average they keep just 10 a year as parents from the 10,000.
If you pop along to their open days they often have large plants for sale that were good enough
when flowered to be used as parents but have now been overtaken by better plants.

John - there are people that breed for more upright flowers but these all tend to be smaller with narrow petals.
There is a strain called 'Bradfield stars' that were bred for sideways facing flowers.
In the end it tends to come down to the actual weight of the individual flower and how much it 'nods',

Regards,

David

[ian mcenery]

Slow start here but here is H x ballardii (lividus x niger hybrid) coming into flower. I usually protect this in December and January. It needed it this year

[Maggi Young]

What a cracker, Ian.... well worth the effort of some protection to get that sight in February.

[David Nicholson]

Nice Ian.

[Thomas Seiler]

A great plant, Ian.

I tried H. x ballardiae once, but it did not survive in my garden.
These ones are tougher:

Helleborus torquatus
Helleborus odorus
Helleborus croaticus

[ian mcenery]

A great plant, Ian.

I tried H. x ballardiae once, but it did not survive in my garden.
These ones are tougher:

Helleborus torquatus
Helleborus odorus
Helleborus croaticus

Thomas my ballardii is in a pot but spends most time outdoors

Your species are lovely most of  mine are barely breaking through ground so far except multifidus hercegovinus below. Perhaps I will have something to show later.

Maggi and David thanks

[Thomas Seiler]

Here are some more:

Helleborus multifidus subsp. multifidus
Helleborus niger 'Sunset' and Galanthus 'Lady Beatrix Stanley'
Helleborus niger subsp. macranthus

[Joseph]

Nice photos of some nice forms of the species, Thomas. And great ballardiae, Ian.

Here is H. thibetanus and a couple of H. torquatus blooming now.

 

 

[fleurbleue]

For Helleborus lovers, we have posted pictures of Thierry Delabroye nurseries Helleborus on our website    

http://www.lesjardinsdesgrims.fr/page_16.html

[Maggi Young]

Joseph, welcome, it's good to have you begin posting.

Joseph is involved with http://www.hellebores.org/   




 Nicole, thanks for that link   

[ian mcenery]

Nice photos of some nice forms of the species, Thomas. And great ballardiae, Ian.

Here is H. thibetanus and a couple of H. torquatus blooming now.

 

 

Welcome Joseph and nice photos. I have found your website very useful

[Tony Willis]

Welcome Joseph,we have met before on Garden Buddies. Are you now  back permanently in the US ?

[Joseph]

Thanks everyone. I look forward to learning from this excellent group.

Hi, Tony. Yes, I moved back a few months ago, so it's nice to be able to enjoy the garden again. It's great to see you here.

[Joseph]

P.S. Tony, I just looked through the 2010 hellebore thread and noticed your conversation about H. thibetanus germination and the cotyledon issue. Here is visual proof of the cotyledons (they are not photosynthetic or meant to be above ground perhaps), but then this raises the question of the above ground/below ground topic.  It might be anomalous, but I've seen it a couple of times. Either way they're ephemeral. If one is not looking they might disappear in one day.