The Lenten Rose Almanac December 2010

We are about two months away from a Lenten Rose garden full of flowers. The gardens will be in full bloom in Feb/Mar. In Decembers video we have a look at the progress of the new foliage growth in contrast to the old growth which is beginning to decompose and lay over. I also take a moment to show you how I divided a large hellebore root ball into many new sprouts.

Where Your Lenten Rose Order Comes From

November 2010

This month we take a look at two schools of thought concerning the way you treat your mature Lenten Roses around this time of year. The first way is the Lawn Mower Method. Sometime in October, take a lawnmower and just mow them to the ground! A month later, around now, after a few good rains, nice clean growth will appear and usually plenty of it.

The second method is the do nothing, ala Natural Method. Just do nothing. The new growth morphs up as the old growth lays over and decomposes. The process takes months and months and in fact, never ends. On some plants in the garden, I can still see the decomposing leave & stem from last years turn.

Both schools work. Both schools are good. It just depends on your preferences. The manicured, clean bed look or the seasonal charm, ala natural. We love them both.

And if you can't reach them with a lawn mower........you can trim them by hand.

Lenten Rose Almanac October 2010

The beautiful shade perennial, hellebore Orientalis, commonly known as our hero, the Lenten Rose, prized by master gardeners throughout the world, in October, is putting up new growth as it begins the 'foliage phase' of a new perennial cycle. The hardy lush green ground cover of last years growth remains and continues to thrive even as the inevitable perennial clock ticks away at its' time left before laying over leaf and stem to compost, protect and nourish its fallen seeds. Perennial cycles cross fade slowly. The new growth with the old - ever so slowly.

We ship 'moisten bare root' all year round

visit our web site at www.LentenRose.com

Lenten Rose Almanac for September 2010

The end of the Lenten Rose perennial cycle is cross fading with the beginning of the Lenten Rose perennial cycle. The stalks of the current foliage are leggy. The leafs are leathery. The serrates are sharp and prickly. The whole plant yells 'seasoned veteran'. The hardy lush green Lenten Rose ground cover we have enjoyed all summer is still standing its' post in our favorite shade perennial garden; and the last thing it will do as it ends its 2010 journey is begin anew. That's what I'm starting to see in September. New growth.

The hellebore Orientalis, commonly known as our hero the Lenten Rose, like all hellebores, begin their perennial cycle with a foliage phase. This is what we're seeing in September. This new growth will mature in the near months ahead and live on through the year to become the same foliage we see now. The second phase of the Lenten Rose perennial cycle (our favorite) is the flowering phase. In a few more months flower stalks and their support foliage will appear and then, we're in the thick of the new years growth.

.......more to follow.

Happy Gardening

Dog Days of August

Well, it is August. It has been unusually hot. Many parts of the eastern seaboard have experienced a near month of temperatures of over 90 degrees.

Our hero, the Lenten Rose, continues to march through the summer season as lush green, hardy ground cover.

Let's talk about the Hellebore in terms of the perennial cycle. The hellebore, Orientalis, commonly known as the Lenten Rose, and by far the most popular hellebore, is a perennial. Every year it goes through a full life cycle. It is born anew each year, matures, gives birth to new seed, parents and die. Gardeners know, the ebb and flow of our own human lifetime is encapsulated in the perennial cycle.

In August, the Lenten Rose is just beginning to flow toward the end of its’ yearly journey. In the next few months we will see the telling signs. The broad summer foliage begins to give way to a narrowing leaf and fading color.

(A dry hot summer will tax this process making it all the more painful to watch. Many of my beds here at LentenRose.com rely on rain water only and they are not very happy but these beds are almost a decade old, a testament to the hardy nature of the Lenten Rose.)

So here we are in the dog days of August. A well watered bed of Lenten Roses is still lush and full on. Ground cover maximo. The broad dark green leaves are leathery. The serrated edges are sharp and prickely, guarding the seed that fell back in April. You might say the Lenten Rose is in the parental phase of its’ life, offering a bit of shade and protection to their young.

We ship our Lenten Roses moisten bare root all year ‘round. August is a fine time to transplant. Keep in mind however that this mature foliage will be dying off in the months ahead as new growth follows.

So, that’s it for this month. Enjoy your Lenten Roses and happy gardening.

Summer Gardening - good time to plant your shade perennials

A summer rain show is always a welcome event for the gardener. The rain softens the soil and everything in the garden gets a nice drink. I do a lot of planting in the summer. We harvest seed in May and plant them in June. I cultivate new beds of Lenten Roses in June, July and August with a combination of seeds, 2 year olds and mature plants. This ensures that the bed get a head start on itself. Remember, the Lenten Rose takes four years to mature into a flowering plant so by planting a combination of different size/age plants we don't have to wait quite as long for the new bed to mature and fill in.

The summer is also the time to pot up any inventory I plan on selling at the end of the year and into the flowering months of next year - Feb/Mar/April - when the Lenten Rose is most popular.

We are always glad to help any new or existing Lenten Rose growers, whether you are a wholesale nursery or a hobbist grower - you are welcome and we can help.

Next month, in July's installment of the Lenten Rose Almanac will cover planting a bed of Lenten Roses.

Happy Gardening

Richard Giardini

LentenRose.com

Lenten Rose Almanac for June 2010

It's June and time to clean up your Lenten Roses. Here's the June installment of the Lenten Rose Almanac that talks about just that. This hardy shade perennial now takes on it's secondary roll through out the summer and early fall as a lush ground cover.

It is also a great time of the year to plant or transplant 4 year olds. We ship year round so order now and take advantage of our Summer Special - one free 4 year old with every order. Happy Gardening

About Us

LENTENROSE.COM was founded in 1999 by Richard Giardini, in Athens Georgia. He began his first Lenten Rose garden on the shrub border surrounding his house from a handful of seeds donated by a generous neighbor. Shortly thereafter, his humble garden grew to encompass his whole back yard! In 2001, Richard purchased five overgrown wooded acres where he and his partner Sky continued growing and growing and growing more Lenten Roses.

Lentenrose.com now occupies two properties and almost 10 acres boasting over 20,000 fully grown 5 to 10 year old plants, and yearlings numbering in the, well, too many to count.

Currently we are specializing in seeds, 2 year olds, flowering mature plants and cut flowers.

98% of sales are internet based. All plants are sold and shipped moistened bare root.

LENTENROSE.COM no longer sells containers.

See Richard's current project here: www.dashboardangel.com

"don't drive faster than your angel can fly!"

Sky gets published! (click here to learn more)

Shipping Day at www.lentenrose.com!

Today is Shipping day at www.lentenrose.com. We have had our best week on Record. The boxes are especially colorful thanks to our "free Mature plant with every order Promotion" -which will run through the end of April:-)
A special thanks to all the Master Gardeners who have helped to support my little Lenten Rose business,
sky

Lenten Rose Flowers

Yesterday, I took a stroll through our late Winter Lenten Rose Garden here at www.lentenrose.com.. I am delighted!
Some flowers nodding, others with their speckled faces stretching toward the sun. Some beautiful buds tightly woven. Many of my flowers have already been pollinated, forming their hopeful seed pods.
Here are some photos of my late winter journey. Enjoy!

Now taking Pre-Orders for 2010 Seed Harvest.

Estimated 2010 Seed Harvest: 500,000!

Shaping up your Lenten Rose bed.

In the Garden

Do your penance and cut old leaves of the Lenten rose

Ciscoe Morris suggests sprucing up your old Helleborus orientalis (Lenten rose) by cutting the old foliage back to the new stems emerging at the base. Treat Botrytis on helleborus before it ruins the plant. It is not too late to shape up a hedge.

It wasn't that long ago when Helleborus orientalis (Lenten rose) was available only with single nodding flowers in limited colors. Now, thanks to an amazing hybrid program, nurseries are able to offer varieties with spectacular multi-petaled, upward-facing blooms that come in practically any color imaginable, even black!

If you buy a new one, you won't need to cut the foliage back until next year.

If, on the other hand, you have an established Lenten rose growing in your garden, it's time to cut the old foliage back to the new stems emerging from the base. The new foliage will grow up fresh and attractive, but if you leave the old growth it will soon turn ratty and detract from the appearance of the plant. The old leaves also often harbor botrytis, a fungus disease that causes brown spots on foliage and the flowers, and are best removed to help prevent spread of the disease.

Best of all, once the old foliage is out of the way, the soon-to-form blooms will show up better and you'll get to enjoy the long-lasting flowers from winter into spring.

Prevent disease on hellebores

Botrytis is a fungus disease that attacks a wide variety of plants, and as mentioned above it often shows up on Lenten rose, as well as other varieties of Helleborus.

Favored by cool, wet weather, botrytis first appears as water-soaked spots on leaves and stems but soon enlarges to form dry, brown blotches. In severe cases, the disease can attack the flowers, making them unsightly and short-lived. Fortunately there's an easy way to prevent botrytis from ruining the appearance of your hellebore.

Pick up some ½-inch lime chips and simply spread them about a half-inch thick under the entire plant. The chips prevent disease spores from splashing up on the foliage and they sweeten the soil by raising pH, which is beneficial for hellebores. Manufacturers Mineral, 1215 Monster Road S.W. in Renton, is the only place in Western Washington I know of that has lime chips. The chips are inexpensive (less than $5 per bag) which is lucky, because you'll need the money you save to pay for a chiropractor. The smallest size is a 50-pound bag!

Neaten up your hedge

If you didn't neaten up your hedge in the fall, there's no reason to leave it ragged and uneven-looking. This is the perfect time to don the hedge shears and neaten it up. When shearing the hedge, remember to trim so that the bottom is slightly wider than the top, or the lower section will become bare for lack of sun. If your hedge has grown bigger or wider than desired, wait until spring to do major renovation by cutting back drastically to bare wood. Hard pruning at this time of year won't do serious harm to your hedge, but new growth won't grow back to cover the bare wood until spring, leaving your handiwork there for your neighbors to appreciate all winter long.

Ciscoe Morris: ciscoe@ciscoe.com. "Gardening with Ciscoe" airs at 10 a.m. Saturdays on KING-TV.