Hellebores 2008

[rob krejzl]

I have heard the word "fossicking", I have a friend who uses it quite a lot but I have no idea of the derivation... fine word though!

Australian slang (but derived from a Warwickshire dialect word for a troublesome person) for a thief who specialises in taking gold dust, and by extension the process of searching for/picking up gold on the surface.

[David Nicholson]

Fine word that. I shall now use it with great regularity.

[Paul T]

Hadn't realised that fossicking was only an Australian word.

If growing and discarding Helleborus seedlings make sure that you let them flower for a couple of years before the discarding bit.  The first year of flowering with hellebores may have little or no resemblance to what they will look like when mature.  My favourite big, round, filled in pink flowered one was purchased as a "Primrose and Yellow" seedling flowered the first year as a crappy washed out half-spidery pale wishy-washy (do we get the idea yet?  ) pinky white colour.  The only reason I didn't ditch it then and there was I didn't get around to it.  The next year it flowered as it does now and there is no way it is voluntarily going anywhere.  Learnt my less that year and make sure all seedlings get two flowering seasons at least before removal.  To be honest I rarely remove the volunteers in the garden even, because I do have a lot of nice parent hellebores so the seedlings are rarely complete rubbish, so I fins some way to rationalise keeping them.  Would be much easier if I had a large acreage instead of the suburbian block that I have!! 

[Maggi Young]

My chum uses the word in the sense of to search though "stuff" for hidden meaning or quality... so, in the light of Rob's explanation I did a little fossicking myself and found this:
http://aussiesapphire.wordpress.com/2006/03/18/how-to-fossick-for-sapphire/

"Many visitors to Glen Innes are experienced fossickers who know what they are looking for. However, we often get visitors who have not tried this fun activity before and are looking for some guidance on the basics. Note that for our overseas visitors, fossicking is the same as rockhounding. The exact definition of the term is subject to argument, but in our experience, Aussies use the word fossicking to describe the search for gemstones while rockhounding is used when looking for fossils, mineral specimens and the like."

Now this a meaning for fossicking that I really connect with!

[Paul T]

Basically, although it is technically for gold and gemstones etc, the word is just used to mean that you're searching through something for something (i.e fossicking through the rubbish in the house to find that lost such-and-such).  Blackbirds fossick through a garden for worms etc.  That sort of thing.

[Maggi Young]

But Paul, to a blackbird, a worm IS gold!

[ian mcenery]

Hi ,

here some Helleborus pics from me too :

Hell. spec. Calabria

Helleborus siculus : I have grown my plants from seeds w.c. in Sicily in year 2001 by me -from the same seeds I have send a part to Will McLewin - he share it with the Archibalds ......

Hans have not been aware of these species are they new to cultivation and can you give a little history please?

[Paul T]

Ian,

Must admit that neither name range bells for me either, but I thought it was just me forgetting things! 

[Paul T]

Paul,

Try fossicking amongst these (http://www.southcom.com.au/~hortus/catalogue.htm) for a good double red or purple. Failing that, Barb Jennings does a few.

Rob,

After all the discussion of Fossicking I forgot to say thanks for these links.  I must admit that I am wanting to get plants/offsets or something with a reasonable chance of being fairly true.  No idea how stable the ET varieties are in that regard.  From what I have heard Post Offic Farm has fairly stable strains with their seedlings (but obviously they're seedlings and more expensive than seed) but how are ET in that regard?  I know Barb's name but that is about the extent of it.

[rob krejzl]

Paul,

You know I share Christopher Lloyd's view of (most) hellebores.  However the phantom weeder likes them, so we are gradually getting a few. Elizabeth Town is still run by the same people who used to get Gary B's praises & I haven't seen any unfavourable remarks on the net about them. The seeds seem large and the numbers per packet generous. I've ordered from them because it seemed better value for money than buying unflowered seedlings only to be disappointed. As for Barb Jennings, look through the old catalogues I've sent you for an idea what she sells.

[Tim Murphy]

I hope that Hans doesn't mind me jumping in here... Helleborus siculus isn't a valid name for the plants on Sicily. They are presently called Helleborus bocconei (the "multifidus" has been dropped). The two other Italian species to be separated from bocconei are H. liguricus and H. abruzzicus.

[Paul T]

Thanks Rob!

[Hans J]

I hope that Hans doesn't mind me jumping in here... Helleborus siculus isn't a valid name for the plants on Sicily. They are presently called Helleborus bocconei (the "multifidus" has been dropped). The two other Italian species to be separated from bocconei are H. liguricus and H. abruzzicus.

Hi Tim ,

I  do not agree  that H. siculus is a synonym of H. bocconei -they are ( for me ) really different !
They are evergreen -and not decidous like H. bocconei .

[ian mcenery]

Hans my bocconei certainly isn't evergreen - interesting. Can you give more info on Helleborus  Sp Calabria?

[rob krejzl]

Tim,

I hope that Hans doesn't mind me jumping in here... Helleborus siculus isn't a valid name for the plants on Sicily. They are presently called Helleborus bocconei (the "multifidus" has been dropped). The two other Italian species to be separated from bocconei are H. liguricus and H. abruzzicus.

Does that mean that McLewin & Thomsen have published?