helleborus

Helleborus x nigercors 'Ice Breaker Gala'

Christmas Rose on a Stick

We’ve always loved the Christmas rose, Helleborus niger, and a few years ago, European breeders were able to cross it with Helleborus argutifolius. Helleborus niger is a white-flowered species with below ground flowering stems (acaulescent), while Helleborus argutifolius is a green-flowered species with above ground flowering stems (caulescent). The hybrids, known as Helleborus x nigercors,

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Helleborus x lemperii 'Liara'

Lemping Liara!

The latest new group of lenten roses are the Helleborus x lemperii hybrids. These are crosses, long thought to be impossible, between Helleborus niger and Helleborus x hybridus. The first variety, H. ‘Walberton’s Rosemary’ was introduced in 2012 as Helleborus x lemonnierae, but the name was too confusing with the cultivar, Helleborus ‘Madame Lemonnier’, so

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Helleborus x ballardiae 'Mahogany Snow'

The Christmas Rose Bowl

Coming in second place to the Helleborus niger we posted earlier is Helleborus x ballardiae ‘Mahogany Snow’. This is a cross of the Christmas rose, Helleborus niger and Helleborus lividus. The flowers emerge white, then age to a lovely salmon pink. We find this hellebore hybrid much easier to grow than either parent.

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It’s time for snow….roses

It’s time for the start of Christmas rose/snow rose season to begin. We were delighted to find our clump of the Balkan native, Helleborus niger ‘Jesko’ in full flower. These are always exceptional honeybee favorites, as well as being great evergreen perennials for the winter season. We find that light shade to a couple of

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Looking you in the eye…the new Lenten Roses

We continue to be impressed with the continuing parade of new selections of sterile lenten roses, in particular, the clones of Helleborus x iburgensis. These fascinating hybrids that originated at RD plants in England, are crosses of Helleborus x ballardiae (niger x lividus) x Helleborus x hybridus. In other words, these hybrids have up to

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The Roses of Lent

The earliest of the lenten roses, Helleborus x hybridus, have just opened. Depending on the genetics of each clone, they will continue to open until mid-March. Flowering on each variety continues for many weeks to over a month if the temperatures remain cool. Only a few weeks remain before our Winter Open Nursery and Garden,

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