ON A FORMER Virginia tobacco farm that was in her family for six generations, Judith Knott Tyler and her husband, Dick, spent 30ish years breeding and raising quite a different crop: hellebores. Dick continues that work since Judith’s death in 2016. She and I had spoken a couple of years earlier about her beloved hellebores and how to get these deer-resistant perennials settled in the garden; how semi-shade (and not deepest darkness!) is more to their liking; some extra-gorgeous varieties, plus some companion plants that are favored at Pine Knot Farms.
When Dick and Judith had reached out to ask about advertising on the website, my first question was: “Didn’t you write the book on hellebores?” And yes, Judith was co-author of “Hellebores: A Comprehensive Guide,” from Timber Press.
Asking questions you often ask me, and adding some of my own, here’s how the conversation with Judith went:
a hellebore q&a with pine knot farms
Q. I think it’s safe to say that you have long been passionate about (obsessed with?) hellebores. What about these plants was the draw factor–since you discovered them before many of us did?
A. We fell in love with hellebores at first probably because of the time they bloom. Both of us enjoyed being outside during the winter. We moved to Virginia from British Columbia, where people do things outside all winter long. Ski, snowshoe, hike, whatever outdoor activity you chose. The climate is so much more conducive to being outside here in January than it is there.
We got our first hellebores in 1983. Hellebores not only bloomed in the winter, they were also an amazingly tolerant plant in the garden.
Q. Of course from your writing and reputation I know you couldn’t just leave well enough alone and simply enjoy the plants, but started breeding, too [photo above is some of Pine Knot’s double darks, from their Southern Belles series, for example].
A. Because it was the slow time at the nursery when they bloomed, I began messing about trying to breed a hellebore with pure white blossoms. Later, when I began to actually learn something about breeding rather than just blundering about like a mad bumblebee, I found that it was much more difficult to remove spots from a bloom than to insert them.
After our first trip to the U.K. in 1992, when we saw what was available there, we wanted to come home and throw our plants away and start over. The colors they had there were colors we had never even dreamed of: pure clean whites and pinks, as well as dark purples and blushed purple and blue-green. Truly enchanting.
Q. I often get this question from readers: “I planted hellebores from the garden center last year, and they didn’t really do anything, or bloom this year. What’s wrong?”
A. A couple of things could be the problem. If you purchased a small plant, it may just need time to grow up. Hellebores flower between two and three years after transplanting, so maybe your plant was just a baby. Hellebores, like many other plants, take awhile to settle in.
If you purchased a larger plant in flower, it is not uncommon for the plant to take
a year off after being taken out of its container and planted into your soil.
The most common kind of hellebore sold, the Lenten rose types [sometimes referred to as the orientalis hybrids or more specifically Helleborus x hybridus–photos of some flowers above] have a very large and far-reaching root system. It is not uncommon to purchase a hellebore plant that has roots that are wrapped all around the pot.
This does not necessarily mean the plant was poorly grown, it just makes a lot of roots fairly rapidly once the plant reaches a certain age. Loosening the root ball, or cutting the roots in a couple of places, helps the plant get out of its container shape and into the nice, rich soil you planted it in.
Q. Generally speaking, what do hellebores want to be happy in our gardens–what kind of location, and care?
A. Hellebores will grow in a wide range of conditions. While most of us think of them as “shade plants,” they are shade-tolerant plants.
In the Balkans, we saw that the plants growing in the woodland would have very few flowers, while those growing out in the field had many more flowers on more robust plants.
In the field there during the summer, though, bracken (Pteridium spp.) or grasses would grow up around them to offer a bit of shade. This is easily copied in the garden by growing hellebores with other taller perennials or shrubs that provide some summertime relief.
Q. What about soil?
A. Ideally, they want a well-drained soil, and we feel that more plants are killed by too much water than by any other cause.
While all of us would love to garden in soil we could stick our hands into, most of us are not so blessed. If I tried to stick my fingers into our soil, for instance, I would end up with broken fingers. We live in a forest, and our soil is a couple of inches of forest duff, then 10 to 12 inches of tree roots and rocks and then red clay. The South is not known for its brick-making for no reason. Our soil is the major component of those bricks.
Hellebores tolerate even this soil just fine once they acclimate themselves. A period of adjustment is required after planting, when we try to coax the plants roots out of the soilless potting media they have been growing in while container-bound.
During this time, it can be difficult to determine if the plant is too wet or too dry. The soilless media most plants are grown in now will dry out much faster than the surrounding soil, so particular attention must be paid to watering while they adjust and get settled.
One more tip: In very heavy clay, before planting we amend the soil with organic matter, such as composted pine bark or other material.
Q. What about ongoing maintenance? I cut the leaves off my x hybridus or Lenten rose types when the snow melts [above], but do all species like that treatment?
A. Once Helleborus plants are established they do not need a great deal of maintenance. We tell people to think of them as you would peonies: nothing needed aside from an annual cleanup and a bit of compost.
We cut back our old foliage on the Lenten rose types before bloom time. If you do this in late autumn or early winter it is easy to grab the foliage and just whack it back, while if you wait till the flower stems begin to emerge, it is a much more meticulous job. [Note: In the North, you probably have until late winter, since flower stems may not push until then, or even earliest spring.]
Helleborus niger does not like to have all its foliage removed, so just cut off dying or damaged foliage as required.
The “caulescent” species (meaning: having an above-ground stem), like H. foetidus and H. argutifolius, are halfway between. You may remove damaged stem leaves, but do not cut back the stem until new growth breaks at the base. Also, if you remove the stem, you remove the flowers.
Q. What about transplanting and dividing? In my experience, the x hybridus types or Lenten roses don’t seem to need it, but people ask me a lot about “when to divide.”
A. Lenten rose plants can top out at about 3 feet across, at perhaps 25 years old. Unlike many perennials (Siberian irises, for instance), they don’t die out in the center–another reason I tell people to think of them as they do peonies, which are long-lived.
A rootball of a mature plant can be bushel-basket sized, something to consider before deciding to transplant it. One would need a very strong back to dig the plant. Lenten roses types must be cut apart, they can not be twiddled apart with the hands and wrists like daylillies.
H. niger and the interspecies hybrids [that’s Helleborus × ballardiae ‘Raulston Remembered,’ one of Pine Knot’s creations, above] have a much more shallow-growing root system and can easily be dug. If the soil is removed, you should be able to see the new eyes and can divide the plant along these parts.
If you do plan to divide, fall is the best time to do so.
Q. And what about all those babies that surround a parent plant, the seedlings?
A. As to seedlings, H. niger usually does not produce too many seedlings and the sterile interspecies plants produce none, but Lenten roses may produce hundreds of seedlings around a large parent plant. The absolute best time to move these is almost as soon as you see them after germination. We have found that it is not necessary to wait for the true leaves before transplanting; it is much more important not to damage the root. You may move the plants into the garden or pot them up to share with friends.
Q. My H. foetidus have been with me a long time here in Zone 5B, but they won’t stay put [above, romping through a bed many yards from where I first put them]. They have a mind of their own where they want to grow. Is this the deal with them? Are any other species like that?
A. We think of H. foetidus as a short-lived perennial somewhat like Aquilegia, or columbine. It is a true perennial, but it is not going to stay where you put it. The original plant will die off after a few years but, like Charlotte’s Babies, mom will leave seedlings behind to carry on the job.
H. foetidus has a very shallow root system and does not like to have too much water about, so planting under evergreens is good. The only other species that behaves in this manner to my knowledge is H. x sternii in some places.
Q. If you had to pick three favorites, could you? A species, or a color, or a particular variety or form?
A. Rather like choosing my favorite child, eh? I do like the Lenten roses, but which color depends on the day. Picotee forms [like the one in the top-of-page photo] are always good, and the form we call Rhubarb and Custard, too [above]. It’s a cream and raspberry strain that a British friend of ours said reminded her of her favorite dessert, Rhubarb and Custard, so we call it that in her honor.
I love the purple and green forms that remind me of their ancestors.
Some of the hybrid plants I have crossed with species are my personal faves. They have the purple and green colors and the diminutive, graceful habit of the species. Also I like H. niger, especially the clone from Germany HGC ‘Josef Lemper’ [above], which is early flowering, long-stemmed for cuts, and has beautiful pure white flowers like all H. niger.
Q. When we spoke, you alluded to “two or three other plants that [you] tend to obsess on.” What are those, and why?
A. Uh-oh, in trouble now! As we traveled about the U.K. and parts of Europe (we’ve made over 20 winter trips so far) we got hooked on hellebores, but we also found a long list of plants that are attractive in winter and early spring that we could grow with our hellebores.
If I have to choose a few favorites, Epimedium, Trillium, Hepatica; all miniature spring bulbs, especially Narcissus species, and Galanthus [above photo] would be the major obsessions. Love ephemeral plants. By their nature, they must be appreciated when they happen: You snooze, you lose.
Hellebores are available here on Long Island now for purchase. Can they be planted or even left outside if they have come from a nursery? I understand that Fall is a good time to transplant but what about nursery stock purchased now? Thanks!
Hellebores may be my favorite spring perennial and I have been ordering them from Judith at Pine Knot Farms for several years. The plants arrive simply robust, and perform beautifully the first year. I love that you two have come together, my gardening guru and my Hellebore guru!!
I share you passion of helleborus !
What is the secret to conditioning the cut flowers
Thank you .
I’m interested in growing hellebores from seed (i like to grow everything from seed!). is it possible? are there sources of seed, from Pine Knot or elsewhere?
Hi, JW, and yes, it is possible (and they are liberal self-sowers as well). The seeds needs to be really fresh, so you have to order it from a specialist who ships it promptly for best results. Pine Knot does sell fresh seed at the correct time, and here is one link on their site to get you started.
Thanks!
JW
I’ve just begun to appreciate Hellebores the last few years. GREAT information. Thank you.
You are welcome, R.V. Judith is a great source of information, besides the beautiful plants.
I too love hellebores….I lost some beautiful ones when our big oak trees came down in the storm last year so I am hoping to get some this year. They are the best!!
Thank you for the dialogue on the Hellebores. I have one that I obtained about 6 or 7 years ago. After one year in my garden, I fell in love with it. Soon after my first summer in this mountain garden I moved into a location in the flatlands, I took my Hellebores with me. Planted it in an almost full shade location and it bloomed every year of the five years I spent in this home. I then uprooted it again and moved into the interior (btw this is all being done in and around Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), still somewhat coastal but a bit more chilly in the winter months. The first year in the new location it was in the full sun and I only saw a few hardy blooms. This year will be it’s second summer in this (Brackendale, BC) location. I was out checking on it the other day, warm and sunny, the soil is lovely and soft and gently moist. The Hellebores is doing just fine, thank you. It once again has survived my brutal moves. It has a large root ball and seems to be very adaptable to varying locations within the Vancouver/LowerMainland/Whistler Corridor areas. I am staying put in this home, so I am planning to purchase another Hellebores, perhaps a blue one, if I can find one. I would like to know which plants could I put around it, that wouldn’t deter from its growth, health and would compliment it texture and color. Any and all suggestions/ideas are welcomed.
Here, too, Susan — they like a bright spot (not baking and brutal, but bright) in Northern garden as well as more typical semi-shade (not a dark place). I think in the story that Judith mentions her favorite companions including Epimedium, Trillium, Hepatica; all miniature spring bulbs, especially Narcissus species, and Galanthus. I’d add ferns!
I ordered the Double Queen Hellebores root from Holland Bulb Company. I didn’t receive a lot of information about it. I plan on planting it along with Fall Mum’s in a small garden beside my small patio that is surrounded by lattice boards. Morning is the shady time but afternoon gets a lot of sun. Do you think they will survive? Any tips? This is a bare root. Thank you ?
I am completely taken with snowdrops. Some of mine are up and showing a little part of the white. Love hellebores too. Enjoyed the info about peppers. We love the gypsies.
Hello,
It is mentioned in above conversation that ‘Josef Lemper’ [above], which is early flowering, long-stemmed for cuts,’
Is it true that this hellebore flowers can be used as cut flower in arrangement?
I have a large shade garden and many hellebores which flower beautifully but the cut flowers always wilt. I can only float them in a bowl.
So if I Josef Lemper’s flowers can be used as cut flowers with stem, that would be a great addition to my garden.
Please let me know
Usha
Hi, Usha. They will need conditioning of the stems after cutting to make them last 4 or 5 days. Here is how from Sarah Raven of “The Telegraph” in the UK, for example (sear stem end in boiling water briefly).
The hellebore that you gifted me years ago
is still going strong. Thank you once
again, Margaret.
I saw hellebores for the first time on a garden tour at your home. I really wanted to mass plant some as you had done…. but couldn’t afford to spend a lot. I went online and I purchased a bunch of “babies” and i mean 2-3″ tall baby hellebores with 2 leaves on each root three years ago. This past year, I saw for the first time, that i had multiple leaves and stems coming up from each plant and it looks as though they are nursery stock size plants. I am very excited to see if 2015 will be the first bloom year! I don’t even know (or really care) what color they are! Im not the most patient gardener ill admit but its very exciting to see how hard these babies worked to establish themselves in my less than perfect soil.
That’s how I started, Shelley — all my now-giant plants were seedlings in cellpacks. So you will get there. Very exciting.
I saw these plants first arrive in Australia about two years ago.
Diggers Club in Dromana had them in their catalogue first and then they started appearing in a lot more nurseries.
I’m glad I can see lots more blues and purples and I will keep a look out for finding them here.
Hi I saw this plant at a nursery and had to get it they called it a Lenten rose it’s beautiful has a lovely light green color to the blooms. My question is this we do not own the house we are living in and will not be here that long I was wondering is it possible to put it in a larger pot and keep it inside will it drive or will that cause it to die? Thanks for any help you might can give me sincerely
Hard to say how long it will tolerate being indoor, Dondi. Typically plants like this want a rest, a winter dormancy or at least a slowing down, and not to be forced to stay “awake” all year. You will certainly get some time out of it in a pot, but it will want the coolest spot you can find indoors, and then to get back outside as soon as possible, in a big weatherproof pot or in the ground.
My question is this: since most of my Hellebores are in bloom NOW on December 30, 2015, and won’t be in bloom at the proper time later, is it a good idea to cut and try them indoors as flower arrangements? Sara Raven says they do better if anthers are gone and they start to make seeds but that’s not happening now and our forecast is 28 degrees coming 2 days from now. What a dilemma! What are you doing, Margaret?
My Hellebores are about 9 years old and are two feet tall and blooming here in Charlottesville in April. Should I let them continue to grow tall or cut them back
and if so when should they be cut back and how far?
I have never heard of cutting back hellebores, Felicia, except with the foliage of some types (the hybrids sometimes called “orientalis” types) that look neater with their old foliage removed before the new blooms and then new foliage comes out, usually to be groomed late winter. You don’t way what kinds you have. Once they reach mature height they don’t get any taller.
I bought 30 Hellebores from a large catalog company in 2015 and planted them in my wooded lot. Not one single one came up in 2016. I now have no idea where they are!
Sorry to hear that, Gloria. Assuming they were hardy to your zone, the only issue I have seen people have is that the plants were not watered well enough while they acclimated. Once settled in, they deal with dry spells, but they develop big root systems (or try to!) and during that time after transplanting I find they need regular watering attention.
Two years later I finally read this, but the timing is actually pretty good! Last month I drove the three-hour round-trip up to Pine Knot Farms for the last day of their Hellebore Festival. It felt silly to shlep all that way but I’m glad I did! Their farm is really amazing to wander around and it was really neat to see all the different types of hellebores together in their greenhouse. I may have also indulged in some ferns. ^_^
My goal this summer is to water everything REALLY WELL in August so they all make it to next year!
Lucky you, Amy. I would love to see the place. And ferns! :)
I share you passion of helleborus !
What is the secret to conditioning the cut flowers
Thank you .
Hellebore is one of my favorite plants too. I think it’s probably because it’s one of the first plants to produce flowers and tells me that spring will be here soon. Also they are so beautiful and last a long time. I seem to buy one or two a year .
Margaret,. I went to the Timber Press site and tried to search Judith Tyler and also her Hellebores book. No luck?;?!?! Could it possibly be out of print?
I have quite a few Hellebores now in various places on the farm (under a huge black walnut, under pines and lilac, in dappled shade garden) and love them. I didn’t know what I was doing, just through them in some dappled shade ground with some compost a couple years ago and they have been blooming away. Such a treat to see their early buds pop up with the galanthus as the snow melts bringing life to late winter. They were just starting to bloom as I left for a trip to Portugal. Cleaned them up before I left and looking forward to seeing them when I get home in May since the flowers last forever it seems.
Thanks for the timely podcast, sorry Judith is gone.
BTW, There is a Hellebore fanatic, Barry Glick, in southern rural Renick, West Virginia who owns Sunshine Farms and Gardens; sunfarm.com.
Planning a road trip there this year from my northern WV garden to get more Hellebores.
I love my hellebores. I have 10 I can see from my sunroom! The whites are stunning! I too am obsessed with winter bloomers. My heathers, witch hazels keep the bees entertained on warmer days here in the mountains of sw VA.