Beautiful Hellebores.

It's cold, snowy, rainy, windy... The time of year where our lovely UK weather throws everything at us. Thankfully theres some respite! 

Hellebores are coming into full flower now, with their uniquely shaped leaves, and stunning tall flower heads that rise up above the foliage putting on a huge display of colour when not much else is!

Hellebores are from the genus of plants called Helleborus of which there are about 20 different species to choose from. As a general rule, Hellebores need rich, well draining soil to grow, and will not flower or possibly grow at all if placed in a dry or waterlogged area. Hellebores also prefer to be situated in light shade, where they are protected from harsh cold winds.

Below are my top picks for the best Hellebores;

The Simple Petal Arrangements Make
For A Stunning Show With H.niger.

Helleborus niger AGM (Christmas Rose) - A stunning variety of Hellebore with dark green, purple looking foliage all year. The flowers appear from late December through to early February and are simple pale pink, or pure white flowers. Reaches a max height and spread of around: 30-50cm's.

An example of a hybrid Hellebore
collection. 'Washfield Doubles' Seed
can be viewed here.

Helleborus x hybridus (Lenten Rose) - Are a hybrids between H.orientalis and other species of the Helleborus family. These hybrids produce an amazing array of flower colours during late winter and early spring.  There are many types of these hybrids, some of which are difficult to obtain.
The height and spread of these plants will vary depending on the hybrid you opt to purchase, but you can expect them to have a similar height and spread to H.niger.

An example of an H.purpurascens flower.

Helleborus purpurascens - This species of Hellebore is a smaller, more clump forming member of the genus. It has dark green leaves, and then single cup shaped white, green, or purple coloured flowers. As stated above, they are more clump forming and only grown to around 30cm, height and spread.

As nice as these plants are, they do come with a health warning as they are an irritant to skin, and can cause sever discomfort if ingested, because of this I would recommend not planting them in gardens where children have access and always wear gloves while handling them.


Jack.