I have mine growing beside the house, north side. Total shade all day, but soil has clay mixed in it, stays kind of cold damp most of the time. Thick leaves prevent soil getting dried out from wind. The LOV have been pretty happy there and expanded enough to surround my ferns. They bloom reliably, smell wonderful, with no other care. I know the leaves of Oaks have covered them in winter, probably adds organic matter along with their old leaves each fall. This is a similar setting to what my mother had with her LOV at the old house. Lots of shade in summer, just ignored them except to pick the flowers each year. I do have a couple other plantings around trees in the yard. Trees are Ironwood, Elm Family. LOV are getting going, expanding a bit each year. We just mow the ones who come out too far, so they stay contained. No bed edgings. I had another bed of them out front, half-day sun under and around forsythia bushes and Oak trees. They didn't do at all well out there, even after several years. Very thin, scraggly, no flowers, no multiplying either. I dug them out and put them around the Ironwood tree, which also gets some sun and they have taken off. Perhaps you could add some shredded fall leaves to the beds this year. Not whole maple though whole oak leaves might work well. Maples get mushy with wet weather, smother beds. Oaks stay crispy, even wet and snowy. Shreds work best as they fall down between growing plants. Leaf mulch would help keep damp too. Anyway, the leaves would attract worms to eat them, work the soil around the LOV plants, enriching the location for better flower growth. Could be they would take right off with just that bit of help, and just neglect them the rest of the time. See if it works for you. I like my LOV, sure sign of Spring each year.

Jesse, I would say 1" per week, depending on what kind of wind/heat/cold/rainfall you're getting. I see you are in CA.... (Thanks for sharing that info in the 'First Names, Please' thread.) I'm not sure what kind of weather you get there compared to here in WI. We usually get plenty of rainfall in the Spring and early Summer, and again in late Fall. It's during the hot, windy mid-late-Summer-early-Fall days that I have to give supplemental water. Just make sure you give your new plants plenty of deep watering until they get established. My plants that have been in the ground for a couple of years can withstand some drought conditions, but they may not bloom as heavily as when they receive plenty of water. Julie

I am including a link to Helleborus.org, a British based organization, that discusses germination of Helleborus seed. Most germination instructions are based upon the use of freshly collected seed. Old seed, from previous years, may still be viable, but as the seed age in storage, they develop germination inhibitors that must decay after planting, before the seed will sprout. This may require up to 3 years, plus the germination rate will often be a small percentage of the seed that is sown. Some knowledgeable growers recommend placing the seed in hot water(not boiling) and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours before planting. They claim that will accelerate the process for older seed. Those seed that float on the top of the water, are not viable seed and will not germinate. Helleborus are shade tolerant plants, but require sunlight or bright reflected light to prosper and bloom well. Best grown in a location with morning sun, or dappled shade/sun throughout the day. If planted under deciduous trees, they will be able to absorb available sunlight during the winter. They also require soil that drains well and remains rather dry during the summer months. Soil pH is not that critical for the x hybridus species, but grow best in 6.5-7.0 pH soil. Addition of Dolomitic Lime will increase pH, Agricultural Sulphur will decrease it. If you don't know what your soil pH is, and want to test it, an inexpensive kit is available from most garden centers and Home Improvement stores, that will provide an estimate of it's value. A complete soil analysis is available through your local County Extension Agent's office for a nominal fee. Rb Here is a link that might be useful: Growing & Propagating Helleborus

It's probably unwise to just quote the FAQ and not say what I think is wrong. I'll try to follow up soon, and ask for the comments of others as well. Pshawn, That would be great. I'm guessing you've grown Passiflora for longer than I have. Dave, It looks like one would have to contact a Gardenweb administrator to change things. I can only find the FAQ by a search--there's a common site for all the FAQs: http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/ Some forums have a link to their FAQ at the top, some (including Passiflora) do not. I assume this could be changed if people wanted it (?) The big question is whether there is a need for a FAQ and whether it's worth putting some effort into rewriting something. I suppose another option might just be asking GW to delete what's there.