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Help with Hepaticas

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Dee_b  Send Dee_b a private message!



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Posted on Wednesday, March 05, 2008 - 12:12 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

I need help with my hepaticas please. Every year I buy hepaticas, mainly noblis(different types) but I've also bought japonica, transilvinica, insularis,and more expensive ones... but I very rarely manage to keep them above one year.

I have tried them in the garden, and in pots, but I'm always disappointed when they fail to emerge the following spring.

In pots, I keep them in an unheated greenhouse over winter, in the garden, they are beneath shrubs.
I have bought just one plant so far this year, a lovely soft purple japonica...I don't want to lose it.

Can anyone give just basic cultural tips..please? What am I doing wrong!

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Dee_b - West Midlands, Zone "7"
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Posted on Wednesday, March 05, 2008 - 03:46 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

The only thing I can suggest Dee is to up the moisture level. They do not take to drying out so maybe under the shrubs the soil is too dry. I had them for sale in pots at the nursery and I kept them in a net tunnel so they did not get the heat of the midday sun but diffused light and I repotted them into humus rich soil that was free draining but moisture retentive.

Growit - Hants UK, Zone "8/9"
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Dee_b  Send Dee_b a private message!



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Posted on Wednesday, March 05, 2008 - 04:12 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Hi Moira, Thanks for your help.
My soil is very moist already...verging on wet I would say. It's a clay soil, but I have mixed in grit, leaf mould and my own compost to make it more friable (crumbly). I mark the area where I put them. The transsilvanica( I hope I've spelled that right) I was told would spread and give good ground cover....didn't survive.

The pots I have, I keep in a shady place once they've flowered, then put them in an unheated greenhouse for winter. Only two have survived this winter...the most expensive have perished (isn't it always the way).

Oh well, maybe it's just one plant I will have to give up on. Shame though, they are so pretty.

Dee_b - West Midlands, Zone "7"
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Posted on Wednesday, March 05, 2008 - 04:17 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

I've also found pleasing hepaticas baffling. There are spots in the garden (including one area that is dark, dry and swamped in ivy) where native H. nobilis have been growing for decades. I've planted others in places that should have suited them perfectly and they died. What does work is planting new ones where others are thriving - although I have no idea why those particular spots make them happy. So my advice is: if any of yours are doing well, plant the others nearby.
Also, H. nobilis likes some lime in the soil.

Gardenfiend - Germany, Zone "7a"
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Posted on Wednesday, March 05, 2008 - 04:27 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Thanks Mara,
I'll try that..and add a touch of lime....there may be hope yet!

Dee_b - West Midlands, Zone "7"
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Posted on Thursday, March 06, 2008 - 07:02 am EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Dee it is so pretty, worth the effort of trying again. Good luck, fingers crossed

Terryk - NY, Zone "6"
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Posted on Thursday, March 06, 2008 - 12:26 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Dee,

Just following on from other members advice.
Hepaticas should not have their "noses/growing points" buried under the soil either in a pot or in the open ground. This can cause rotting, preventing further growth...

I have attached an article on the requirements for Hepaticas.....
http://www.srgc.org.uk/nurseryws/040404/content.html

The photographs at the end of the article, and your own photograph make all the effort of growing Hepaticas worthwhile...

Roys - West midlands, Zone "8a"
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Posted on Thursday, March 06, 2008 - 10:16 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Roy that link can take you off into cycberspace for hours, thanks for posting. I love the color of the hepatica in the second photo. Do you know which one that is?

Terryk - NY, Zone "6"
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Posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 07:06 am EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Thanks for the link Roy, I have never seen these plants, but they are totally gorgeous.
I wonder how easy they are to grow from seeds.

Maggiepie - New Brunswick, Zone "4b"
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Posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 02:35 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Thanks for the link Roy...it's really good.

You can see from the link just how pretty they are..so I really want to give them another go...I went to Ashwoods yesterday and they had a bowlful of flowers....they were so lovely I just had to go and buy another six plants

Dee_b - West Midlands, Zone "7"
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Posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 03:31 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

They can be terrifyingly expensive, though. I've seen some offered here (by a specialist) for hundreds of euros - thousands even. Imagine watching one of those die...

Gardenfiend - Germany, Zone "7a"
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Posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 04:44 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Gardenfiend wrote on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 03:31 pm:

I've seen some offered here (by a specialist) for hundreds of euros - thousands even.



Wow...I'd want to buy the whole nursery stock for that much!

The ones I bought were £3.00 - £4.00 there were some expensive doubles £10.00...but I'm not keen on doubles.

Here is the bowl of flowers I took a photo of....lovely. Unfortunately, some of the blues haven't come out true. Didn't see the green flowered ones there.

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Dee_b - West Midlands, Zone "7"
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Posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 05:05 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

I just love that photo!

Sunnyday2day - Michigan, Zone "Zone 5"
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Posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 05:22 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

They are beautiful - and dangerously addicting. You'll see.
I've posted this link previously, but if you want to lose your mind, click here, then on the left click on Hepatica, and then on nobilis var. japonica.

Gardenfiend - Germany, Zone "7a"
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Posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 05:37 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Thanks for the link Mara,

Beautiful, beautiful plants..but at what price!

Unbelievable. I don't think I will be putting in an order.

Dee_b - West Midlands, Zone "7"
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Posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 07:16 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Dee,
What a lovely photograph of the bowl of Hepatica's. I can understand why you bought the plants...

Terryk wrote on Thursday, March 06, 2008 - 10:16 pm:

I love the color of the hepatica in the second photo. Do you know which one that is?


Terry,
Not sure of the hybrid name of the Hepatica...but would think it is a H. nobilis. Ashwoods nurseries do have a colour brochure of Hepaticas. I will certainly look through their brochure for ideas when I am next there.
Maggiepie wrote on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 07:06 am:

I wonder how easy they are to grow from seeds.


Helen,

As regards growing Hepatica's from seed, I would say they are easy if you are patient and have a good source of "fresh" seed as the seed has limited viability.

Guidelines as follows...But in Zone 4b I would probably sow the seeds and keep in the coldest place indoors where the seed can be stratified.

Sow fresh seed while it is still green. Sow thinly in pans outside and place in a shady position. Use well-drained compost, 2 parts John Innes Seed, 1 part leaf mould and 1 part perlite. Cover with 1cm (1/2") of potting grit to deter moss. Keep moist at all times but avoid frequent light waterings. Seeds usually germinate the following spring. Prick out the seedings the following autumn into cell trays, or small pots. An ideal compost is made up from equal parts John Innes No.2, leaf mould and perlite. Pot on as necessary using the same mix, or plant out in the garden, preferably in the shade of deciduous trees or shrubs. Watch out for slugs and mice!
Seeds usually germinate the following spring. Some Asian species of Hepatica can take two years to germinate.

Roys - West midlands, Zone "8a"
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Posted on Sunday, March 09, 2008 - 10:24 am EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Doesn't deserve its own thread, but I want to show you this which opened today.
Hepatica nobilis 'Schneeball', growing in a shady spot in the garden.

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Gardenfiend - Germany, Zone "7a"
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Dee_b  Send Dee_b a private message!



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Posted on Sunday, March 09, 2008 - 01:38 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Lovely Mara, Aren't they so pretty with the coloured anthers. That's going to be gorgeous when it's fully opened.

Did you get it from that specialist you posted? Actually, there were one or two reasonably priced ones on there that I liked....may take another look.

Dee_b - West Midlands, Zone "7"
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Posted on Sunday, March 09, 2008 - 01:53 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Dee, you are a devil! Post more pictures so we can see what else you bought.

Roy, thanks for checking out Ashwood. I can go on the website and look too.

Helen, try gardensnorth.com for fresh seed. Maybe you will have more luck than I did with germination. I sometimes order more than I can handle.

Mara, how could you post that link! But seriously I LOVE your hepatica and your photo is wonderful.

Terryk - NY, Zone "6"
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Posted on Sunday, March 09, 2008 - 02:25 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Dee, yes, a couple of years ago at the spring plant fair. It was one of the cheapest, of course ;)
I should have waited till tomorrow for the photo but the weather was so gorgeous today, I was snapping away...

Jürgen Peters breeds hepaticas as well (the ones with JP in their name) and I see he is selling 5kg bags of the (complicated) soil mix he uses. Might be worth trying in pots.

Gardenfiend - Germany, Zone "7a"
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Posted on Sunday, March 09, 2008 - 03:24 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message