Hellebores are little beacons of light just now. When so much of the winter garden is dull and dreary, they stand out, giving us colour and hope right through till the end of April.
Every stage of flower growth wins out. As buds emerge from the soil, they form clusters, capping elongating stems and are usually darker than the flowers’ final colour. And these stems are fully fit for purpose. I’m always amazed to see how they withstand whatever frost and snow the weather hurls at them.
Flower colour ranges from crimson to white and, if you’re a discriminating gardener and hastily pass all the garish, clashing colour combinations on offer in some garden centres, you’re in for a treat. It is so hard to choose between subtle cream, dusky pink, creamy-green and soft yellow.
The outsides of the tepals of many varieties are flushed with a different colour to the inside, which I find attractive even while flowers are fading. And then the show is by no means over. Not only do you get good seedheads, but the leaves spring into life. Leathery and toothed, they are divided into a host of tiny leaflets of every shade of green.
Hellebore groups grow and mature at different times in late winter and early spring. Some are challenging to grow in Scotland, so I’m focusing on hardier cultivars. The best known Helleborus niger, the Christmas rose, flowers in January and continues in its different forms till March.
Unfortunately, the Christmas rose, though tough, isn’t the easiest candidate for growing. It needs much better drainage than our gardens often have in winter.
So, without these suitable conditions, wait till next month when H. x hybridus comes on stream.
This hardy plant is much more tolerant with lots of fine specimens like Harvington Red. I love its magnificent crimson petals and must also mention the endearingly subtle Yellow Lady.
Helleborus x nigercors keeps going right through winter and into May. I defy anyone not to like its gorgeous creamy white flowers crowned superbly with showy golden-yellow stamens.
If you’re hoping to start or increase your hellebore collection, do so over the next few weeks. You can plant anytime between autumn and spring – in fact any time other than during hot, dry weather. Buy and plant now when the plants are in flower and you’ll see exactly what you’re getting.
Choose a lightly shaded part of the garden where the plants enjoy direct sun for an hour or two. Plant in moderately rich soil. Vitally, though, you do need moist but very free-draining ground. It shouldn’t dry out in summer or become waterlogged in winter.
If you need to improve soil structure and nutrient, fork home-made compost into the planting area, not just the planting hole. Don’t plant too deeply. When transferring from a pot, make sure the hellebore is at the same level in the ground as in the container.
Then mulch the planting area with organic matter, keeping the mulch away from plant stems to prevent rot. Ideally, use leafmould as it not only improves structure, but also provides a little nutrient. But you may also need to use a different organic mulch. Critically, this will retain soil moisture and reduce weeding.
Most of the hardy hellebores should be planted 35-45cm apart to form groups in a bed.
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