Plant Profile: Hellebores
Care, Uses and Varieties of Hellebore Plants
The so-called Christmas roses, and Lenton roses, are hellebores. The Hellebore is a great plant with a lot to offer gardeners at a time when not much else is going on.
Hellebores are wonderful plants that help fill an important niche in the garden. While proper classification of the species and subspecies remains a difficult process due to hybridization and natural variations, there are several forms and cultivars accessible to home gardeners and I’ll discuss those most common varieties here. Additional information on Hellebores is available in this shade gardening article or in the book Hellebores by Graham Rice.
Botanical Name: Helleborus spp.
Hardiness Zone: Zones 4-8
Bloom Time and Color: The best-known feature of the hellebore is the winter blooms that appear through winter and very early spring, often with snow still on the ground. Cup-shaped blooms are generally maroon, pink, white or reddish tinted and sometimes fade to a cream white color as they age. New cultivars and hybrid hellebores may have large double blooms, upright facing or gently nodding.
Plant Category: Perennial.
Foliage: The evergreen foliage is one of the great features about the Hellebore, providing year-round interest.
Growth Habit: Hellebores generally form pleasing clumps
Dimensions: Most hellebores grow about 2’ tall and 15" wide unless otherwise specified below.
Preferred Conditions: Humis-rich and slightly moist soil preferred although it should be well-drained. Soggy soil can kill a hellebore so make sure it is well-drained. Established plants are actually somewhat drought tolerant but light moisture is best. Shade during the heat of summer is especially important, although in winter full sun is tolerated easily. Hellebores planted in deep shade will be leggy and poor blooming.
Maintenance: Remove any damaged stalks in the spring. Divide after blooms are finished but only if needed as hellebores typically prefer to be left alone. Mulch to preserve moisture.
Pests or Diseases: Black spot can be a problem for hellebores but removal of any affected foliage should help keep things under control.
Propagation: Container grown plants are readily available from garden suppliers, but hellebores are easy to grow from seed if the seed is fresh and hasn’t dried out. In fact, self-sown seedlings will often appear in the garden over time, though they may not exactly resemble the parent plants.
Companion Plants: Ferns, hostas, dogwoods (plant hellebores underneath) and other deciduous shrubs, Heuchera, snowdrops, Reticulated iris, and Siberian squill.
Uses in the Garden: Shade gardens are the top use for hellebores, however they are also planted as a ground cover under large shrubs, or deciduous small trees. An important part of mixed borders they are best planted in masses where the evergreen foliage and sweet nodding flowers can be enjoyed.
Other Uses: Hellebore is poisonous and some people have even had reactions to the sap so be sure to wear some gardening gloves while working with this plant if you are highly allergic. This quality makes hellebores great additions to deer resistant gardens because wildlife will usually avoid the plant.
Varieties and cultivars: As I said above, it is difficult at best to classify hellebores because of cross-pollination and naturally occurring hybrids. If you are very picky about getting a specific look for your garden your best bet will be to purchase a plant you’ve seen in bloom from a nursery you trust. Otherwise, enjoy what nature brings you and remember that variety is the spice of life!
H. orientalis: This is the hellebore known as the Lenton Rose, this is one of the most commonly available for gardeners. It is also the base of many hybrids which are usually more vigorous than their true species parent. Hybrids from H. orientalis tend to have foliage that is very hardy and stays green even in the snow.
H. niger: Hellebore Christmas Rose, another commonly seen plant, has a darker foliage color than the Lenton rose. Generally the flowers are white, and sometimes double forms can be found. This is another hellebore often hybridized.
H. foetidus: The stinking bear-foot hellebore, as the common name goes, has scented foliage that some people don’t care for, but most don’t notice at all. Many who have grown this hellebore find it well worth it because the leaves are beautifully fine-cut and stay a gorgeous green even in the coldest winters.
Take a look at other Plant Profiles if you want detailed information on plants you are considering for your garden this year.
