Heavenly hellebores by hellebore expert Diana Guy
Hellebores are a special delight mainly because of the appearance they make in the garden after Christmas when everything else is barren
autumn is the best time when it is also possible to split up big plants. Be warned that they may sulk for a year or two and will be slow to grow back. All the maintenance they need is to have is all their leaves removed between November and mid-January when they really appreciate a good mulch of mushroom compost.
Many people end up growing just murky pink ones but today an amazing array of colours and forms are available. The dark plummy shades are very popular but can disappear in a border unless planted with lighter shades and maybe some snowdrops, followed by small pale narcissus such as February Silver.
A Homelea Hybrid anemone centred hellebore
The gardening fraternity is divided between those who adore hellebores and grow them in abundance and those that have tried and failed, or think them dreary, not realising what a wealth of colours are available. The ones that so often fail to thrive, causing the disappointment, are Helleborus niger, the true Christmas rose with the cup-shaped white flower often seen on Christmas cards or table decorations.
H.niger can indeed be tricky, although I have found it is one of the very few to do well in a pot. You generally have to try several positions around the garden until you can suit it, but the base of a hedge often works.
The hellebores I always recommend are the Hellleborus x hybridus, formerly known as H.orientalis. The common name Lenten Rose gives a clue to its flowering season, post Christmas and peaking around March. In a good year some will flower from late November.
Unlike their Christmas counterparts, H. hybridus are a tough, amenable bunch that will thrive in a wide range of conditions. Often placed in gloomy, north facing situations where they will quietly soldier on where all else fails, they are happy in much sunnier places provided the soil is not too dry. Grown amongst perennials such as hardy geraniums and hemerocallis that have low emerging foliage in late winter, the hellebores enjoy being shaded out by their neighbours when things hot up later in the year. Indeed they are summer dormant. Growth recommences in September and continues until late spring.
Left to their own devices they will grow into hefty clumps and they dislike disturbance. If they need to be moved, early
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An amazing array of colours and forms are now available
Garden centres can offer a good range from growers all over Britain; look out for yellows and apricots as they are not so easy to track down, but we are very lucky in Dorset to live so close to one of the current leading breeders. At Tytherleigh near Axminster, just over the border you will find R.D. Plants, growers of the sought after Homelea Hybrids. As well as superb singles they have perfected a range of doubles and scrumptious so-called anemone centred hellebores. The big news this year is the release on 1st February of a brand new hellebore, a world exclusive, the result of 15 years breeding by Rodney Davis, called H.’Penny’s Pink. It is stunning, quite unique and named after Dorset’s highly acclaimed gardener and garden writer, Penelope Hobhouse. Go down to the nursery as soon as you can and you will have the pick from the hundreds of hellebores on offer.
Of course there are many other hellebores you can grow, some ideal for that dry, sunny spot such as
H.argutifolius. There are also stunning two and three way crosses such as
H.Sternii , H nigercors and H, Ericsmithii, nowadays this latter group appear under range of other names such
as Winter Sunshine and Ivory Prince. You might be interested to know that throughout March there will be Hellebore Workshops (priced from £10 to £25) at Kitemoor Cottage, Manswood near Wimborne. For further details contact Diana Guy 01258 840894 email
Diana.kitemoor@
btinternet.com
R.D Plants for Homelea Hybrid hellebores and the new ‘Penny’s Pink’ Tel: 01460 220206. Nursery is open from 10 until 4, weather permitting and is situated on the A358 midway between Chard and Axminster (postcode EX13 7BG).
Country Gardener
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