Care of a Hellebore???

I was gifted a small hellebore about 4 years ago. This year it has suddenly decided to flower (it moved house with me 18 months ago). It has been in flower for some weeks. How much longer will it stay in flower? Does this plant do best in full sun or partial shade? How do I propagate it because I would like some growing in the front garden too. So, that%26#039;s 3 questions really. Thanks.

Care of a Hellebore???
I agree with H Potter, propogation is by division after flowering.
Reply:shady conditions, well drained soil, not too much fertilizer
Reply:Hellebores are lovely plants, and brighten my garden from early spring/late winter onwards. I don%26#039;t know which variety that you have, the main ones being Helleborus Niger (Christmas %26#039;Rose%26#039;) and Helleborus Orientalis (Lenten %26#039;Rose%26#039;).





Niger is typically the first to flower creamy white flowers, turning greener with age, from January-ish onwards, and Orentalis from March-ish - comes in a range of colors, from creams, pinks to mauve, often with speckles. They%26#039;ll happily flower for a couple of months.





You can propogate them by division or seed collection and, in the right spot, they will seed themselves and multiply readily. There are quite a few at a hospital near to me where the seedlings have invaded into gravel borders. Seed propogation is by far the best method to increase your plant collection.





They%26#039;re great in shade and partial shade, and will be OK with some sun too, as long as their location doesn%26#039;t really dry out, as they%26#039;re fairly surface rooting plants, with fine roots. In deep shade they won%26#039;t flower as much, but they can be fine under deciduous trees etc. Work plenty of humous into their locations, before planting and also give them a good annual mulch of garden compost etc.





Seeds can be collected and I sometimes chill mine in the fridge for 2 or 3 weeks, which tricks them into thinking they%26#039;ve been through winter. You can also buy seeds from many of the seed companies, and this could allow you to broaden your collection, with different varieties, as well as more rapidly build up a bigger collection. Seeds can take upto around 18 months to sprout, so patience may be needed. Plant 1/4%26#039;%26#039; deep, I use a John Innes potting mix, a mix of peat, gravel and soil and cover with some grit, and keep lightly moist. They can be grown outdoors, or started indoors, if it%26#039;s very cold.





Helleborus foetidus is also grown sometimes, and typically has greener flowers, and is somewhat taller, with flowers off from its stems. Niger and Orientalis grow and flower from the base.





There%26#039;s a link here to a specialist nursery who breed Hellebores, and you%26#039;ll love some of their flowers -


http://www.ashwood-nurseries.co.uk/index...





Hope these thoughts help and answer your questions. Good luck! Rob
Reply:Your Hellebore is likely to be a Helleborus Orientalis which are now generally sold as Helleborus Hybrids as they cross pollinate so easily.





These plants prefer woodland conditions, so a nice shady spot with rich soil is ideal. Mine tend to stay in flower for about 4 weeks.





When the flower spike starts to appear trim off all last years leaves. This is a good time to tidy up the plant and will show off the flowers really well.





Hellebores can be propagated by division but you need to allow them to get to a good size before you start chopping them up.





Collect the seed when ripe and sow immediately in trays of sharp compost (compost mixed with about one third of sharp sand) and they will come up like mustard and cress.





If you leave the seed you will find that the plant will itself and you will have self sown seedlings all round which you can then lift and transplant.
Reply:Hellebores really don%26#039;t like too much sun, they are native woodland plants, so really like dappled shade. They flower for a long time, certainly until the end of April. When the weather gets warmer the flowers gradually turn brownish. If it likes the position that you have put it in it will seed freely, I started off with one plant and now have 50+, although they take a long time to mature. They don%26#039;t appear to have a root system that makes divison an option. They aren%26#039;t anywhere as expensive now as they used to be, quickest way is to buy some more now while you can see the flowers .
Reply:they prefer shady conditions
Reply:I too moved a Hellebore out of my garden in Essex to my garden in Wiltshire, 22 years ago, from neutral clay soil to alkaline chalk! I was led to believe that you should never move them as they don%26#039;t like it?? Well mine has flourished, I have never tried to propagate it but it seems to send off it%26#039;s own side shoots, which I have transplanted around the garden with great success! And now, 22 years on, it has spread it%26#039;s own seeds and I have literally hundreds and hundreds of tiny little hellebores all around it :) Over the past few years I have bought many hellebore variaties and they are planted in all locations in my garden, shady, sunny, wet, dry and they are all in beautiful flower at the moment and should carry on well into April. Hope this helps you.



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