Harvest Hellebores Like a Pro
Hellebores became all the rage right in floral design sometime around 2012 and they’ve remained a favorite ever since, especially among farmer florists who are anxious for a sturdy bloom in early spring design work. Since hellebores are one of the first flowers to bloom each spring, often even before the snow is melted, we’re all still pretty desperate for some color in our lives. Their nodding heads are charming; their colors and patterns delicious! Oh so tempting to cut and put into a vase!! But it pays to be patient and not cut these garden beauties too soon!
I first fell in love with hellebores as an ornamental plant for my tiny shade garden at my first house in Philly, way back in 2004. But I soon found myself cutting them to take inside to enjoy. After all, who wants to stand outside and adore them in the freezing cold?! Fast forward to 2019 and my hellebore collections has well over 200 plants (and counting!) and probably nearly as many varieties!
Before you ask me exactly what varieties are best for cutting, I’ll let you in on a little secret: buy your hellebore plants in the spring while they are actually blooming in their pots at the nursery so you can see how tall the flower stems are and if their heads face down or up. Hellebore genetics are notorious for crossbreeding and so even a named cultivar may have different traits from plant to plant. So I find it better to see what you’re buying before investing in these pricey pretties. If forced to recommend one variety, I can say I do have quite a good many plants from the Brandywine series.
Now, as a flower farmer, I get asked frequently about how to make hellebores “last” in the vase. So many designers try to use them, only to have them wilt quickly. There are some tricks out there for “post-harvest” treatments that may help with wilting. Some people push a pin up the stem, some people dip them in boiling water, and some people use a chemical quick hydrating solution. And some people use all three. In my experience, there’s only one sure-fire way to get long-lasting hellebores. . .
Harvest hellebores when they are mature.
That’s it. It’s that simple. Harvest hellebores when they are mature, and they’ll not wilt. The showy petals of a hellebore “bloom” are actually not petals at all, but rather something called sepals. They serve as protection for the flower part which are actually at the center of the showy sepals, consisting of a cluster of finely textured stamens and rather small and insignificant petals (in the photo above, the ruffled green at the center are the petals). Once the flower is fertilized, the stamens and petals are shed, and a seed pod starts to form at the center of the sepals.
The best bet to get hellebores to last in floral arrangements is to use ones that have their seed pods formed. The more developed the seed pod, the sturdier the hellebore will be. This is because the sepals become stiff and waxy as the seed pod develops, which helps them resist wilting. A really mature hellebore can actually hold up beautifully out of water for a day or more. They’re great for boutonnieres and hair flowers!
Can you spot the hellebores that are almost ready to harvest and the ones that aren’t? Another trick that I’ve learned over the years is to harvest my hellebore stems with a sharp knife rather than scissors/snips. The knife makes a clean cut that does not crush the cells in the tender stem of the hellebore the way snips would. If a stem is particularly thick at the bottom, I’ll make an inch slit up the middle with the knife as well to help open up more water-absorbing tissue. This step is not necessary if the seed pods are well-developed, but sometimes when I’m in a hurry to harvest some blooms that are a little on the young side for a particular wedding or event, I’ll take the extra measure, just to be safe.
Now that I’ve got you all excited about growing hellebores for cutting, go order some from North Creek Nurseries, my favorite supplier.
written by Jenni Love @ https://lovenfreshflowers.com/2019/03/27/harvest-hellebores/
