| Author |
Message |
    
Matthias
 Supporting Member
| | Posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 05:24 am EST : |   |
H. foetidus has always been one of my favourites in the garden for ornamental/architechtural reasons. Look at these wonderful specimens I found in the wild in the Swiss Jura only a few minutes from my place. One can spot the light yellow green flower bouquets from a long distance - and then that contrast with those metallic dark blue green leaves!
Matthias
- South Germany,
Zone "7"
|
Gardenfiend
Supporting Member
My Weather
My Garden
| | Posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 07:07 am EST : | |
It must be wonderful to find them growing wild. The leaves on those in your pictures appear to be quite dark - and very attractive. Will you collect seeds later?
As for growing them in the garden, it is hard not to. Once introduced, you have foetidus forever - and in the most unexpected places. I agree with you, they are very decorative plants and the early flowers are a joy.
So yes, I do grow H. foetidus, and it thrives in my garden. I've given seedlings away to neighours and friends and they have always grown well, so it seems to be an easy hellebore to please.
Gardenfiend
- Germany,
Zone "7a"
|
Jgwoodard
My Garden
| | Posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 11:09 am EST : | |
Matthias, H. foetidus is probably my favorite all-around hellebore. I can tell because I refuse to destroy them while I compost mature Helleborus x hybridus plants by the dozens. Below, a ground cover of self-sown plants entering their third year. In this very dry and inhospitable spot, few other things would look so vibrant (of course similar single plants in better spots are quite large, but I like this effect).
Jgwoodard
- TN,
Zone "7"
|
Matthias
Supporting Member
| | Posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 11:49 am EST : | |
Mara, the leaves are quite dark. Here is a 100% crop of the first pic above. Colour is darker in the original.
I shall try to put some paper tea bags around some of the carpels to get some seeds. Do you know that method? Works very well for me in the garden unless a cat gets interested ....
That looks great, Joseph! You hardly every find such masses of seedlings in the wild: too much competition of other plants.
Matthias
- South Germany,
Zone "7"
|
Dee_b
Supporting Member
| | Posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 02:19 pm EST : | |
What lovely coloured leaves. They appear metallic, they are so dark.
I only have two plants in my garden, and they haven't spread at all; I don't know why because my hybrids spread everywhere.
Dee_b
- West Midlands,
Zone "7"
|
Toshio
| | Posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 04:12 pm EST : | |
Matthias, I grow several H.foetidus in my garden. But they often die suddenly especially in humid summer after rainy season(June) in my region like Tokyo or Yokohama. So, I usually collect the seeds every year because it is said that they are relatively short-lived.
Joseph, your H.foetidus are really nice and look very healthy and vigorous.
Toshio
- Yokohama,Japan,
Zone "?"
|
Terryk
Supporting Member
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
| | Posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 08:02 pm EST : | |
Joseph do any of your H. foetidus exhibit the red marking around the edge of the flower? If so, could you spare one of them in that sea of H. foetidus.
They do look wonderful, do they stay evergreen for you?
Terryk
- NY,
Zone "6"
|
Matthias
Supporting Member
| | Posted on Saturday, March 08, 2008 - 02:04 am EST : | |
Joseph, I would keep this one!
Matthias
- South Germany,
Zone "7"
|
Peppa
My Garden
| | Posted on Saturday, March 08, 2008 - 03:06 pm EST : | |
I used to grow this plant.(sadly past tense...)
My mother-in-law gave one to me and I planted it in a wet/shade area. She said "This is a stinky Hellebore!!"
I wish I had planted it where it got more sunshine.
Peppa
- WA,
Zone "8"
|
Growit
Supporting Member
My Favorite Photo
My Weather
My Time
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 - 07:28 am EST : | |
Me too! I tend to leave them where they are happy in the gardens I work in and they invariably form a little carpet. It is easy enough to thin once they get too overcrowded. They are also rabbit resistant which means a lovely architectural plant where many wouldn't survive!
Growit
- Hants UK,
Zone "8/9"
|
Galanthophile
Supporting Member
My Favorite Photo
My Garden
| | Posted on Friday, March 14, 2008 - 11:40 am EST : | |
From my original plant I have had many seedlings pop up in various places around the garden and they are always welcome.
Galanthophile
- Ann (Northern England),
Zone "8"
|
Growit
Supporting Member
My Favorite Photo
My Weather
My Time
| | Posted on Friday, March 14, 2008 - 01:56 pm EST : | |
Matthias can you explain exactly what you do please?
Growit
- Hants UK,
Zone "8/9"
|
Matthias
Supporting Member
| | Posted on Friday, March 14, 2008 - 02:29 pm EST : | |
Moira, to prevent the seeds from getting lost when the carpels open I put the complete ripening flower into one of these larger tea bags which you can buy in packs of 50 or maybe 100 and close the bag behind the "flower". The bags are approximately 6 x 10 cm (that is a guess, I don't have them here right now). They are made of a material (fleece?) that can withstand weather and rain for a few months in the garden. As soon as the carpels split open they fall into the bag and don't get lost, if you are not there precisely on time. For me this is the only possible way to be able to collect seeds each day in the late afternoon. In hot weather the carpels crack open here around midday and the seeds fall out.
It can look funny if you have one plant adorned with 10 of these bags. People always ask me if Christo had been here ...
Matthias
- South Germany,
Zone "7"
|
Growit
Supporting Member
My Favorite Photo
My Weather
My Time
| | Posted on Friday, March 14, 2008 - 02:34 pm EST : | |
Haha! Thankyou Matthias. I will try this method out.
Growit
- Hants UK,
Zone "8/9"
|
Addict
| | Posted on Saturday, March 15, 2008 - 06:29 am EST : | |
Matthias I am confused. Do you mean you cut open tea bags after drinking the tea or you can buy empty tea bags. As you know I use muslin but it needs sowing a labour of tedium. Sadly we don't drink tea so I was interested if you bought them empty?
addict Staffordshire zone 8(just) UK |
Peppa
My Garden
| | Posted on Saturday, March 15, 2008 - 01:20 pm EST : | |
I also use tea bags for collecting seeds as well as for hybridization. The bags are breathable like muslin and they are perfect for protecting the pistils from cross pollination. I staple each bag shut after I put it on the plant so that it won't fall off.
I used to get the empty bags when I visited Japan but I recently found them locally at a couple of grocery stores that carry Asian foods.
Peppa
- WA,
Zone "8"
|
Jgwoodard
My Garden
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 07:14 am EST : | |
Terry and Matthias, I have quite a few plants in other areas that have varying degrees of coloration. The ones in the photo were all from a single, rather nondescript plant where the stalk fell over and dropped seed. By all means Terry I can select something for you from a better batch. It's quite interesting actually; for example, there is one random plant I noticed recently where the sepals are about 25-30 percent red but otherwise the leaves are mostly 'typical'. Other plants have very strong red markings on leaves and stalks (mostly derived from a 'Wester Flisk' from years ago), and one out of the batch is as colorful as I've seen. I suppose over a couple of decades one could get some very interesting specimens by selection only.
Jgwoodard
- TN,
Zone "7"
|
Terryk
Supporting Member
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 09:25 pm EST : | |
Thanks! I'll pm you Joseph.
Terryk
- NY,
Zone "6"
|
Jeffnz
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 10:01 pm EST : | |
Has anyone ever come across any inter species hybrids of foetidus?
There is a brief mention in the Rice & Strangman book of hybrids between foetidus and argutifolius made at Durham University in 1960 but that the progeny were not considered garden worthy.
The metallic blue sheen seen on some of the plants grown by Matthias does suggest that from the foliage perspective it may be worth having another look at ths cross.
Many years ago I purchased a few locally available seedlings of wat was supposedly Wester Fisk but they lacked the presence of any red tonings, which in hindsight may be related to the lack of real cold winter conditions in my garden location. I consigned all the plants to the rubbish tip as interest in hybridus blossomed. Have never seen any foetidus here that have the intense blueish colouration of the plants grown by Matthias but my interest in using this type of plant in an inter species cross is growing.
Jeffnz
- Wellington,
Zone "?"
|
Jgwoodard
My Garden
| | Posted on Friday, March 21, 2008 - 06:36 am EST : | |
As H. foetidus is in my opinion 1000 times better than (even well-grown) H. vesicarius for example, I think it would also be cross worthy. I haven't tried or seen one personally though. Jeff, as with most plants (and certainly hellebores) conditions matter. Leaves can turn medium green to charcoal overnight (literally) just like sepals can turn from white to dark pink overnight in hybrids. There is of course a genetic role too.
Jgwoodard
- TN,
Zone "7"
|
