Helleborus

Christmas Rose

A rare find this time of year, Helleborus is a very rewarding semi-evergreen perennial that can be purchased throughout the winter in our greenhouses, and then planted in your garden when the ground thaws. They're fully hardy for this area and are relatively easy to grow.

Despite their delicate appearance, they're actually quite durable. Most years their flowers begin to emerge while snow is still on the ground as early as February, and commonly last up to 4 weeks. Throughout the flowering season they'll produce many flower stalks, each with a single blossom. Their 5 petal flowers are white when they open. After a couple of weeks slowly become thick and waxy. Unlike other varieties of Helleborus, the flowers of Heleborus 'nigra' stand upright rather than bending over towards the ground. They grow 12 to 15 inches tall and have shiny, dark green leathery leaves.

Helleborus performs best in well drained soil that is deeply amended with plenty of compost and manure. They dislike soggy soil and once established are actually quite tolerant of drought-like conditions. They like sun to part shade and also do well planted in containers.