Hepatica

I have never dared starting collecting liverworts - I had never been satisfied and always wanted more and more!Besides, some culprit often devour my few hepaticas :'(But it is a pleasure and a tease to see the beautiful plants here :o

Mark,yes they are expensive from about £35 to £200 ( sometimes £350) per nose. I bought a few five years ago but now I trade with other like minded folk and that way build a collection. A lot of them are available from one or two or nurseries in England (Edrom & Paul Christian)who import them from Japan, but as you can see from the prices above one would to mortgage the house to buy them. I do pollinate them and grow the seedlings on to flowering size as do some of the folk I trade plants with. Occasionally one can get a nice one and can then swap with others for something We don't have.

Absolutely amazing plants! Can you go over the best way to divide mature plants and your tips on sowing seed? I live in the woods here in Vermont where there are loads of colonies of Hepatica and would love to collect seed and/or divisions as some of the color variations are quite beautiful!

Plants can be divided at the start of the growing season or in the Autumn. Just dig a plant,shake of the excess soil and pull it apart leaving each piece with one nose and some root.plant immediately and never let the roots dry out. (a dry Hepatica is a dead Hepatica) Seeds should be harvested when they fall from the plant if you touch it gently. They must be sown immediately they are harvested and kept damp and shaded until the following spring, when should germinate freely. Pot them on as soon as they have developed their first true leaves, keep shaded and feed weakly weekly. They should be ready for planting out in the autumn.