How to Cultivate and Take Care of Hellebore Flowers
The introduction of hellebore flowers and related information about green plants and flowers are presented here for your reference. Let's learn about them together.
Hellebore flowers, which are not afraid of the cold, are also known as "Christmas roses" because their flowering period starts from December each year and can last from winter to spring, from April to May. With rich and bright colors, they are loved and pursued by many flower enthusiasts and have become a popular winter and autumn flower in the past two years. Today's article will teach you how to care for hellebore flowers in pots.
Hellebore Flower Introduction
Hellebore flowers are also known as cold flowers, little peach blossoms, and are perennial evergreen herbs, growing to a height of 30-50 cm, cold-resistant and semi-shaded, mainly growing in the gravelly sandy loam and brown soil in Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi, and other places. Hellebore plants are low-growing, with dark green leaves and unique flowers and leaves, making them have high ornamental value in gardens as well as medicinal value.
How to Cultivate Hellebore Flowers and Precautions
It is not difficult to grow hellebore flowers well. During the maintenance process, it is recommended to focus on the following points.
1. -- Potting Soil and Pot Selection --
The native soil of hellebore flowers is breathable and water-permeable but relatively low in fertility. When growing hellebore flowers in pots, the soil should be loose and breathable. If the soil layer is thick and fertile, hellebore flowers will grow well.
Since hellebore flowers have fleshy roots and are deep-rooted plants that like moisture but cannot tolerate waterlogging, it is recommended that the particle content in the potting soil should account for at least 1/3 of the total volume, with hard particles controlled at about 40% to ensure good breathability and water permeability. You can use a mixture of 4 parts of decomposed leaf soil, 3 parts of akadama soil, 1 part of peat soil, 1 part of rice husk charcoal, and 1 part of鹿沼土 (Deer Swamp Soil), or a universal nutrient soil mixed with 1/3 of akadama soil for planting.
Since hellebore flowers are deep-rooted plants, it is recommended to choose a slightly deeper pot or a regular larger pot, such as a red陶 pot or root control pot, to avoid using short pots, which are not conducive to root growth.
2. -- Appropriate Watering --
Hellebore flowers like moisture but cannot tolerate waterlogging, so the potting soil should be breathable, making watering simpler. With sufficiently breathable soil, watering a bit more does not easily cause waterlogging.
In the growing period, hellebore flowers require watering when the soil surface is dry, meaning that during the spring and autumn growing periods, watering is done when the soil surface becomes dry. With sufficient water, the leaves of hellebore flowers will grow large and more ornamental.
In winter, with low temperatures and small evaporation, the potting soil dries slowly, so watering can be reduced. Generally, watering is done at noon on sunny days. In summer, with hot weather and high evaporation, attention should be paid to keeping the potting soil moist but not short of water. Watering can be done in the morning and evening when it's cool, and each watering should be thorough.
3. -- Suitable Light and Temperature --
Hellebore flowers can tolerate shade, but they grow stronger and have more vibrant flowers in a well-lit environment. The main growing period of hellebore flowers is from autumn to spring when the sunlight is relatively gentle, and it can maintain adequate light, especially in winter, with full sun exposure making the flower colors more vibrant.
In hot summer, hellebore flowers enter a dormant period and should be shaded to avoid strong sunlight, which can easily cause sunburn.
Hellebore flowers are cold-resistant and can withstand temperatures as low as -15 degrees Celsius. They can be grown outdoors in most areas during the winter and can even bloom in the snow. Plants with good cold resistance are often not very heat-resistant, and hellebore flowers have average heat resistance. In southern regions, it is recommended to keep them in an air-conditioned room in summer to avoid heat stress.
4. -- Timely Fertilization --
Hellebore flowers have two fertilization periods, one in the autumn growing period and one after flowering in spring. In the autumn, when hellebore flowers end their dormancy and enter the growing period, it is advisable to apply some long-acting fertilizers while maintaining a water-soluble fertilizer every 10 days or so, mainly phosphorus and potassium fertilizers.
When hellebore flowers develop flower buds, switch to high-phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, and stop fertilizing when the flowers enter the blooming period. After the blooming period, fertilization should be resumed to help the plant recover.
Note: In summer, hellebore flowers are in a dormant period and should not be fertilized.
5. -- Pruning Withered Flowers --
Hellebore flowers rarely require pruning, but if they produce seeds, the withered flowers should be cut off promptly if seeds are not needed.
When hellebore flowers fade, the petals often do not fall off but turn green, so when the color of the flowers turns green, it indicates that pruning can be done.
6. -- Preventing Diseases --
Due to their clumping nature, hellebore flowers are prone to stem rot in high humidity. It is important to enhance environmental ventilation after each watering, remove yellow leaves promptly, and prune some leaves to increase internal ventilation. When the air humidity is high, it is advisable to regularly spray and drench with metalaxyl.
The above introduction to hellebore flowers and the related explanation of how to cultivate and take care of them hope to bring a little help to your life!