Drought And Deer-Resistant Flowers

Drought And Deer-Resistant Flowers “They’re 100% deer resistant,” was all Barry Glick of Sunshine Farms and Gardens needed to hear when he asked about hellebores after seeing one blossom in the snow. After losing hundreds of plants to the local deer herd, he promptly ordered all the hellebores his supplier had. “He sent me more than 30 plants,” recalls Glick. “Today I have six acres of them. They thrive anywhere from Florida to Maine and southern California to the Pacific Northwest. They prefer rich, moist soil with good drainage, part to full shade, and can be grown in virtually every state.” Glick quickly began checking with other suppliers in the U.K., Germany, Belgium, and even Australia. He learned that hellebores originated in the Balkans. There are 19 different species, each with its own specific color. As he collected multiple individual species, he began hand-pollinating flowers with a #8 camel hair brush. He might transfer pollen from a red to a white and a white to a yellow. Each time he obtained a variation, he gathered the seed and grew it out. Creating the hybrids didn’t happen overnight. “It takes three to five years to go from seed to a flowering plant,” says Glick. “I had all the plants in a heated greenhouse, tagged them with a number, and then recorded the cross, such as 1 to 7, and then backcross 11 with 7.” Glick explains that other commercially available hellebores come from inbred, self-sown seedlings dug up from beneath existing plants. He says they lack the brilliant color and hybrid vigor of hand-pollinated hellebores. It’s now been over three decades of hellebore cultivation and hybridization. At one time, he had a mechanized system capable of handling nearly 290 seeds at a time. Today, he spreads 9 grams (about 677 seeds) in germination pots. About half sprout in the first year, and the other half in the following year. By January, there’ll be at least 300 plants in each pot. He transplants seedlings into 2-in. pots and sells them.  He and his workers also dig up 20 to 30-year-old plants from the 6 acres. “We hose all the soil off, divide the roots up, plant them in 5-in. pots, and sell them,” he says. The 2-in. pots sell for $5 each in groups of seven. The price drops as the quantity ordered increases. The price for the 5-in. pots is available upon request. Glick’s Sunshine Farms and Gardens claims a plant list of 10,000 different, hardy to zone 5 perennials, bulbs, trees and shrubs from around the world. He cultivates them on his 60-acre mountaintop farm at 3,000-ft. elevation. Many are in commercial production and ready for sale, while others are available for custom propagation. It’s mainly a wholesale nursery, but Glick also offers limited mail-order options for retail customers. Hellebores remain the main focus of breeding. He maintains over 50,000 flowering-size stock plants. Being ignored by deer isn’t the only reason they’re popular. Most of his current customers are cut flower growers. With their heavy evergreen leaves, hellebores are also very drought-resistant and long-lasting. “They can live for more than 100 years,” says Glick. “They just get bigger and bigger every year.” He calls his six acres of hellebores his happy place, especially during the February through May bloom. “We see peak bloom March to April,” he says. “There are no weeds up, just the hellebore leaves on the ground and the blossoms above them. It’s an amazing scene.” Glick offers individual and group tours of his gardens by appointment only. Besides the hellebores, he has 2 acres that are 95% native plants. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Barry Glick, Sunshine Farm and Gardens, HC 67 Box 539 B, Renick, W.Va. 24966 (ph 304-497-2208; barry@sunfarm.com; www.sunfarm.com).

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