Hellebore transplants

Chuff

I've just potted up a dozen or so hellebore seedlings. They germinate and grow in the gravel path where the parent "spills over" from a bed. It's a fantastic germination medium, but 12'' of gravel over a membrane is not an ideal long term location.

I know they don't like being moved, but even so I have an atrocious success rate with these. Anyone got any ideas to help me keep them alive?

Ta,

Chuff.

PS After previous years failures, I put a tray of compost on the gravel this year to catch a few seeds. Obviously this tray is full of weeds - no hellebores - and the gravel is awash with seedlings!

pansyface

Are they being allowed to dry out too much?

Lyn

I pot them up, then pot on, mine  from a couple of years ago are flowering now. Have also move some from place to place, they haven't complained.

I love the ' atrocious success' 

nutcutlet

For the future I'd take the seed when the seed the pods open and throw them on the garden. This works almost too well.

 

nutcutlet

Maybe a little more control, if you take the seed when ripe and sow it in pots with gravel on top rather than let them drop, with weed seed, onto the seed tray. Pots are better than seed tray, more depth.

I'd transplant them very early from the gravel, as soon as there are true leaves. Gravel is a wonderful medium, I rely on it a lot

Palustris

And drop the dug up seedlings into a pot of water as you collect them. They absolutely hate their roots drying out, even for the length of time it takes to dig them all out and pot them up.

Posy

I move my hellebores without much difficulty by digging up a really big clump of soil, so the roots don't even know they've been disturbed. I put them straight into their new position, one at a time so they do not get dry or knocked about. It is easy to collect seeds: why not sew them into pots and put the pots into a cold frame if you want more control. However, the easiest way is to do as Nut says and just throw the seed where you want it to grow.