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- How to care for your new hellebore
How to care for your new hellebore
We are often asked how to care for new hellebore plants once you take them home from our nursery or when they arrive at your home via our mail order service. We hope the following advice covers everything you need to know:
On arrival
Please remove all the packaging from around your hellebore and stand your plant outside in a sheltered position, out of the wind. This applies all year round, including Winter.
Test the compost and, if dry, stand your plant in a saucer of water for an hour, ensuring that you remove the saucer after this period.
Plant as soon as possible as hellebores are very hardy plants and will be happier in the ground than left standing in their pots.
If planting is delayed due to frozen or waterlogged ground conditions, it’s important to to remove flower stamens and petals that have fallen within the plant. This should be done daily until planting out as it will help prevent grey mould (also known as botrytis) from forming around the base of the flower stems or within the crown in damp Winter weather. Spray with a fungicide at the first signs of any fungal problems, if they appear.
If your hellebore does become frosted and lies flat, it will defrost and recover as the weather warms- this is normal even when planted.
Where to plant
Hellebores are very tolerant and will grow in most soils from slightly acidic through to slightly alkaline, as long as the ground is not extremely dry or waterlogged. They will tolerate drier conditions in summer providing there is some shade but bear in mind that too much shade all year round can reduce the number of flowers. They are best grown amongst deciduous shrubs and trees which will give them plenty of light in Winter and Spring but which will provide some welcome shade in the Summer months. With just a few exceptions, they are hardy in the UK, but prefer a sheltered site away from cold winds. By planting your hellebores on a sloping bed, you will naturally improve the drainage and make it much easier to look into the flowers.
Soil preparation and planting
Hellebores are deep rooted and, to flower at their best, they need plenty of nutrients. Dig your soil as deeply as possible and mix in plenty of humus, in the form of leaf mould, spent mushroom compost, garden compost or well-rotted manure. Avoid soil preparation when the ground is frozen or waterlogged, wait until conditions improve before planting out.
If your hellebore is dry, water well from below before planting. Dig your hole deeper and wider than the pot. Carefully remove the hellebore from its pot, sprinkle Rootgrow mycorrhizal fungi on to the root if desired, then plant it at the same depth as in the pot, firming the soil back around. There is no need to tease out the roots as this causes unnecessary damage to their fibrous root system. Water well after planting.
If planting in groups, we advise at least 24 inches (60cm) between plants.
Aftercare
Apply an annual mulch of humus in July/August (when next year’s flower buds are being formed) and again in late December. Be careful not to mulch into the crown of the plant as this can cause the buds to rot. In Spring work in some calcified seaweed fertiliser and blood, fish and bone. Remember to keep your newly-planted hellebores well-watered during their first year. Remove the old faded flower stems usually around March/April, unless you require seed, to encourage next year’s developing new growth. Spray occasionally with a fungicide and insecticide for greenfly control (if desired) and keep a look out for slugs and snails on flower buds, new foliage and flower stems, treat accordingly.
Removing old foliage
H. x hybridus Ashwood Garden Hybrids and deciduous species: remove all foliage to the base in late December/ January. This reduces the risk of infecting the new season’s growth with any overwintering pests and diseases.
Evergreen species and interspecies hybrids (including Rodney Davey Marbled Group, H. x ericsmithii, H. x sternii, H. argutifolius and H. foetidus): remove damaged or diseased foliage only as needed to tidy them up in late Autumn. In late Spring remove old flower stems and leaves back to the base to reveal new young growth at the base.
H. niger: after flowering, remove only the old flower stems, damaged or diseased foliage as needed to tidy them up
Growing hellebores in containers
Hellebores are naturally deep rooting plants and therefore select a container that has a good depth and with a wider top than base to ensure you can easily remove the plant when it requires re-potting. Choose a container that is a little bigger than the existing pot so you do not over pot the plant and risk it become waterlogged in soggy unused compost.
Use a good quality compost, preferably loam- based, such as John Innes No 2 with extra grit for drainage. Stand the container on pot feet. They are hungry plants and will need regular watering and feeding, with a high potash fertiliser such as Chempak No 4, in summer. Position the container where you can enjoy it from the house during flowering, then move it in Summer to a semi-shaded position. Re-pot every couple of years with fresh compost or preferably plant out directly in the garden.
Moving or splitting established hellebores
If you wish to move your plant or it becomes too big, you can lift and divide it in September. The whole plant should be dug up very carefully. When splitting, the large root system is far easier to handle if all the soil is washed off before dividing the root ball up using a knife or small saw, separating out into single crowns. Re-plant the crowns in well-prepared soil and keep shaded and moist, but be aware that the new divisions may take a few years to recover.
You may also be interested in Spotlight on Hellebores: Ashwood Evolution Group
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