Hellebores
from
Pine Knot Farms
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About Pine Knot
Farms Dick
and Cole Burrell and I are very proud that our book on
hellebores won the AHS Book of the Year. Click on the Amazon link
below for information.
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About
Hellebores
Hellebores are very hardy
and although most species will grow and thrive in Zones 4 through 9,
we are not sure how well they would tolerate Zone 3 or Zone 10. We
have customers who are growing our plants in 49 of the 50 states,
everywhere but Hawaii! While many of the hellebore species have been
grown in the US for a number of years the interspecies and
intraspecies are fairly new to the gardening public and have not
been thoroughly tested. These plants were very rare and available
only to a select few ten years ago but are now sold in the
millions thanks to micropropagation. While some vendors list H.
x ericsmithii clones as hardy to zone 4 we are inclined to err
on the side of caution. I'd rather a customer be surprised that a
plant lives and thrives than disappointed that it
died.
Hellebores prefer to grow
in summer shade or partial shade in the warmer parts of the country,
and do well on hillsides or sloping areas. When planting outside we
recommend preparing the area beforehand if possible and improving
drainage if needed. The plants also grow and display their flowers
well in raised beds as long as the beds are deep enough to allow for
at least eighteen inches (18”) of soil for rooting area.
Helleborus x hybridus, true H. orientalis, H. niger, H. x nigercors, H. x ericsmithii, and H. foetidus, are evergreen, while H. argutifolius, H. lividus (tender), H. x sternii are evergreen in warmer climates, but foliage can die back to ground level in colder areas. H. multifidus, H. purpurascens, H. viridis, H. odorus, H. atrorubens, H. dumetorum, H. cyclophyllus H. torquatus and H. croaticus are considered deciduous, although in some garden situations these may retain some foliage. Helleborus atrorubens is the first species to begin to go dormant in our garden, followed by H. thibetanus. In some areas (our Zone 7 garden among them) H. purpurascens and some strains of H. multifidus begin going dormant in August or September. Since buds are formed in summer, stress such as withholding food and water can reduce blooms in winter. When the nights begin to cool off a bit, in late August or early September, H. x hybridus plants begin to put on new leaves and seem to experience a growth spurt. We recommend cutting off flowers after seeds have ripened, and cutting back the old leaves of the evergreen species just before the flowers appear in winter to better appreciate the beautiful blooms. hellebore structure Hellebores combine beautifully with other plants to create a shady garden of great beauty through the seasons.     Pine Knot Farms 681 Rockchurch Road Clarksville Virginia, 23927 phone
434-252-1990 fax
434-252-0768
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