Hellebores are beautiful herbaceous flowering plants that can be effortlessly grown and maintained even during the cold winter.
Hellebores belong to the buttercup family and produce lovely flowers. Hellebores are grown using propagation methods of division and seeds.
Keep reading to learn how to propagate hellebores with three incredible methods and get a chance to adore their beautiful flowers!
Hellebores is a beautiful late winter and early spring bloomer.
It is a mesmerizing plant with its soft-colored, bell-shaped flowers and leaves with deep cuts. This attractive bloomer is easy to grow through propagation.
Their seeds can take up to 2 to 4 years to bloom, whereas the cuttings yield much faster results.
We have discussed both methods and their repercussions on how to propagate hellebores.
How to Propagate Hellebores? | The Methods!
We utilize different propagation methods according to the different species of hellebores.
The stinking species of hellebores are usually propagated through seeds, and the oriental varieties are propagated through the division method. Plants grown through seeds are not always true to their parents. However, the ones grown through the division method are always the same as their original parents.
If you are uncertain about which species of hellebores you have, then it is best advised to propagate the plant using both methods.
The hellebores are categorized into two main types:
- Stemless or Acaulescent (Leaves are grown from the basal growth.)
- Stemmed or Caulescent (Leaves are produced from the existing stems.)
You can propagate only the stemless variety of hellebores through division. This variety includes oriental hybrids.
The other varieties of stinking hellebores are propagated best through seeds.
The propagation of hellebores through division is much easier than for seeds. Hellebores propagated through division takes up to 1 or 2 years to bloom, whereas the ones propagated through seeds can take as long as four years.
To learn all the methods and their effectiveness, keep reading the article with detailed instructions on how to propagate hellebores.
Method 1: Propagation Through Seeds
Propagating hellebores plants using seeds will bear flowers after a long waiting period, but this is the most appropriate method for stemmed varieties.
Most of these plants are the nurse plant, and wild babies can be found budding under the larger foliage.
It will help you figure out the right environment needed for the seedlings.
The varieties primarily found in home gardens are oriental hybrids. Therefore, their seeds do not produce true plants. It implies that the new plants will not be identical clones of the parent plant. They are proficient in creating various characteristics varying in colors, shapes, markings of foliage, and the number of petals.
Not only that, but it can also exhibit variation within the same plant.
It means that the same rhizome of a parent plant can originate flowers of both pink and white colors.
This phenomenon is true for all seeds of hellebores, whether you harvested them or bought them from the store. The final results are unpredictable!
Despite their unpredictability, propagation through seeds will help you attain beautiful varieties, and you will be in for a surprise.
Method 2: Propagation Through Division
If you want certain results and obtain a bloom that yields exact replicas of the parents, then using the seed propagation method might not be the right option for you.
The division method is the right way to replicate exact clones as the parent plants.
The division method is even more desirable in the case that you bought an expensive cultivar of hellebores plant as compared to a generic hybrid specie.
In such a case, you would want to get the best out of your price and replicate the plant as much as possible.
Propagating hellebore by division is relatively easy.
- To start, tie the leaves into two even bunches and make a gap in the middle of the plant.
- Besides improving visibility while you work, these clumps can also serve as great makeshift handles to lift the plants at a later time.
- Use a pair of garden forks to dig around and under the root zone, taking out a root ball to ensure the roots remain intact.
- Begin by planting the root ball solidly onto the ground.
- Once you have done this, use a heavy spade to cut through and between the roots.
- You can alternatively use a second fork to dig both your forked plant parts before the middle, dividing the roots cleanly.
- Plant each new section immediately and provide even moisture as they establish.
These plants will need some time to overcome the shock, and it might take up to a year to start blooming.
Method 3: Micropropagation
The third and last method of propagating hellebores is through the technique of micropropagation.
In this method, scientists use a closed environment, free from any disease-causing contamination, to grow and propagate the hellebores.
- In this method, tissue is collected from the parent plant and grown in the test tubes using growth hormones.
- When the cells start growing, the plant tissue develops various crucial parts like roots and shoots.
- These plants are sustained in a water-based medium without any soil, and nutrients are added for the plants to consume as food.
It is a very controlled and high-end propagation method, resulting in many replicas of the same parent plant.
However, even a controlled method like this is not free from mutations.
This process goes about much faster in a laboratory under controlled conditions and will yield results faster than division propagation. It is also more predictable than the seed propagation method.
Related article: 21 of the Easy Growing Winter Flowering Bulbs for Beginners
That would be all!
Conclusion
Hellebores are beautiful plants with evergreen leaves and mesmerizing flowers of various hues.
Even though these cultivars are easy to grow, the process can be tricky since the seeds do not produce true plants. We have covered you if you have been growing hellebores and not attaining consistent or desired results.
Our helpful guide has discussed in detail the various methods on how to propagate hellebores and what result you should expect.
So, keep propagating, and let us know how your blooms turned out!
Regards,
Happy propagation!