Hellebores are among the most alluring Spring flowers, coming in a wide variety of hues, shapes, and patterns. However, they may be very challenging to maintain.
In my previous experience, a Hellebore would definitely wilt twice, and trust me, I tried everything to keep them alive—I stripped them of their leaves, I boiled the ends of the stems—but nothing seemed to keep the stems of the plants strong and the petals of the plants moist. That is, until I discovered this useful little conditioning technique.
Check out my video guide below if you’ve been struggling to keep hellebores alive. Since using this method, I’ve been able to cut fresh garden stems and preserve them in a vase for almost ten days, as opposed to the previous effort to keep them alive for ten hours! Over the past few months, I’ve used this method on a range of different Hellebores, both those I bought wholesale and those I picked right out of the garden, and I’ve had good luck with all of them.
I’ll make good on my word that this method will revolutionize the game, and I can’t wait to share it with you!
How can hellebores be prevented from wilting?
Have six years passed since I published my first blog entry on how to gather hellebores? Time flies. In order to ensure that everyone is getting the most out of their priceless hellebores, I thought it would be a good idea to dust off an old tutorial as the Northeastern region is about to enter another harvest season for hellebores. They truly make spring bouquets such a delight to have!
How to Harvest Hellebores
Around 2012, hellebores rose to popularity in floral design, and they have remained so ever since, especially among farmer florists who are looking for a robust bloom for their early-spring creative work. We’re all still in need of some color in our life, and hellebores are one of the first flowers to blossom each spring, frequently even before the snow has melted. Their delectable hues and patterns contrast nicely with their endearing nodding heads. Oh, how enticing it is to cut and place in a vase! But it pays to wait and avoid cutting these gorgeous garden flowers too soon!
Back in 2004, when I moved into my first house in Philadelphia, I first fell in love with hellebores as a decorative plant for my small shade garden. But soon I was cutting them to bring inside for enjoyment. Who wants to adorn them outside in the chilly weather, after all? In 2019, my collection of hellebore plants has grown to well over 200 plants (and counting!) and likely includes nearly as many types.
I’ll let you in on a little secret before you ask me which varieties are ideal for cutting: buy your hellebore plants in the spring while they are actively blooming in their containers at the nursery so you can see how long the flower stems are and if their heads face up or down. Even a designated cultivar of hellebore, which is infamous for crossbreeding, may exhibit various characteristics from plant to plant. Therefore, I believe it is better to consider your purchase before making these overpriced pretties. If I had to pick just one kind, I’d say the Brandywine series, as I actually have quite a few of those plants.
Currently, as a flower grower, I usually get inquiries on how to create hellebores “final in the vase They are used by so many designers, but they all quickly fail. There are some techniques available for “post-harvest remedies that could aid in preventing wilting. Others employ a chemical rapid hydrating solution, others shove a pin up the stem, and still others immerse them in boiling water. Some folks also combine all three. According to my observations, there is just one surefire method to obtain long-lasting hellebores.
Harvest hellebores when they are mature.
I’m done now. It’s that easy. When harvested at their mature stage, hellebores won’t wilt.
The prominent petals of a hellebore “bloom” are actually something called sepals rather than true petals. They protect the flower portion, which is located in the center of the showy sepals and consists of a group of delicately textured stamens and a few tiny, inconsequential petals (in the photo above, the ruffled green at the center are the petals). The stamens and petals fall off after fertilization, and a seed pod begins to develop in the center of the sepals.
Using hellebores that already have their seed pods produced is the best way to ensure that they last in floral arrangements. The hellebore will be more robust the more developed the seed pod is. This is because the sepals resist withering by becoming stiff and waxy as the seed pod grows. A mature hellebore can actually survive beautifully for a day or longer without water. They work well for hair flowers and boutonnieres.
Can you tell which hellebore is almost ready for harvest and which one isn’t?
Another tip I’ve picked up over the years is to use a sharp knife to cut my hellebore stems rather than scissors or snips. In contrast to snips, the knife creates a clean cut that does not crush the cells in the delicate hellebore stem. To assist open up additional water-absorbing tissue, I’ll also cut an inch-long split up the middle of a stem if the bottom of the stem is very thick. If the seed pods are fully grown, this step is not necessary, but occasionally, when I’m pressed for time to gather some blooms that are a little on the immature side for a specific wedding or event, I’ll go the extra mile, just to be safe.
Go place an order for some hellebores from my favorite vendor, North Creek Nurseries, now that I’ve got you all psyched about growing them for cutting.
How are hellebores rehydrated?
We’re joined by Susan from Shady Grove Gardens to talk you how to grow, care for, and hold hellebores as cut flowers. Susan has been working with flowers for 31 years, and she was kind enough to come and talk to us about how to take care of hellebores.
You’re in for a big treat if you’ve ever been mesmerized by the allure of the hellebore!
It was in the garden of my friend Foxie where I first noticed a hellebore. She owns Pharsalia, an incredible event space and flower garden near Tyro, Virginia. Although Foxie is well recognized for her peony collection, the truth is that she also has a ton of other fantastic collections.
Pharsalia’s flowers begin to bloom in the winter, and during my first season of working in the flower industry, she was only a short drive from my house. Foxie, I believe, contributed to my deep love of flowers. My excitement was stoked by that winter garden. She has a wide variety of hellebores.
I visited Pine Knot Farms in Clarksville, Virginia not long after seeing Foxie. I was allowed to look at Judith and Dick’s incredible collection of hellebores. I wanted to examine the bloom’s processing and vigor. The failure of hellebores as cut flowers at the time was generally acknowledged. They responded so nicely to my little dip in cool water processing that they made it not only back to Lynchburg but even up to Pennsylvania for my very first wedding. Since they weren’t really sold on the wholesale market at the time, I recall being quite anxious about being able to find the flower and having it stand up when I proposed the flower to the bride. My trial flowers held strong for two weeks thanks to their success, and the Pink Frost variety held up even better! I was very relieved to deliver those blooms to Anna and to have overcome my concern that they wouldn’t make a good cut.
They attracted interest and began to be easier to find on the wholesale market over time. They performed horribly when they were shipped, though. This has altered over time as post-harvest procedures have advanced, and I find that they ship reasonably well. I treat the flowers using the same methods, but local hellebores have a longer vase life. They’re simply superior than dahliaslocal.
Handling Hellebores
Fill the vase almost all the way up with hellebores since they thrive in deep water. As a result, pressure is created, which forces water up the stems. To prepare a fresh stem, either make a long diagonal incision at the base and then dip it in Quick Dip before inserting it into the full vase, or use an X-Acto knife to make small, gentle scoring cuts down the length of the stem to allow easy access to the xylem and quick water uptake.
Hellebores are fairly hardy once they’ve been cut, and you can even do it while they’re frozen! A plant may take four years to become established in your yard, but once it does, it will bloom from the beginning of winter until June, and as long as it is given access to a reliable water supply soon after being cut, it may be kept in a vase for a number of weeks.
Cut hellebores make excellent bouquets. Furthermore, Susan’s plants in the movie survived outside of a cooler for more than two weeks. Thirteen days after we recorded this movie (which was snipped a few days earlier), I used the images in my How to Photograph Flowers lesson.
Which fertilizer types do hellebores prefer?
Hellebores are not often grown plants for a number of reasons, including a lack of supplies or a stable supply of inputs and the belief that they are challenging to grow. Helleborus “Penny’s Pink” is shown (Pacific Plug & Liner)
Hellebores demand attention as the first plants to bloom in the spring and will have a particular position in your collection of perennials. Hellebores come in a wide variety of varieties today. Before starting a program, it’s critical to educate yourself on these varieties to ensure that you acquire the outcomes you desire.
In the United States, hellebores fall into three primary categories: hybrids, orientalis species, and niger species. Because of the types they have chosen, growers frequently do not achieve the outcomes they were hoping for while producing hellebores. Many orientalis species, which are cultivated from seeds, can take two years or longer to blossom. Many niger spp. begin to bloom in November, so other kinds may bloom too early for their market. This is too early unless a producer wants a yield for Christmas.
As hybrid types are bulked up in tissue culture as a result of recent advancements in breeding, they are becoming more readily accessible. Some series, like Frostkiss, are bred specifically for production, making it simpler for them to blend in with the other varieties that farmers produce. Around general, hybrids created through tissue culture bloom later than niger species, with the majority of them beginning to bloom in January. They typically do so in less than a year. The production advice in this article is targeted on hybrids, particularly the Frostkiss series, but the fundamentals apply to the majority of hellebore crops.
Try these 10 suggestions to grow hellebores successfully:
1. When they are actively developing, spring and fall are the best times to plant hellebore liners.
2. The summer is a dormant season for hellebores. Using pot liners at this time is not advised.
3. Hellebores require a coarse, well-drained soil that is highly aerated. maintain pH at 5.5. The best soil is one with a peat base and decomposed bark.
4. Provide 30% shade over plants throughout the summer to minimize overheating and/or leaf burning.
5. Early in the morning or late at night, water hellebores.
6. In contrast to many plants, hellebores require additional fertilizer in the fall to encourage flowering.
7. Continue the hellebore’s aggressive growth. Low fertilizer levels can lead them to cease developing, which can delay growth by two to three months.
8. In the fall, when the days become shorter and the temperature drops to between 40 and 50 degrees, flowers begin to open.
9. To avoid flower delay, keep hellebores frost-free over the winter in a cold greenhouse, between 32F and 45F.
10. Keep the crop extremely cold, slightly below freezing, to postpone blossoming. This may cause a one-month or longer delay in blossoming.
Different hellebore cultivars bloom at different times. The plants in this image are just beginning to blossom; the photo was taken on February 1st. These hellebores can have blooms into May.
Plant crops in pots as early as feasible in the season, whether they are planted in the spring or the fall. Delaying planting can reduce the number of flower buds and the overall quantity of the crop because hellebores only grow actively in cooler temperatures. This is especially true in the spring. Both a big 32-cell liner to plant in the fall and a 72-cell liner to plant in the spring are available from Pacific Plug and Liner. Fall planting is strongly advised as it can reduce crop time in half for farmers who prefer a shorter crop period or who want to prevent hellebores from over-summering. Growers must make sure the liners they use are large enough and old enough so that flower buds have already grown if planting in the fall. The hellebores will blossom the next spring as a result of this. Lack of flowers may result in a finish of bad quality if the liner is too small.
For hellebore liners, it’s crucial to completely cover the pot with dirt to avoid burning the roots. Plant liners a few centimeters below the soil’s surface. This will promote the growth of flower buds.
To prevent plants from burning on bright days when overwintering beneath plastic, be sure to use white polyethylene rather than clear polyethylene.
Contrary to popular belief, hellebores require a constant supply of nutrients throughout the growing season with an electrical conductivity (EC) of 1.2 to 1.5. For planting in the spring, a slow-release, eight- to nine-month fertilizer is advised. Hellebores require more nitrogen and iron during the fall because this is when they first start beginning blossoms. This can be provided by a liquid drench, which will keep EC levels between 1.2 and 1.5.
Hellebores need to be kept tightly potted for the majority of their crop life. Given that growers have been taught to separate crops as soon as the leaf begins to touch, this looks like the wrong course of action. Hellebores prefer chilly soil, therefore growing them close together prevents root burn by allowing the foliage to cover the container. Because certain types grow wider and require more spacing than others, like Frostkiss, which is more erect and does not stretch when planted in a tight container, plants can be spaced gradually when the foliage begins to overlap. Plants can be spread more apart after they begin to bloom in the spring so that flowers have more room to grow.
Never squeeze a hellebore since every leaf contributes to the development of future flower buds. The number of flowers and overall finishing quality are both reduced when the leaves are removed. Damaged leaves should only be removed while shipping.
Due to their hardiness, hellebores seldom contract illnesses. Botrytis in the flowers is the main disease problem observed. Keep plants dry and in a place with excellent airflow to avoid this. Aphids and spider mites should be avoided.
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The marketing and new product development manager at Pacific Plug and Liner in Watsonville, California is April Herring-Murray ([email protected]). Here you can view all author stories.