Green false hellebore

Plant Characteristics

Height:	⇕	3 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 3. to 5 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 5.
Lifespan:	⌛	perennial
Poisonous:	☠	highly toxic, fatal
Bloom:	❀	mid summer, late summer

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	part-sun
USDA Zones:		3
Flower features:	❀	yellow

Scientific Names

Melanthiaceae >

Veratrum >

viride >

Green false hellebore (American white hellebore, Bear Corn, Big Hellebore, Devil's Bite, Duck Retten, Indian Poke, Itch-weed, Itchweed, Poor Annie, and Tickleweed; Veratrum viride) is a perennial plant that grows from small leek-like shoots in the spring to a medium-sized plant with spectacular leaves. It is known for being extremely toxic, and for this reason is considered a pest plant by farmers with livestock.

The adult plant can reach 3 to 5 feet, with even extra length when a floral stem is present. It has a solid white stem with large, broad alternate leaves ending in a short point, heavily ribbed and hairy on the underside. It grows numerous 2 cm lime-green to citrus-yellow flowers in a large inflorescence. Rarely goes into flowers.

Cultivation

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist or wet soil^pf.

Requires a deep fertile moisture retentive humus-rich soil^RH. Succeeds in full sun if the soil does not dry out but prefers a position in semi-shade^RH. Dislikes dry soils, preferring to grow in a bog garden⁴². Grows best in a cool woodland garden or a north facing border⁴². Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer²³³. Plants are long-lived and can be left in the same position for years without attention²³³.

Propagation

The plant multiplies through its rhizome and seeds.

Unless stored in damp sand at around 4°c the seed has a short viability^RH. Where possible it is best to sow the seed in a lightly shaded position in the greenhouse as soon as it is ripe^RH. Stored seed needs to be stratified but can be very slow to germinate. Germination can be erratic even for seed sown when it was fresh, it usually takes place within 3 - 12 months at 15°c but can be much longer^RH. The plant produces just one seedleaf in its first year, this forms an over-wintering bulb. It takes up to 10 years for the plant to reach maturity^RH. Sow the seed thinly so there is no need to thin or transplant them, and grow the seedlings on undisturbed in the pot for their first two years of growth. Apply a liquid feed at intervals through the growing season to ensure the plants do not become nutrient deficient. At the end of the second year plant out the dormant plants into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for a further year or two before planting them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer. Division in March/April or in October. Establish the plants in pots in a shaded frame before planting them out^RH. Division is best carried out in the autumn because the plants come into growth very early in the spring²³³. Root cuttings, 6mm long with a bud, rooted in a sandy soil in a cold frame^RH.

Pests and diseases

Veratrum species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species.

Gallery

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References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

• w:Green false hellebore. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Green false hellebore QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)