At present it is very tiny, and all on its own, but I hope that others will soon be popping up.
Confession time: I have another source of new plants too. Last year, when visiting a "stately home" sort of garden I pinched a few seeds from a clump of Hellebores. There were masses of them, so I don't suppose this was a major misdemeanour. I have no idea what colour they will be, because all the flowers had faded long before I collected the seeds. Hopefully I will get a pleasant surprise. I sowed about half of the seeds I pinched, and from them nine little plants have emerged:
One thing I can tell you about Hellebores already is that they grow very slowly.
It will be a year or two before these little babies have any flowers of their own!
Five of my original six plants are alive and well, though the sixth one died very soon after I got it. I don't remember the names of any of them, but they are all different. This one has very dark-coloured flowers:
I like the dark ones, best, but they are all beautiful. On this next one, the upper surfaces of the petals are greenish-white, and the lower surfaces are purple.
Well, they always say that in gardening you have to take a long-term view, so I'm being patient at present, and I hope that in a few years' time I will be the proud owner of a lovely patch of Hellebore plants.
A year or two to flower - they do require patience! Congrats on your success, on both counts. I love garden surprises and can't wait to see what your "mystery" hellebore seeds produce. Seed collecting/saving is something I do want to delve into more in the future (beyond the basic peas and beans).
ReplyDeleteI love Hellebores and have them growing in my garden too. You can split them as well and just replant. No need to wait for seeds. The ones I split and moved around the garden have all got new shoots after only 6 months. I wrote a post about it http://thewindmillpaddock.blogspot.com.au/2015/05/its-hellebore-kind-of-day.html. Hopefully you get flowers soon.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine Jane on the look out whilst you sneaked the seeds. I think thar you heed both dark and light colours to set one another off.
ReplyDeleteNot far wrong, Sue! There was a gardener nearby, doing some weeding, so I had to nick the seeds while he wasn't looking.
DeleteI hope you manage to establish your hellebore patch; they're lovely plants.
ReplyDeleteHI there, love the hellebores. I tried to post a picture of the same task I am engaged upon in my garden. Just a heads up that you probably don't need . I read that if you are going to transplant the little seedlings it has to be done while they are only a few centimeters tall as they don't like their roots disturbed.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for posting these little seed sprouts!! I have some sprouts that appeared and I want sure what they can't from, but with only sorrel and woodruff around with helibore I'm pretty sure that's what it is!! So exciting!! ❤️
ReplyDeleteIn my Connecticut garden the hellebores seed themselves. I started out with three or four and now find them in unexpected places, often tucked right under a lilac or a dogwood.
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