Flowers in the Snow: How to Grow a Christmas Rose

Nuances of agricultural technology, types and varieties of hellebore. Personal experience

Christmas rose, Snow rose, or hellebore (Helleborus) is a primrose whose flowers resemble crystal cups. There is a legend that this particular flower bloomed in Bethlehem on Christmas night. Despite the genuine beauty, early flowering and high decorative qualities of the foliage of this plant, which can persist until spring under the snow, our gardeners grow it quite rarely, it is whimsical and reluctant to grow in the Russian climate.

Anna13

Participant FORUMHOUSE

I have two hellebores. I don't remember the names of the species. They don't live, they don't die. What to do with them, what do they want? Who grows, tell me!

In this article, we will show you how to care for hellebore, and what types and varieties to choose so that it blooms regularly and feels good.

Content:

• Advantages and disadvantages of hellebore.
• Hellebore agricultural technology.
• Types and varieties.

Biological features of hellebore

The hellebores are one of the earliest primroses, they bloom even before the snow completely melts! And since the leaves of most hellebore species hibernate under the snow, then imagine how it pleases the gardener in the first days of spring.

This plant is 20 cm to half a meter high, with leathery leaves and cupped flowers that can flaunt on the plant from the very beginning of winter to the end of June. The flowers of the hellebore are large, but their beautiful crystal petals are not petals, but sepals (the petals are transformed into nectaries).

Colors can be in different shades of white, pink, yellow-green, purple, ink, etc.

Disadvantages of hellebore:

• grows slowly;
• usually blooms only in the third year;
• does not bloom every year.

The hellebore is a poisonous plant, you need to be careful when growing it.

Hellebore agricultural technology

The hellebore's agricultural technology is not as complicated as it is confused - this capricious plant has quite a lot of requirements for growing conditions: do not plant in the sun, do not store seeds, do not bury the bud... But if you remember all the details, then everything will go well and you will receive your Christmas roses.

How to plant a hellebore

The first and most important rule of successful cultivation of hellebore is to choose right away good landing site. This plant does not tolerate transplantation, and in one place it can grow for about ten years. The landing site must comply with the following rules:

• Partial shade or shade, tree trunks: never plant it in full sun, on dry slopes.

Amalex

FORUMHOUSE member

Frostbirds need partial shade in a place protected from the wind.

• Suitable soil: It should be moist, fertile and loose. Hellebore grows best in neutral, clay, drained soil, ideally refined with leafy soil. In one of our articles, we described in detail how prepare leafy ground.
• Successful background. The hellebore is recommended to be planted in groups that will look great in early spring against the background of bare trees, plank walls of buildings, etc.

The hellebore can be propagated divisionalthough it grows at a snail's pace, this primrose is the slow-growing world champion. However, if you get a hellebore bush that can be divided into your hands, remember that:

• Divide the hellebore at the age of at least five years, in early autumn or spring, immediately after the flowering of the bush.

It is recommended to divide the black hellebore in the spring, and oriental hellebore in the fall.

• The rhizome is divided, depending on the size, into several segments.
• Sections are treated with crushed coal and immediately planted in the prepared pits.
• The hellebore is planted in mid-spring (conditional April) or early autumn (conditional September).
• The pits are made 30x30x30 cm, the distance between the plants is also 30 cm. The hole is half-filled with compost, the seedling is carefully placed, covered with earth, well compacted and watered abundantly.

Mountelf

Participant FORUMHOUSE

The kidney cannot be buried. It should be flush with the surface.

In the first three weeks, the hellebore is watered often and abundantly.

After transplanting with division, hellebores may not bloom for a year or two. They tolerate a simple transplant-transshipment with a large clod of earth easier, and they bloom normally not the next year.

Due to the difficulty in growing, this plant is propagated mainly by seeds.

The hellebore reproduces well by self-sowing, the main thing is not to confuse seedlings with weeds and not to weed them out accidentally.

Amalex

Here is a photo of a hellebore seedling:

The so-called "own seeds", which you collect yourself, or someone else will collect for you, have a great chance of successful reproduction. The fact is that it is strongly recommended to sow seeds immediately after collecting them, at the beginning or middle of summer, because they must gain a foothold in the ground before the cold weather begins.

You cannot store hellebore seeds, they cannot stand dry storage. Nothing will grow from these seeds.

With this breeding method, you don't need to do anything special: just sow the seeds into the ground, and that's it. The only drawback of this method is that hellebores will bloom only in the third year.

Often, for various reasons, gardeners receive seeds after the optimum sowing time. Since it will not be possible to store the seeds in a bag until the new season, it is recommended to sow them in a container. For two months we keep this pot in the coldest corner of the windowsill, and then we send it to the refrigerator or to the glazed terrace, or even bury it in a snowdrift (if there is no severe frost). Our task is to prevent premature germination, and at the same time, to prevent mold growth. Water the pot in the refrigerator sparingly but regularly.

Matrona73

Participant FORUMHOUSE

I planted my hellebores in pots. While there was snow, I dug it into a snowdrift. When the snow melted and the frost hit -10, the sprouts froze, and I took the pots to the unheated house by the window. Now hellebores feel fine. There is no active growth, but everyone is alive.

Seedlings usually appear by March, and after the appearance of two true leaves, they dive into a flower bed in partial shade, for growing for two to three years. After this time, in the fall, hellebores are transplanted to a permanent place - they will take root and bloom next spring.

The hellebore should not be grown as a houseplant. For full development and flowering, he needs frost.

Otherwise, the care of the hellebore is simple: you can feed it once a season with mineral fertilizer, you can use ash, and water it, especially on hot and dry days. In the spring, on the eve of flowering, it is better to remove old leaves in order to avoid infestation of young ones with fungal spot. Do not be alarmed that the plant is "bald" - after flowering, new, young leaves will appear on the hellebore. At this time, the bush can be covered with compost.

Types and varieties of hellebore

There are the following main types of hellebore:

Hellebore abkhaz, with beautiful large flowers, often speckled.

Hellebore green, with greenish-white flowers.

Hellebore Caucasian, flowers are pale yellow.

Hellebore reddish: the leaves of this species do not winter under the snow, but it grows quite well in comparison with other species. The flowers are beautiful and unusual: outside - red-violet, inside - violet-green.

Hellebore black, with dark green leaves, elegant flowers: white, with a pinkish tinge and many bright yellow stamens.

Eastern hellebore (Helleborus orientalis) is the most popular hellebore species among our gardeners.

Here are the varieties and types that have been tested by our users.

galina2011

Participant FORUMHOUSE

This is Double Oueen. Last year he got under the ice crust, but survived and comes to his senses.

Belka-Strelka

Participant FORUMHOUSE

The most favorite is the reddish hellebore (Helleborus purpurascens). Extremely unpretentious, self-sowing easily, blooms profusely, foliage after flowering is pretty.

Belka-Strelka

I also had a Caucasian hellebore - I didn't really like it. Some kind of sloppy and suffering from spring frosts.

Belka-Strelka

I also like hellebores from the Schmiemann Strain Lady Series, or Lady Series for short. They are winter-hardy, with beautiful large flowers of pure bright colors, which are 80% transmitted during seed reproduction. I have "Red Lady".

Belka-Strelka

This is a black hellebore - Helleborus niger.

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On FORUMHOUSE you can read an article about how to choose a variety of roses and prepare the queen of flowers for winter; as plant primroses correctlyto achieve their continuous flowering, find any information about bulbous, corm and root tuber. We invite you to watch our video about forcing, planting and overexposure bulbous.

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