2023 - what a good year for Hellebores!

Normally, at this time of year, I'm writing articles about how to clear out the Hellebores: reminding you that it's time to snip off the flowering stems because we don't want thirty million Hellebore seedlings which won't flower for between 5-7 years, and even when they do, there's no guarantee as to what the flowers will be like......

... and that it's time to remove those browning leaves, not just because they are starting to look horrible, but because they are spreading Hellebore Black Spot.

However, this year, look!

 

Not a black spot to be seen, and they look lush and wonderful!

This means that there is none of the usual urgency to remove the tired old leaves: we can enjoy them for a while longer, because they are still photosynthesising, still feeding the plant, and as they are not spreading the spores of the Black Spot infection, well, there's no point cutting them off!

In fact, just to show what a weird year this has been already, some of "my" Hellebores are still flowering:

There, can you see it? 

Perhaps I should have said that they are "re-flowering", as they've already done the usual big flowers - and now I'm seeing a few tiny little flowers!

I don't think I've ever found Hellebores flowering in June before.... 

I suppose it's just another sign of changing climate: we've seen many examples of plants flowering out of season, in recent years, and I guess this is just another one to add to the list.

And it doesn't mean that we are going to be able to compost the non-Black-Spotty leaves: nope, they are still too coarse and tough for normal home composting, so on the bonfire heap they will go - in another few weeks!

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