The Rose of Winter - A Guest Post by Garden Club Member Christine Wegman

Once upon a time there were pure white winter flowers that turned pink as they aged, looked like single roses and bloomed around Christmas time.  They were called Christmas roses (Helleborus niger, as they were known botanically).  During Lent, in March or April, very similar flowers bloomed in shades of pink and cream and they were called Lenten roses (Helleborus orientalis).  Then, a few decades ago, plant breeders began developing exciting new hybrids, many of them crosses between and among different hellebore species, of which there are many more than these two.  Taxonomists (those academic gnomes who give plants their Latin botanical names) got involved, giving names to the new crosses, and eventually deciding that all Lenten roses were probably natural or intentional hybrids anyway, whereupon a new name, ‘Helleborus x hybridus’, was given to the Lenten rose.  And all was confusion, a sort of horticultural Tower of Babel.  The good news is that we now have so many exquisite new hellebores that the confused nomenclature doesn’t really matter; the bad news is that you can’t tell a Christmas rose from a Lenten rose anymore without expert help.

Hellebores are native to the Balkans and other parts of Eurasia. Their evergreen foliage looks good all year and the flowers can last for months.  They are easy to grow, combining especially well with ferns and colorful heuchera to make a year round, deer-resistant and trouble free shade garden.  If you are not plagued with deer, add some light-leaved hosta for a lovely effect.  Many new hybrids have marbled foliage that draws the eye, even when not in bloom.  They are slow to get started, but once established look good either massed or as single specimens.

Beginning in the 1980s, a number of hybridizers focused on these lovely plants and produced a glorious profusion of different colors and forms.  Dozens of new hybrids have been introduced with richer colors, double flowers and up-facing blooms.  Many new hybrids sport colorful edges, some are bi-colored with beautiful veining, some are shades of creamy yellow, some are purple and lavender, many are beautiful shades of red and pink, others are pristine white.  Grow the darker colors near a path where they can be viewed up close.  Whites, yellows and light pinks or lavenders will show at a distance.  Hellebore flowers are quite subtle and are often hidden by the large leaves.  To make sure you can see them, remove the old leaves on stemless types (the ones where the flowers come straight out of the ground) in late winter or early spring as the flower buds emerge.  The plants will quickly put out fresh, new leaves after flowering.

Many gardeners, myself included, love another species of hellebore, the Corsican hellebore (H.  argutifolius), whose flowers bloom in early spring atop long stems.  Although not as colorful as the Lenten roses, the Corsican hellebore is well worth growing for its larger size, beautiful saw-toothed foliage and showy, light green-to-white flowers.  It looks beautiful blooming with blue grape hyacinths or any other early spring bulb.  Some cultivars, such as ‘Snow Fever’ and ‘Pacific Frost’, have lovely marbled foliage and remain showy all year.  To prune this stemmed hellebore, cut the stems all the way back to the ground after flowering.

Hellebores like rich, well-drained soil.  They have deep roots, so make sure the hole is deep enough that they do not become water logged and don’t mulch heavily.  They are slow to get started, but eventually make beautiful clumps that do not need to be divided, although they can be if desired.  They like shade, but will grow in sun as long as they are kept moist.  They are quite tolerant of neglect, but will give their best with a little care and fertilizer.  Many will self seed in a few years, and you might want to move the seedling away from the mother plant because it probably won’t have the same blooms and may detract from its appearance.  

A word about cost:  if you have purchased hellebores you know that they are expensive.  This is because they are hard to propagate.  Many will seed readily, but they do not often come true to the form of the parent plant.  Each plant is a bit different.  To get plants that bloom as promised, growers rely on division (which takes a lot of time for these slow starters) and tissue culture, both of which are expensive.  If you purchase a plant that is not in flower, make sure that it comes from a reliable nursery and grower so that you will not be disappointed.

Hellebores are poisonous, but it is mostly the roots that can cause a problem.  The leaves are coarse and fibrous, highly unlikely to be eaten by pets or children.  One final caution:  hellebores are addictive.  Once you begin to enjoy having roses in winter, you will want more and more.  When you see that new double lavender hybrid in a nursery catalog, it will be really hard to resist ordering it.

Christine Wegman is a Rock Spring Garden Club member in National Capital Area Garden Clubs' District III.  She is one of the go-to 'hort' experts in her club. Christine and her husband, Charlie Flicker, are avid and generous gardeners and have cultivated a delightful garden (for any season) in Arlington, Virginia.