Helleborus niger

Christmas Rose with snow-white flowers in late-winter and evergreen foliage

Helleborus niger

Helleborus niger

Helleborus niger

Helleborus niger, three-litre container

Established plant in three-litre container

Description

Helleborus niger, also known as the Christmas Rose, is a classic hellebore much appreciated for the combination of the timing of its flowering and the year-round interest its evergreen foliage provides. The large, snow-white flowers with yellow centres emerge in late winter and early spring held in clusters above the strong foliage. The flowers have a gently nodding habit and fade out gracefully to deeper creamer colours fading eventually to green – but looking good even once over through spring. The large, thick leaves start bright green and fades to a deeper green, retaining this colour throughout the year, making hellebores a great complement to woodland gardens as well as the stars of late winter in their own right, where the bright flowers can be seen mingling happily with early flowering dwarf irises, daffodils and aconites.

These established, garden-ready plants have been grown in peat-free compost at our nursery in Cornwall and are supplied in three-litre containers. They will grow to an ultimate height of about a 50cm (1 and a half feet) in the right conditions with a similar spread where happy.

Growing Advice

Hellebores are reasonably versatile plants but thrive most in woodland settings where they get a good amount of winter and early spring sunshine but where the tree canopy that emerges later in spring protects them from the strongest summer sun. While they don’t like to dry out completely (so be wary of siting them among the roots of established trees in clay soil that can get very dry in summer) they also won’t be happy in boggy conditions. Best best is to plant them in humous-y, rich soils that retain moisture well – think here about typical conditions found on woodland floors where fallen leaves provide good drainage and lower canopy plants have fed the soil as they break down. The key thing is to remember that hellebores have tap roots and so don’t appreciate soil disturbance. The leaves, while evergreen, can also become a bit tired over time – we tend to cut ours back in winter to make way for a clear display byu the flowers, but they can be tidied up at any time of the year and will also grow new foliage in summer.

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£14.75

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Before ordering with us please make sure you read the pages below to help you understand what to expect when buying plants online from a nursery such as ours. For instance the photographs in our listings are intended to give you an impression of our plants in their mature (and usually flowering) form. The last photograph in this listing provides an indication of the size of the plant to expect when you buy from us. It is not a guarantee of the way the top growth will look when you receive the plant(s), as this will depend on the time of the season you have ordered the plant and it simply isn’t possible to provide photographs of the plants at every stage of growth during the year. Plants ordered in spring, autumn or winter for example may have much reduced or tired top growth that will regrow later in the season / the following season and you should be aware of this when ordering at these times. If you have any questions about the current condition of any of our plants please do get in touch, or see the links below for more information about what to expect.

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