Free Hellebore

Hellebore, ( Helleborus ), commonly known as the Christmas Rose or Lenten Rose, are a perennial gardening plant which flowers during winter and spring.

They produce some of the most prettiest flowers in infinite colour variations and in shapes varying from saucer to bell or tubular.

The flowers appear at the time of year when most other plants are dormant, giving a spectacular and most welcome display.

Most species will retain their green leaves all year round, although they may be somewhat drab and weather beaten by the time summer arrives.

These leaves are best cut off at the onset of spring or just before the flower buds start to develop.

Hellebore once established will self-seed profusely, giving you loads of new plants for absolutely nothing.

And what’s more they will self-seed year after year after year.

What does self-seed mean?

Well, most gardening plants after flowering produce seeds.

When the seeds are ripe they will be dispersed. Some by wind, some will be scattered as the seed pods pop open and some will be eaten by birds and dispersed as they pass unharmed through their digestive system.

But some will drop below or near the plant and these seeds, if left undisturbed, will germinate and grow into new plants.

This is known as self-seeding.

And guess what…..?

Hellebore self-seed profusely.

They flower in mid winter through to the end of spring and after flowering produce seeds which, when ripe, they will disperse.

These seeds will germinate the following spring, usually in vast numbers.

And all you have to do is dig them up, plant them in a pot and grow them on.

It’s so easy.

Now that’s what you call free gardening plants!

Want to know how to make the best of these self-seedlings?

There’s just three easy steps…..

Free Hellebore Step One

First of all you need to have a good look around your Hellebore plants to see where the best and strongest seedlings are. You will find them in clumps of a couple of a dozen or so.

This is Alison making her annual spring inspection of our “Helliborium”, with head gardener Sam, as usual, overseeing things.

We have over two hundred Hellebore growing in a dedicated bed under the cover of Silver Birch trees. This is an ideal place to grow Hellebore, they really thrive in these conditions.

And every year we have hundreds of seedlings, some of which we dig out and pot on.

Others we leave where they are to grow on, providing they do not become to overcrowded. If that’s the case we thin out the self-seedlings to give them all enough growing space.

If there are any weak, deformed or diseased self-seedlings dig them out and destroy them. They will not make good mature plants.

When you have found the strongest self-seedlings, those that are the greenest, shiniest and the strongest its just a case of digging them out.

The stronger the self-seedlings are the better chance they have of growing in to good healthy mature plants.

Depending on the number of mature and established Hellebore you have will depend on how many seedlings will have germinated.

But you can reckon on around half a dozen at least, usually a dozen or more, will have germinated just from one mature plant.

Using a hand trowel carefully dig all around the clump of self-seedlings.

Dig down at a slight angle towards the center of the clump, to about the depth your trowel, but without trying to lift the clump.

“You can utilize all sorts of household objects for propagating plants which will cost you just pennies, or in most cases nothing at all”

Once you have dug all the way around the clump lift the entire clump of self-seedlings, complete with soil, gently supporting it with one hand while gently lifting it with your hand trowel.

Use care here to avoid too much damage to the roots, you don’t want any broken roots.

The clump of self-seedlings should come up fairly easy so no great effort is needed. Take your time, the less root damage here the more chance you have of producing strong and healthy mature plants. Broken roots will set the plants back several weeks.

Lift the clump of self-seedlings , with the soil, making sure it does not fall apart. It would be a disaster if the clump fell apart now, it would break several roots making the self-seedlings useless.

So, take your time, lift the clump with care and gently place it in a suitable container ready for transportation to your potting bench.

Alison having lifted her self-seedlings has placed them in a container, a plastic tray previously used as supermarket food packaging.

The plastic tray is about 25cm (10inches) by 10cm (4inches) and around 5cm (2inches) deep. It has been thoroughly washed and is the ideal size for this self-seedling collection job. And what’s more it cost nothing, not only that its recycling in action.

You can utilize all sorts of household objects for propagating plants which will cost you just pennies, on in most cases nothing at all.

Before you make your way to your potting bench don’t forget to level the soil off from where you lifted the clumps of self-seedlings. This is easily done with your hand trowel.

It’s also a good idea to remove any weeds you find growing among your Hellebores.

But be careful not mistake Hellebore self-seedlings as weeds.

Ready for Free Hellebore Step Two?

Or want to go back to Free Hellebore Step One?

Free Hellebore Step Two

In Free Hellebore Step One we showed you how easy it is to select and collect your Hellebore self-seedlings.

The next step is just as easy and this is where you get everything ready for potting up your self-seedlings.

Ok, this is what you have ended up with from free Hellebore Step One, a container, here a recycled plastic food tray, full of Hellebore self-seedlings.

And now you have safely made your way to your potting bench.

What’s that? You haven’t got a potting bench yet?

Well that’s no real problem, the potting benches we use are home made from from old wooden pallets, obtained for nothing from local businesses.

They are so easy to make. Just cut a pallet in half, long ways, and screw four pieces of wood, one on each corner, to make legs. A quick coat of fence paint or wood preservative and that’s it. It really is that easy.

We have several of these home made potting benches, which we leave in convenient places around the garden, in sheds and greenhouses, just for this type of job and many other jobs as well.

But this is not getting your self-seedlings in pots.

So if you don’t have a potting bench use any convenient surface for now.

Right lets get potting!

On your potting bench you will have your potting compost (any ordinary potting compost will do), a scoop, 7.5cm (3inch) pots or cell trays (preferred) and a dibber.

Fill your pots or cell trays with compost.

Cell trays are ideal and we use them all the time. We use nine cell trays, each cell is 6.5 X 4.8 X 6cm (2 ½ X 2 X 2 ½ inches), which are ideal for growing these size of seedlings.

These cell trays are easy to handle being half a normal tray, flat, size. Two of these cell trays will fit in a normal full size seed tray, flat.

They are easier to fit on greenhouse benches and in cold frames, much easier than round pots and they take up much less space.

The cell trays work out less than a quarter of the price of ordinary round plastic pots and they use less compost.

All round these cell trays are preferred to round pots, they are a good investment and will last years.

Now lets get on with potting.

Using your scoop fill a nine cell tray with compost.

Just scoop the compost out of its bag and let it fall into the cell tray.

Don’t press the compost down with the scoop as this will compact it. This is not what you want.

When you have filled your cell tray with compost level it off with the flat of your hand.

Move your hand backwards and forwards over the surface of the compost until the compost is level with the top of the cell tray.

You don’t want to press the compost down, just level it off.

Now holding the cell tray at each side lift it up about 7.5cm (3inches) above your potting bench and gently tap on the bench. Do this about two or three times.

This will settle the compost in the cells without compacting it and it will remove any air pockets.

Do this gently, there is no need to get heavy handed, all you want to do is settle the compost in the cells, not compact it.

Using the thick end of your dibber press it into the compost in the center of the first cell to a depth of about 4cm (1 ½ inches), this does not need to be exact, a little more or less will be fine.

Using a circular motion enlarge the hole in the compost to about 2.5cm (1inch), again this does not need to be exact.

Ok, you should now have a cell tray filled with compost, levelled off and settled.

You should also have a hole in the center of the first cell.

Yup looks good to us.

Well that’s Free Hellebore Step Two done. Easy or what?

Ready for Free Hellebore Step Three?

Or do you want to go back to Free Hellebore Step One?

Or back to Free Hellebore Step Two?

In Free Hellebore Step One we showed you how easy it was to select and collect your Hellebore self-seedlings.

In Free Hellebore Step Two we showed you just how easy it is to get everything ready for potting your self-seedlings.

The next step is just as easy and this is where you get to find out how many Hellebore self-seedlings you collected.

So lets crack on…..

Free Hellebore Step Three

Ok from Free Hellebore Step Two you have ended up with a cell tray filled with compost ready for potting your self-seedlings.

So, now is the time to pot up your self-seedlings, you will soon find out how many Hellebore you have for free!

You collected the self-seedlings in a clump of about a dozen or more complete with surrounding soil.

These self-seedlings need to be teased apart so they can be potted individually.

Take your time, treat the self-seedlings gently, at this stage of their development they are fragile. Any damage to roots or stems will end in failure.

So, with care lift the clump of self-seedlings complete with surrounding soil with both hands and place it on your potting bench, somewhere it will be easy to work with.

The soil will be fairly loos, so with your fingers gently tease the self-seedlings from the edge of the clump. They will come away quite easy without too much effort. Just be sure you don’t damage the stems or break the roots.

Patience is of the essence, so take your time and you will soon find how easy it is to tease them apart.

Disgard any self-seedlings that have damaged stems or roots, they will not make good mature plants, if they even survive at all.

(With practice, and it doesn’t take much practice, you will find teasing your self-seedlings apart easy, it will be second nature, you will do it automatically. So, just be patient here, take your time and you will do just fine).

When you have nine or so self-seedlings teased apart you can start potting them in your cell tray.

Now carefully pick up a self-seedling by a leaf and gently lower the roots into the dibbered hole in the compost of your cell tray.

Using your dibber and holding, by a leaf, the self-seedling upright and with the roots below the surface of the compost and the stem just above the surface of the compost, gently push the compost from the edge of the cell inwards towards the self-seedling.

Do this all the way round, but be careful don’t push the compost with to much force or you will damage the stem and roots.

The self-seedling should be in the compost at roughly the same height as it was in the soil.

The compost does not want to be compacted, it just needs to be fairly loosely holding the self-seedling upright.

(Again with practice, and it doesn’t take much practice, you will find potting these self-seedlings easy. Just take your time and treat them carefully)

There you go then, your first self-seedling successfully potted. Told you it was easy!

Continue potting up your self-sedlings in your cell tray, the same way you did your first one.

Theres no rush, so take it carefully, time spent here carefully potting will pay dividends later down the line. You will end with strong healthy mature plants giving years of enjoyment and , of course, many more free gardening plants!

You should now end up with your cell tray full of Hellebore self-seedlings.

Already, with not to much effort, you have nine hellebore plants for absolutely nothing. Now that is free gardening plants!

Just keep teasing the self-seedlings apart and potting them into the cell trays until you have potted them all.

From the clumps of self-seedlings that Alison lifted she potted a total of fifty-four self-seedlings.

Not bad.

So how many Self-seedlings did you manage to pot?

With all your self-seedlings potted in your cell trays place them in a cold frame which is sheltered from direct mid-day sun.

They can stay in the cold frame for the next year or so to grow on to fine mature plants.

All that’s left to do is give them a good watering.

Give them a good soak using a fine rose on a watering can.

Don’t hold the watering can to high above the cell trays or the force of the water will dislodge the self-seedlings.

Well that’s it, in just twenty to thirty minutes, in three easy steps and with little effort, you can have fifty or more free Hellebore.

Want to go back to Free Hellebore Step One?

Or back to Free Hellebore Step Two?

If you want any further information on free Hellebore and self-seedlings or how to propagate and grow any of your favourite gardening plants please feel free to contact us

For some stunning pictures of Hellebore..... click here

Go to home page