Tag Archive for: Helleborus purpurascens seeds

Seeds announcement

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Various species recommended to be sown fresh like: Pulsatilla styriaca and its beautiful color variant, Helleborus caucasicus, Helleborus purpurascens, Helleborus x hybridus ‘Cherry Blossoms’, Jeffersonia dubia are in the inventory.

But, wait ‘a minute’! We are preparing a small ‘Canadense’ celebration with the very fresh seeds of Asarum canadense, Aquilegia and Stylophorum diphyllum. These fresh seeds cannot be packed in moist vermiculite right away and for this event will be sent, just like Hepatica seeds, in glassine envelopes.

The ‘Canadense’ celebration will take place from: Friday June 24th to July 2 (Sat.) with sale prices for:
Asarum canadense
Stylophorum diphyllum
Aquilegia canadensis – woodland and short form, plus the ‘Little Lanterns’
There is a very small harvest of Sanguinaria canadensis seeds this year, reason why this species will not be included in the sale.

Also, this year seeds are restocked and new species are being added to the SEEDS Shop as they become available so they can be easily combined in orders with species that require summer sowing.
Recently  seeds restocked/new added: Mitella diphylla, Thalictrum dioicum, Geum triflorum, Potentilla porphyrantha, Lewisia rediviva, Zigadenus fremontii… SEEDS LIST

The SEEDs Shop will be closed for orders starting July 3!
The re-opening will be announced.

Helleborus caucasicus

Helleborus purpurascens, April 2022

Helleborus ‘Cherry Blossom’

Pulsatilla styriaca

Pulsatilla ex. styriaca color form

Pulsatilla pratensis hybrid

Jeffersonia dubia

Sanguinaria canadensis

Asarum canadense

What’s new?

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First of all, seeds of Erythronium americanum are in stock, in limited quantity. The spring weather wasn’t favorable for the early flowering species pollination.

Then, a few Helleborus are already in stock: H. x hybridus ‘Cherry Blossoms‘, H. niger, H. foetidus and in limited quantity – H. purpurascens!
How rewarding to see the Helleborus purpurascens grown up and starting to produce seeds! Seeds from mother-plants which were grown from wild collected seeds are the next best thing, beside the wild coll. seeds.

Helleborus ‘Cherry Blossom’

Helleborus niger

Helleborus foetidus

Helleborus purpurascens ex. Carpathian Mts.

They should be sown during the summer months in order to obtain germination in the next spring. I wish there were more Helleborus to offer. They are so easy to grow from seeds and even if some cultivars won’t come true to the mother plants 100%, there are only nice surprises to expect.

Also, the formerly Corydalis, now Pseudofumaria alba and the NA Rock harlequin, Capnoides sempervirens are also in stock. Pseudofumaria lutea will follow shortly.
These species behave similarly in regards to the germination: fresh seeds sown right away will mostly germinate during summer time and form a leaf rosette; next year they will start flowering. Seeds sown later in the fall/early winter will mostly germinate after a cold period.

For those who need encouragement to start growing plants from seeds, I always recommend to try a few of the “easy” species, like these ones. Throw the seeds in the garden (in a location you will water at least occasionally) and is almost impossible not to obtain a few plants (same goes for Papaver species).
Especially for those problem places where nothing seems to grow, try these “Corydalis” and you will not be disappointed. What else would grow so bountiful around the house foundation? The ‘unwanted’ are easily removed.

Pseudofumaria alba

Capnoides sempervirens

Pseudofumaria lutea

Few other usual species of mid to late June are also collected and will be available next week: Sanguinaria canadensis (just coll. yesterday), Stylophorum diphyllum, S. lasiocarpum and hopefully Asarum canadense.

For Seed trade – Helleborus purpurascens

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Update: since I wrote this post in 2014! we now have the plants grown from wild collected seeds in the Carpathian Mts. (2 different accessions) flowering well and rewarding us with seeds. Nothing is more satisfying than to see plants grown from few seeds found by chance  growing well in the garden. This species is increasingly rare in the wild; growing it in the garden it is also a matter of conservation at this point. The greenish-slate gray with back dusted purple flowers are exquisite! not to mention the foliage.

 

“I am not young enough to know everything” – Oscar Wilde

A quick post because I just ‘discovered’ that Helleborus purpurascens seeds are best sown fresh in the summer. They need to go through a warm-moist period followed by cold-moist in order to germinate best. Older seeds will still germinate but in a lower percentage. Helleborus is one thing I have never done from seed (members of Ranunculaceae are notoriously difficult germinators). This is a rare Helleborus species distributed only along the Carpathian Mountains range, up to central and northern Hungary. Interestingly, it can be found growing in full sun, in open alpine meadows and also under dappled shade in beech woods.

Helleborus purpurascens in native habitatHelleborus purpurascens growing in full sun in native habitat – Carpathian Mts.

Graham Rice, the authority in all Helleborus matters, has an extensive article on H. purpurascens on his website, you can read it HERE. In a bit of a hurry, I will quote him so no one can say I am biased because of its origins:

It is “one of the most captivating species for its engaging habit of flowering so enthusiastically, for its subtle metallic tints… The foliage too is unlike that of other hellebores, in that it radiates from the tip of the petiole in a neat circle.”

As for the flowers, a few forms that are known from Botanical Gardens: “are purple in colour with dark veins, slightly pinkish towards the base and netted towards the edge; some flowers have an overall green haze…In a second form which reaches 15 in in height the flowers are smoky blue-purple in colour, darker outside than in, with slightly reddish veins inside and green nectaries. Other forms may be slate purple or deep purple outside, shining pinkish shades….”

Helleborus purpurascensHelleborus purpurascens – from what’s left it seems matching the description!

A truly collector’s plant, so this is a call for a seeds trade – if someone wishes a few fresh Helleborus purpurascens seeds to sow them right away, please get in touch with me here, on my email or at infoATbotanicallyinclined.org (of course replace AT with @

It would be a pity not to have them all germinating well – still enough summertime left!

Helleborus purpurascens seedsHelleborus purpurascens seeds