"Gold collection" Hellebores: nope! Not worth the money!

I've written in the past about the dreaded Gold Collection Hellebores: dreaded because they usually die within a year or two of being planted.

And they are very expensive, so I dread my Clients buying them: I just know that they are in for a disappointment, which leaves me in an awkward position: I don't really want to dash their hopes, and insult their buying choices, by telling them "Uh oh, picked a dud there!" as soon as the plant arrives.

But it seems a bit unfair to let them rave on about the beauty of these Hellebores, when I know that said beauty is only going to be fleeting.

So my compromise is to exclaim "What a beauty!" on first seeing it, then draw them into conversation and tactfully mention that these plants have, in the past, proved to be less than fully hardy, so it might be an idea not to buy any more of them, until we have seen how they respond to the Client's garden. 

Because you never know, one day, I'll have a Client whose garden provides the EXACT microclimate that these plants require to flourish.

One day. 

In case you're not familiar with these plants, check out the other article mentioned above: and in the meantime, here's one which I planted last year.  

On arrival it was lush, gorgeous: masses of dark red flowers, and it looked wonderful, for several weeks.

But after a cold night at the end of March....

(left) ... this is what it looked like.

It never did recover properly, and was sad and droopy for the rest of the spring.

The Client looked at me, and pulled that rueful face. "I see what you mean," she said. "Not fully hardy, then."

"Never mind," I reassured her, "It may well be back next year, good as ever."

Well, it was back - but I don't think I'd call this "as good as ever", would you?

 

Hmmmm.

That looks like about three flowering stems, maybe four.

Not exactly the lush, lovely thing it once was.

In my opinion, these Hellebores are bred and kept in polytunnels, prior to sale: so they just can't cope with the English winter.

And, also in my opinion, they are not worth the money.

 

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