Hellebores are all the rage right now in floral design. Of course they are, given they’re one of the first flowers to bloom each spring, often even before the snow is melted and while we’re all still so desperate for some color in our lives. Their nodding heads are charming; their colors and patterns delicious!
I’ve been growing hellebores for cutting for over five years now. I fell in love with them first as an ornamental plant for my tiny shade garden at home. But I soon found myself cutting them to take inside to enjoy (after all, who wants to stand outside and adore them in the freezing cold?!).
Now, as a flower farmer, I get asked frequently how to make hellebores “last” in the vase. So many designers try to use them, only to have them wilt quickly. There are some tricks out there for “post-harvest” treatments that help with wilting. Some people push a pin up the stem, some people dip them in boiling water, and some people use a chemical quick hydrating solution. And some people use all three. In my experience, there’s only one sure-fire way to get long-lasting hellebores.
Harvest hellebores when they’re mature.
The showy petals of a hellebore “bloom” are actually not petals at all, but rather something called sepals. They serve as protection for the flower part which are actually at the center of the showy sepals, consisting of a cluster of finely textured stamens and rather small and insignificant petals (in the photo above, the ruffled green at the center are the petals). Once the flower is fertilized, the stamens and petals are shed, and a seed pod starts to form at the center of the sepals.
To get hellebores to last in floral arrangements, use ones that have their seed pods forming/formed. The more developed the seed pod, the sturdier the hellebore will be. This is because the sepals become stiff and waxy as the seed pod develops, which helps them resist wilting. A really mature hellebore can actually hold up beautifully out of water for a day or more. They’re great for boutonnieres and hair flowers.
Can you spot the hellebores that are almost ready to harvest and the ones that aren’t?
So funny that you should write this post today Jennie– I have been making centerpieces with hellebores all afternoon, and was just trialing a few as test boutonnieres to see if I could trust them!
I’m so glad it was helpful, Kelly!! I bet your boutonnieres were stunning!!!
Thank you! Mine are in bloom also, I have a small shade garden and just love their sweet blooms. Thanks for the tips, and the pictures.
This is fascinating, thank you for sharing.
Thanks for that information. I just did a design with them ifor delivery today. I love them too, and they are also a great pressed flower.
Great post. I’ve also found that regardless of the age of the hellebores, plunging the tips of the stems in boiling water for a bout a minute, followed by a deep, cold drink for 6 hrs is a great way to keep hellebores from wilting.
Great post.
Thanks for the tips.
HI there! Just brought a few in from the garden today, harvesting as per your instructions.
I was wondering which kind of hellebores you prefer a a cut flower crop? Im finding a lot of short ones in the nurseries, which are very cute in the garden but not as useful in the vase…suggestions?
Cheers!
Hi Jess –
To my knowledge there aren’t particular “cutting” varieties of hellebores. They are all pretty short. My tallest stems are about 12″. One of my favorite varieties is ‘Brandywine’ from a local breeder, David Culp, in the Philadelphia area.
So glad I found this. Here in the SF Bay Area my hellebores bloom in Jan when I am only in the garden rarely so this year we cut all the blooms and they were so wonderful to have in the house! But the next morning they were all wilted! So sad! Today I was trying to decide whether or not to buy more hellebores and found this on my research so now I will buy some new ones and then cut them properly next January Thanks so much!
Awesome, Grace! So glad you found the info helpful!
Thank you so much for this post. As I suspected maturity is the key, great to have this confirmed. I have an abundance of flowers at present and the florists love them.
I have puzzed a long time one how to keep helleborus from wilting in a vase. Recently, I visited an elegant flower shop in Geneva, owned by an Englishman. They had ordinary pink helleborines in a vase. So I asked how they treated them. The secret is to scar the bottom of stem very lightly and then place the flower in a vase with lukewarm water.
As at the moment — Jan 2016 – the helleborines in my garden are plentiful, I followed the above advice, using one of those cheese knives that are made to cut very thin slices. It really works. No need to wait till the seeds are ripe.
Corinna,
What do you mean by “Scar the bottom of the stem”?
You peel off a little of the skin at the bottom of the stem, 2-3 cm.
Since the flower stem usually contains flowers in various stages of development do you have to wait until the newest flower is “ripe” or can you cut when the primary flower ripens and expect the rest to open?
Good question. If you want all the flowers on a stem to hold, you’ll need to wait until the last one “ripens”. The good news is that hellebores hold on the plant for a long time so the oldest flower will likely still look lovely when the last finally hits maturity. You just have to be patient. 🙂
Hi,
I have actually had closed buds grow and open on stems in water if I can get them past the wilting stage. Can’t say for sure what I did or did not do, I get lucky some times and fresh blooms will sometimes hold and continue to grow. What I have done if they wilt is to re cut the stem and submerge the whole thing in cold water for about thirty minutes then out back into the arrangement, even oasis. I have done that up to three times, it is a pain, but is some cases, the flowers get the message and just give up wilting. It might have something to do with the stage of the stamen development. Finally, the best way is to cut them all the way to the flower head with about one inch of stem and float them in water, they last for a couple of weeks.