Spring is here and the garden is coming alive. The early spring flowers are peeking their heads above the soil. Even better, hellebores, a true gardener’s favourite, are already blooming.
Grown in dappled sunlight, hellebores, also known as Lenten roses, are pretty perennials with dark green, leathery leaves that are evergreen in warm climates.
Hellebores are among the first to flower in late winter and early spring, making them especially coveted in the garden. While “rose” may be in their common name, they are not actually part of the rose family; the moniker comes from their rose-like blooms.
After a winter without flowers – or months of buying lackluster supermarket flowers – it’s so exciting to finally be able to bring in fresh blooms from the garden. It makes sense that we want to extend the vase life of the precious garden blooms we do have.
Unless treated properly after cutting, hellebore stems will wilt within 24 hours. So if you want long-lasting indoor blooms to see you through the first spring weeks, tick off these 4 essential steps straight after bringing them inside…
The 4-step method that keeps hellebores from wilting:
Here’s how to prepare hellebore stems so they last up to two weeks inside:
Charlyne Mattox for Country Living
Start by snipping the stems with secateurs and scissors for flower arranging.
Use a sharp paring knife to make a few shallow scores along the length of each cut stem.Place the scored stems in a glass of almost-boiling water for 5 seconds.After 5 seconds, transfer the stems to a vase or glass of cold water.
Voilà! Now you have hellebore stems that will last for weeks – the perfect way to celebrate spring.
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Charlyne Mattox is the Food and Crafts director with over 20 years recipe development, recipe editing, and crafting experience. Prior to starting at Country Living in 2014, she worked in the crafts department at Martha Stewart Living and Martha Stewart Kids before attending cooking school at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. She was nominated for a James Beard media award while a senior editor at Real Simple magazine and authored a cookbook Cooking with Seeds.
When not in the kitchen she loves to garden, focusing on growing flowers and kitchen herbs (of course), watering her 25 house plants, and knitting scarfs or hats she will never be able to wear in the always hot and steamy Alabama.
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