What the Hellebore?

It’s almost Halloween, so you know what that means – it’s time to get ready for the holiday season! While you’re stocking up on Twix and Snickers bars for the neighborhood kids, most of Corporate America is already glittering with multi-colored string lights, sparkling tree ornaments, and jolly ol’ yuletide merriment. We figure if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. After all, the holidays will be here before we know it, so the least we can do is get you prepared for all of your winter projects with our massive stock of hellebores.

Considering Corylopsis

Corylopsis veitchiana, the artist formerly known as Corylopsis sinensis f. veitchiana, or Veitch’s Winter Hazel, is a member of the family Hamamelidaceae, known better as the Witch Hazel family. Many of the species that fall within the Corylopsis genus exhibit attractive flowering structures at the cusp of spring, later than the bloom time of Hamamelis, usually falling somewhere between March and April in the Mid-Atlantic region. The showy inflorescences of Veitch’s Witch Hazel, specifically, appear first as succulent buds in mid-winter on top of smooth, sinewy bark, slowly unraveling to reveal drooping, lime green to fluorescent yellow clusters of layered frills. The flowers appear before the foliage begins to push, making the pendulous, brightly colored blooms stand out amongst the still-barren atmosphere of the late winter landscape.

Jasminum nudiflorum

Each week as the daylight hours grow longer, the temperatures warm, and the trees begin to unfurl their buds, we inch closer and closer to springtime. Insects are beginning their life cycles, early spring ephemerals are getting ready to burst open, and the Nursery is bustling with activity in preparation for the 2023 season.

A few months ago, in a past e-mail, we excitedly noted that some of our Jasminum nudiflorum crop had begun exhibiting sparse blooms far before its prime flowering time. Today, we’re revisiting this beautiful winter-bloomer and its full flush of February flowers.

The History of Hellebores & Hamamelis

While we continue to trudge through what’s left of “winter” (loosely termed here due to the lack of, well, wintry weather), we’d like to fill your inbox with the pops of color and growth that pepper the nursery throughout the remaining dreary, grey months. While you’re likely not planting much right now, here’s some food for thought (plants for thought?) going into Spring 2023 – this week, we’re taking a look at the historical angle of two genus’ known for their ornamental uses in both the past as well as modernity.