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- Gardeners’ Corner
- Nursery Notes
- Cultural Advice
- Hepaticas in the alpine house
Hepaticas in the alpine house
Enthusiasts and collectors usually prefer to grow all hepaticas, whatever their country of origin, in the protected environment of an alpine house or poly-tunnel. Alpine house cultivation ensures that plants will be untouched by the vagaries of the British weather and allows their exquisite blooms to be viewed at close quarters.
We strongly recommend that the Asian hepaticas (H. japonica, H. pubescens, H.asiatica, H. henryi, H. yamatutai, H. insularis, H. maxima, H. falconeri and their cultivars, including inter-species crosses) are grown in this way. If you wish to grow hepaticas in the garden, you’ll find that the European species and their cultivars will be the most reliable while the American species and their cultivars are well worth trying in a very sheltered garden.
Potting Hepaticas: For alpine house cultivation, we find that hepaticas are easier to grow in porous clay pots as these provide the sharp drainage that is so essential for success. We advise that you use compost that is made up of equal parts of John Innes No. 2, bark (or leaf-mould) and perlite. We mix our own specially formulated hepatica compost but this is available from the nursery only. Re-pot if needed every year just after flowering (usually at the end of March) while August through to September is also an ideal time.
Shake off the old compost and trim off any damaged roots. Vigorous roots may be cut back by about one third, to make re-potting easier. Hepaticas will not thrive in compacted compost so don’t pot too firmly, compressing the compost very lightly with your fingers. Our own preferred method is to position the crown of the plant high in the pot, and fill to the brim with compost. We then gently tap the pot on the bench to allow both plant and compost to settle. A good watering will then complete the job.
General Cultural Tips: After flowering good housekeeping is very important. The greenhouse or tunnel should maintain an ideal winter temperature of between 0° c and 2°c, only using a greenhouse heater during severe weather conditions, typically below-7°c. Shade the greenhouse by 75% immediately after flowering. Keep very well ventilated, but beware of late frosts or strong winds as they can damage the new foliage.
Water frequently in early spring (early morning is best, rather than in the heat of the day.) Water rather less in summer and autumn but they should not be allowed to dry out completely. Any liquid feeding should be done in spring or autumn, but not during midsummer. Damp down the floor and between the pots during warm days to increase humidity.
Keep a look out for old fading flower petals falling into the crown of the plant as this can cause rotting. Remove old flower stems when they pull out easily. This will vary from plant to plant, and they may not all be ready at one time. Spray with a systemic fungicide and look out for greenfly. Remove the shade in January in anticipation of bud burst. At this stage, cut off any leaves that are looking tired or diseased.
Propagation: Hepaticas should be propagated by division or seed. Division ensures that all the young plants produced will be identical to the parent and is best carried out from the end of August through September as the weather cools and humidity increases.
Larger plants can be carefully teased apart and each individual crown with roots attached can be potted on separately into small clay pots to be overwintered in a cold greenhouse.
Interested in growing hepaticas from seed? Read more
Discover how to grow hepaticas in the garden Read more
Hepaticas on BBC Gardeners’ World – See it on iPlayer Rachel de Thame features hepaticas in John’s Garden at Ashwood Nurseries.
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