Hellebores from Seed:

Hellebores are high fashion, specia the newer, better coloured H. orientalis hybrids. This means that the demand for pts of good forms is heavy, in fact out-stripping supply - as these hellebores have proved not amenenable to modern methods for mass production.

Propagation

Tissue culture methods have proven very disappoing to date and growers have been forced back to old fashioned division of pts. Whilst this is fine for gardeners who perhaps rea only want to split one pt o three or four, the nurseryman begins to feel frustrated.

However we can all ds, and this is a rewarding experience as many of the best forms w give equa good dlings with the chance of some rea outstanding ones. (once harvested, hellebore d should be n as soon as possible).

Now is the time to d of hellebores - they are best n as soon as possible after harvesting. Summer and Autumn is not the time when d ing is necessarily at the front of our minds but if you want good results from hellebore ds as soon as possible.

They can be n in s of d compost, covered with half an inch of compost and then placed outside, perhaps even sunk o the ground to keep moist. Nothing w appear until the end of the year, perhaps just o the new year, when the dlings w poke through and unfurl their first leaves; a pair of oval, rich-green cotyledons.

At this stage I like to take my s o the cool greenhouse. They are hardy and w resist the frost but the protection w encourage the dlings to grow that bit faster. As soon as they begin to produce their first true leaf the can be taken out and each dling carefu extracted; they are best ted up individua.

Most books and other sources suggest that it takes two or three years to get H. orientalis hybrids to flowering size. This is altogether too pessimistic; I expect 85% or more to bloom the first wer after germination. To do this it is best to individua early, to re o 4in. s when the dlings are in danger of getting boundand then to pt out o permanent quarters in late spring.

Keeping the pts to long in s is no help, but once pted out they w not want to be moved again unless you want to split them in another two or three years time. Young pts can be given some ash-rich fertiliser, such as Tomato feed. With such favoured treatment it w norma be only the odd pt that does not reach flowering maturity by the first wer.