The beautiful world of hellebores
There ’s a raft happening in the world of false hellebore . late facts of life has innovate new color , never - before - picture shapes and even longer bloom times for these intimately perfect perennials . Perhaps all this renewed pastime in hellebores is because they ’re so easy to grow . Perhaps it ’s because they bloom way before anything else — take into account you fresh - pick bouquets like the one above even in winter . Or perhaps it ’s just because gardeners find their jewel tones so gosh - damn hard to resist . “ Their temptingness for sure arises from their precocious bloom time , ” say C. Colston Burrell , writer ofHellebores : A Comprehensive Guide . “Gardeners languish for year - round bloom , and hellebores deliver a dose of spring in the winter months . The flowers are coloured and borne in profusion . They are also long - persistent . Because the showy contribution of the flowers are sepal , not flower petal , they do not languish and shrivel like petal would . The colour may persist for several months , carrying the heyday period well into springiness . ”
Hellebores: The rose of winter
The most commonly grown type of false hellebore is the diverse mathematical group of part shadiness - loving hybrids known as the Lenten or wintertime rose . Breeding has farm a wide range of challenging false hellebore . The prime tend to nod downward ( to protect the pollen ) and are up to 3 column inch across , typically in shades of white , rose , green or purpleness . new hellebore hybrids now have spotted flowers and pointed petals ; others are double - blossom or bicolors or even streaked . New foliage go forth at bloom of youth sentence , and plants grow into an excellent glossy evergreen plant ground cover .
Hellebores in the landscape
hellebore provide contrast in almost any companion planting . That ’s because they pose the stage for after - blooming tulip and daffodils , but the hellebore ’s hardy foliage remains to camouflage the die foliage of the spring - bloom bulb . judge planting hellebores on a incline , hillside , or in a raise bed where their blossom are better appreciated . “ Since hellebore loosely nod , ” Colston explains , “ planting them on a slope allow you to see the interior of the bloom , which are more alluring in color and design than the back of the flowers . The reason the flowers nod is to protect the reproductive structures — stamen and pistils — from frost equipment casualty . ” Throughout most of North America , hellebores wait until the worst of winter is over to begin bloom around February and March , when the snow has melt or is just beginning to melt . All the more reason you should want to have mass of hellebores on hand to in good order herald spring ’s long - awaited arrival .
You Might Also care : How to strip Up Hellebores in SpringWinter Garden IdeasBest industrial plant with Berries for BirdsBest Plants for Shade
Tips for growing hellebores
Find a new hellebore for your garden
American breeders started bringing base garden - worthy hellebore in the 1980s . Today ’s spectacular hybrids in shades of empurpled - black , plum tree , burgundy , lime - unripe , shell - garden pink and lily-white are the result of hybridization of multiple species . Most of the best hybrids available in North America today are seed strains , some developed by making controlled hybridizing each time of year , while others amount more or less from open - pollinated plant . Check out the heading below to meet some of the more late introduction from stock breeder here in the United States .
‘ female parent of the Bride ’ hellebore ( Helleborusxhybridus )
TypePerennialBloomsDouble apricot heyday with a light pink picotee edgeLightPart to full shadeSize18 to 24 in . tall and wideHardinessCold stout in USDA zones 4 to 9
‘ Rose Quartz ’ hellebore ( Helleborusxhybridus )
TypePerennialBloomsDouble lily-white ruffled blossoms with pink picotee edgesLightPart to full shadeSize12 to 22 in . tall , 18 to 24 in . wideHardinessCold sturdy in USDA zones 4 to 8
‘ Sun Flare ’ hellebore ( Helleborusxhybridus )
TypePerennialBloomsFully duplicate yellow blossom with bright carmine schema and streaking with distinctive green centersLightPart to full shadeSize18 to 24 in . tall and wideHardinessCold sturdy in USDA zona 4 to 8
Golden Sunrise ’ hellebore ( Helleborusxhybridus’Black bond Affair ' )
TypePerennialBloomsDouble purple heyday with faint centersLightPart to full shadeSize18 to 24 in . tall and wideHardinessCold unfearing in USDA zones 4 to 9
‘ Confetti Cake ’ hellebore ( Helleborusxhybridus )
TypePerennialBloomsDouble white flowers with burgundy stipple center toward the centersLightPart to full shadeSize18 to 24 in . marvellous and wideHardinessCold hardy in USDA zones 4 to 9
‘ Amethyst Gem ’ hellebore ( Helleborusxhybridus )
TypePerennialBloomsDouble rich amethyst - rise bloom margined in cream to pinkLightPart to full shadeSize12 to 15 in . tall , 22 to 24 in . wideHardinessCold hardy in USDA zones 4 to 8
‘ Golden Sunrise ’ hellebore ( Helleborusxhybridus )
TypePerennialBloomsSingle pale- to deep golden - yellow-bellied bloom with contrast carmine starburst centersLightPart to full shadeSize18 to 22 in . marvellous , 20 to 24 in . wideHardinessCold audacious in USDA zones 4 to 8
‘ Ruby Wine ’ hellebore ( Helleborusxhybridus’Ruby Wine ' )
TypePerennialBloomsSingle velvety wine - red blossomsLightPart to full shadeSize18 to 22 in . tall , 20 to 24 in . wideHardinessCold stout in USDA zones 4 to 8
‘ Shotgun nuptials ’ hellebore ( Helleborusxhybridus )
TypePerennialBloomsDouble white-hot flowers with thick burgundy spots condense at the centersLightPart to full shadeSize18 to 24 in . tall and wideHardinessCold hardy in USDA geographical zone 4 to 9
‘ Flower Girl ’ hellebore ( Helleborusxhybridus ' )
TypePerennialBloomsDouble pale pink- to maroon - tint frilly petal surround a center of ivory stamensLightPart to full shadeSize18 to 24 in . marvelous and wideHardinessCold hardy in USDA zona 4 to 9
