1. Seven Secrets of Success:
| 1. Medicinal properties: Caucasian and black hellebores have many useful properties and are recognized in folk medicine as medicinal plants. |
| 2. Planting and care: a flower is planted in open ground in mid-spring or early autumn, picking up a semi-shady place, closed from strong winds. |
| 3. How to care: in early spring, pruning of old leaves of the last year is carried out, wilted buds are removed after flowering. In autumn, in regions with a harsh climate, plants are provided with a shelter for wintering. |
| 4. When the hellebore blooms: The flowering period begins in early spring, immediately after the snow cover melts. |
| 5. Growing at home: most often hellebore bushes in the house are used for forcing - the flower will feel better being constantly in the garden. |
| 6. Transplant: they try to immediately find a permanent location for plants - the flower has a negative attitude towards transplanting. |
| 7. Reproduction: by dividing large bushes when transplanting or by seeds. |
Botanical name: Helleborus.
Hellebore flower - family
Where it grows. Southern Europe, Asia.
Description. The hellebore or helleborus is a small genus consisting of only 20 plant species. Most species are evergreen herbaceous perennials, however, in very severe winters, the upper ground part of the plant dies off and growth resumes in spring from the root.
Leaves are dark green, compound - consist of 7 - 9 oblong - lanceolate segments arranged in a circle. The leaf blades have sparse but well-defined denticles along the edge.
In the spring, often before the leaves appear, the hellebore throws out tall leafless peduncles with drooping, large flowers - up to 10 cm in diameter.
The flowers are spectacular, fragrant in shades of white, pink, purple, burgundy. Each peduncle can bear up to 4 - 6 flowers.
Height. 30 - 45 cm. The final size of the plant will depend on growing conditions and varietal characteristics.
Caring for beautiful flowers and wintering of the rutnik
Without exception, all rutniks are moisture-loving and especially need moisture in spring, before and during flowering. It is best to provide the plant with systemic irrigation throughout the entire stage of active vegetation, maintaining a stable light soil moisture. It is better to water the rutnik not in the evening, but in the early morning.
When planting in humus-rich soil, the rutnik will not need additional feeding during the first spirit of growing years. From the third year, at the very beginning of the growing season, it is advisable to feed the plant - with liquid organic fertilizers or full mineral fertilizer. One top dressing per season is enough. Beautiful flowers can do without feeding.
In summer, the rutniks need to be protected from the heat. The easiest way is to cover the plantings with fine gravel or other similar materials.
The plant does not need pruning, even sanitary removal of wilted peduncles, independently coping with the task of cleaning the bushes.
Beautiful flowers can boast of enviable frost resistance, but they are not very fond of snowless winters and unstable temperatures (they do not tolerate long thaws in the middle of winter especially well). Therefore, in order to stabilize conditions and prevent possible freezing of bushes, it is better to mulch the rutnik with the arrival of frost, or simply cover the plants with spruce branches.
