Lenten Rose - Early bloomers are here

Was walking through the beds today. Our Lenten Roses seem to be coming on a little early this year. The early bloomers seem a little more prevalent than they were last year at this time. It was a rough summer here in the Piedmont of NE Georgia - hot & exceptionally dry. The rains this fall have been good but it's been a tad warm. The overall health of this years growth looks strong......can't wait :-)

From our Shipping Department

These are examples of the mature 4 year old Lenten Roses we are shipping this month, and of course the garden cat Saphire!

Planting Lenten Roses in the Fall gives them plenty of time to get established before the Spring flowering season. Be sure to mulch them in well!
Shop on-line all year round for Lenten Roses at www.lentenrose.com

Your order shipped today.

Your order shipped today.

Almost everyone I shipped to this week lives in the northern latitudes. Please make a mental note that the plants you are receiving come from the south and may be 3-5 week ahead in their perennial cycle depending on how far north you are. Don't worry, they will adjust to their new latitude before their bloom cycle next spring.

By now, down here in NE Ga., the flower cycle is long over and the flower stalks have decomposed. Now the leathery, mean & prickly summer foliage is at its peak.

All of the plants that I shipped this week came from a bed I planted back in 2003 so their root systems are a full 8 years mature, even the smaller plants but - the bed started out as a seedling bed so they have been growing very close together. You will find some of them tall and leggy. Next years growth will grow to a more appropriate size. Also, if you find some of your smaller plants have only one leaf, don't worry about that either. The root ball should indicate their maturity with one or more 'knots' from last years flower cycle.

Your plants from this weeks dig are showing a little stress from what has so far been an unusually hot and dry summer down here in Ga. We've gotten some pretty nice rains in the last week but it's been pretty dry so far this summer. Don't worry too much about the stress burn on the leaves. All of this summer foliage will be dying off later in the early winter months anyway. Next years growth cycle will be the real teller. Try and keep your plants watered if you too are having a hot and dry summer.

When packing your order, where ever I thought any plant looked a little small I threw an extra plant or two into the bag. (I look at the amount of roots that fill each bag when I'm packing your order and usually, everyone gets more than they ordered:) For spacing purposes, plant everything I send as an individual mature plant. Every one of your new plants has the potential to become a trophy size plant in 3-5 years - 36" in diameter and 18" tall.

Be patient, Lenten Roses are slow growing perennials and for the rest of this year nothing much is going to happen, in fact, the summer foliage you see here will be dying off later in the fall. For all of you in the north, if you have a winter this coming year anything like the one you had last year you should mulch around your new plants this fall or just before the first snow. Next spring they will start filling out on top......and, of course, they are all guaranteed to flower. In two years your plants should be established and quite full indeed.

Lenten Roses love filtered sun/shade, good humus soil and the lions share of natural rain run off or water from the garden hose when they look thirsty, especially during the hot summer months. 2-3 feet apart will allow for trophy size growth. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

For a video chronicle of the Lenten Rose perennial cycle, keep an eye on my monthly video post called - The Lenten Rose Almanac - on my web site or on YouTube (please subscribe). Thanks again for your order &

The Lenten Rose Almanac May 2011

We say good-bye to the flower in this installment with a pictorial review and a quick look ahead to the ground cover that will last throughout the summer and into the late fall.

Lenten Rose Almanac for April 2011

This month we look at the changing color of the Lenten Rose flower as it progresses through its cycle. Then a quick look at the emerging ground cover foliage, as the plant prepares for the coming of summer.

LentenRose.com is located in NE Georgia. It is the end of March 2011 and the display cycle, we'll call it, of the Lenten Rose flower in NE Georgia is almost finished. I point out, here in Georgia because this past year I have corresponded with many of my customers from the likes of Michigan, Ohio, Massesschutes, New York, Washington, all states where the Lenten Rose grows very well; and especially this year coming off of a very long and snowy winter, their perennial cycles are two to three weeks behind our cycle here. Well, it's only relevant to me because I am chronicling the perennial cycle of the Lenten Rose in a video post every month.

Note to self. Mention that.

Here is a picture I took on March 15th. This bouquet is about 40 stems.

Happy Gardening

The Lenten Rose Almanac March 2011

This month is all about the flower. LentenRose.com is in full bloom. The lenten rose makes a great cut flower and is prized by floral designers but it's important to know when to cut and when not to cut. I hope this video helps in that regard.

The Lenten Rose Almanac February 2011

Early bloomers and Seedlings are the topics covered in this months video. The seeds I planted back in May are just breaking ground. We'll take a look at that. Also we look at some early bloomers in the garden.

The Lenten Rose Almanac January 2011

The phrase that comes to mind when I describe the Lenten Rose in January is this: The darkest hour is just before dawn.

Most of my plants go unattended throughout the year. In other words, most of them don't get cut back in late September, early October and because of that the decomposing old growth from last year is now painfully obvious.

To manicure mature Lenten Rose, you can cut them to the ground in early fall.....around late September, early October. If you do this, you won't have all of this decomposing foliage which is part of the natural cycle of the plant but is not very pretty to look at in a manicured flower garden.

If you have mature plants, right about now, look down into the center. Those are the flower buds. So, here they come. The flower stalks of the beautiful hellebore Orientalis, commonly know as the Lenten Rose

January is also the month when seeds that dropped from the flowers, last May, will be breaking ground as seedlings. I haven't seen them yet in my garden, it's a little early, but they're coming soon.

To summarize, the Lenten Rose in January is starting to send up young flower buds, last years foliage is continuing to lay over and decompose and seedlings are pushing up through the soil.

OK, let's leave it there. Next month we will see these baby flower buds become strapping young flower stalks.