ABOUT | TOPICS | | My Free Newsletter |

and the winner is…helleborus niger (again)

March 23, 2009

helleborus-niger T HE FIRST RACE AT CUPCAKE DOWNS always has the same winner by a length: Helleborus niger, the Christmas rose, the first perennial to bloom, no matter what. This year is no exception (which is what “no matter what” means, perhaps you guessed) and here it is. Up and running, since March 20, as if to greet the spring personally and right on time.

{ 10 Comments }

Comments

Sue says:

March 23, 2009 at 9:03 pm

I just got my first hellebore today! I love nigris, and hope to get one sometime. Are those edible pod peas?
margaret says:

March 24, 2009 at 8:30 am

Welcome, Sue. Congratulations on joining the hellebore fold…you will soon be addicted. Pea pods? No. Don’t eat any part of a hellebore; not safe. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen an animal munch one. See you soon again.
Yolanda Elizabet says:

March 24, 2009 at 12:05 pm

I’ve tried hellebore Niger trice and every time it died on me so I now have the Orientalis and they thrive here.
Susan Reimer says:

March 25, 2009 at 4:09 pm

My hellebores are so droopy this year…I know the cups are supposed to turn down so they don’t collect the snow…but I am wondering if they are suffering from too little water. It has been a really dry winter.
margaret says:

March 25, 2009 at 4:15 pm

Welcome, Susan. I don’t know…I have ones that face in all directions, and in all flower sizes and shades and so on, so I am not sure. Nice to “meet,” and I will do some homework and see what I learn.
Bernard says:

March 26, 2009 at 11:46 am

Man, do I love this plant-it’s so nice to see them here in Central Park.
margaret says:

March 26, 2009 at 1:08 pm

Welcome, Bernard. It is amazing that in a few short years the hellebore has gone from virtually unknown to American gardeners to part of a public landscape. Love it! Hope to see you again soon.
Deirdre says:

March 30, 2009 at 7:08 pm

I haven’t had much luck with the H. niger either, though the H. orientalis is easy enough to please. I may try H. niger again since my new garden has much better drainage then my old one.
margaret says:

March 30, 2009 at 8:51 pm

@Dierdre: The funny part: I tried H. niger in a really well-drained spot over and again…failure….and then I stupidly (it might seem) put it where the soil stinks, no drainage. It’s delighted. I think that thinking too much sometimes has no good effect, and that plants just do what they want to anyway, to piss you off, you know? Anyhow, you are right, of course…but sometimes things work (or fail) in spite of what’s in the books. Mystery!
Mary-Jane says:

March 21, 2011 at 5:07 pm

As of 3/16/2011 my new helleborus niger is blooming!! Planted last summer.

Speak Your Mind Cancel reply

Got Any Questions? Try My FAQs

YOUR MOST-ASKED questions answered.

Flower-Bulb FAQs: Why didn’t your daffodils bloom? How to grow dahlias. What bulbs will naturalize or are animal-proof?
Pruning FAQs: When to prune what, and how to make basic cuts. Fruit trees, lilacs, hydrangeas, etc.
Mulch FAQs: What makes good mulch (and doesn’t)? When and how much to apply?
Tomato-Growing FAQs: Heirlooms or hybrids? How deep and when to plant? From seed, step-by-step. To stake, or cage?
Tomato-Troubles FAQs: Worried about late blight? Have hornworms, leaf spots, no fruit set or disfigured fruit?
My 20 Top Seed and Seed-Starting FAQs: From tips and techniques to the ethics of organics and GMOs.
12 Top Composting FAQs: What to put in (and not); do you need a bin?; how to speed things up, when (and if) to turn.

Juicy Bits

name that weed I KNOW A LOT OF PLANTS by their proper names, but my “weeds,” not so much. These great weed-identification websites are helping me finally address them with the proper (dis)respect.

everything old is new VINTAGE 'GREEN' POSTERS from the WPA 1940s look fresher than ever.

shrubs to covet THE OLDER THE GARDEN and I get, the more we love these shrubs.

plants that perform 21 POWERHOUSE PERENNIALS you will love for your garden.

herb-garden help GROWING AND STORING a year of parsley.

berry peachy-keen CLAFOUTIS BATTER how-to (the solution for easy fruit desserts).

rex, rhizomatous and more FANCY-LEAF BEGONIAS, beauties for indoors and out.

crispy refrigerator pickles WHAT IS IT ABOUT refrigerator pickles that makes everybody so happy? Get those cukes ready!

winged victory THE GARDEN as bird habitat: 11 tips on what birds like.

keeping deer out DEER FENCE: I tried every anti-deer potion and trick till I got real and fenced. Strategies for every garden.

secrets to great tomatoes TOMATO TIPS, seed to harvest: Dozens of tricks for a better crop.

yes, even in dry shade MY 4 TOUGHEST GROUNDCOVERS perform even in the worst spots, like dry shade.

5 great small trees GARDEN-SIZED TREES can’t just be the right scale; they need to have multi-season interest, too. Have room for one of my favorites?

10 underplanting do’s and don’ts MAKING MOSAICS—that’s what I call good underplanting of trees and shrubs with a tapestry of plants. Here’s how.

making a 365-day garden THINK FALL (YES, FALL): Don’t get sucked in by spring-bloomers only at the nursery. A great garden happens 365 days: Shop smart to make it so.

the facts about bulbs SOMETHING UP with a flower bulb? Paltry bloom, or wondering when to feed or cut off the foliage? It’s all here.

must-read garden poem MY FAVORITE POEM celebrates loss, one of gardening (and life’s) realities. It does it with humor: "Why Did My Plant Die?” is a must-read. orchid rebloom made easy I REBLOOMED MY FIRST ORCHID recently (finally!) and it turns out to be pretty easy going. Here’s how.

can-do pruning REPEAT AFTER ME: I can prune. I can prune. If you follow this simple method for starters, your woody plants will thank you.

never stop wanting more plants, my garden mentor instilled in me 20-plus years ago, regularly reminding me of another gardener, past 90, who still lusts for every new thing he can get a cutting of. I promise not to, until I myself am back in the soil.