If you are looking for a shade loving plant then the Hellebore, or Lenton Rose could worth a try. Good foliage, great flowers and very hardy.
Easy to grow Helleborus species are a plant that hybridisers (plant breeders if you like) have had a lot of success with over the years, and as these are a winter flowering plant their work is appreciated by many.
Flowers at this time of the year are appreciated by all gardeners, and with hellebores, we can now run the full gamut of colours from white to that slate black with reds and yellows in between. The search for pure colour in the flowers has been one way that the hellebore breeders have gone.
However some have looked at developing complex and clearer marked and spotted flowers, some have looked at a more upward facing flowers while others have looked at shape and openness. Now beauty is in the eye of the beholder, however we do like the classic nodding heads and have for many years.
Lately we have started to appreciate the more upright flowers on stiffer stems. However we do have a few ‘favourite’ plants, and we are not hybridisers, however in our garden the hellebore do a little of that by themselves.
General Information
You may be able to buy the ‘run of the mill’ Hellebore plant anywhere, however if you are looking the best varieties, colorful flowers and exiting foliage, then look Online.
Over the past 20 years the range of Hellebores offered for sale has increased dramatically.
Flower colors now include white, yellow, deep red and almost black. This is as well as the multicoloured flowers and the different flower forms.
An easy care plant available for sale from a wide range of specialist Nurseries hybridising and growing new varieties. Any flower that can bring some life to the winter garden is of great value and Hellebores or Winter Roses are a favourite, along with some of the Crocus, Snowdrops or Galanthus and of course Mahonia and Camellias.
A useful shade garden plant, with colourful flowers including white and near black, during winter months. We provide notes on care varieties and nurseries with plants for sale online in the USA.
Types include double flowering hellebores,and new hybrids, all with the ability to grow in shade. You can buy plants online bare rooted or in pots early in fall ready for planting.
Looking at Shade Plants in more detail
Hellebore Care
Growing well in cool climates, they grow well in shade, however morning sun or dappled shade will help promote flowering.
They prefer a humus rich well drained soil, they do not like soggy conditions, and in fact are reasonably drought tolerant once established.
Best planted in a humus rich well drained soil, winter sun is excellent and will improve flowering.
So once you have purchased you Hellebores here is how to plant then.
- Dig in some well rotted compost well before planting.
- Check you plants as soon as they arrive, happy with the quality, then plant them. Unhappy, contact the nursery.
- Plant to the correct depth and firm in, water in with a liquid seaweed fertiliser to promote good strong root growth.
Maintenance free, although it is good practice to remove last years foliage as soon as the new growth and new flowers start to appear in Fall or early Winter.
You can do this by pruning although we do now gardeners who simply ‘mow’ them at the end of summer, this removes the tatty old foliage , and gives the new seasons flowers the best chance of showing their nodding heads.
Propagation is from seed or by division.
Fertilizing Hellebores
Use any well rotted manure or a complete fertilizer in early Fall. Although they are tough and can do without feeding, or cutting them back, if you wish to get the best out them a little loving care is appreciated.
The Hellebores, H. argutifolius and H. lividus are exceptions to the general rule,these are two species that require a warmer or if you like ‘Mediterranean’ climate.
You may also be interested in
- Helleborus foetidus
- Groundcover plants
- Epimediums
- Hosta plant care
- Daphne
- Winter flowering plants
- Trillium
Hellebore Plants are available for sale from the following nurseries
SEQUIM RARE PLANTS
500 N. Sequim Ave. Sequim, WA 98382
PINE KNOT FARMS – 434-252-1990 phone 434-252-0768 fax
681 Rockchurch Road, Clarksville Virginia 23927 USA
SUNSHINE FARM and GARDENS – Phone/Fax 304-497-2208 Fax – 304-409-2698
BIG DIPPER FARM – Phone 360.886.8133
26130 SE Green Valley Rd Black Diamond, WA 98010
