| Where
the garden meets the wild
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HELLEBORUS HELLEBORE Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family) 铁筷子属 |
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Helleborus orientalis subsp. abchasicus. Photograph © Paige Woodward |
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| Hellebore anatomy made simple. Photograph of H. thibetanus © Chris Klapwijk | ||
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Hellebores will grow in full sun, but they are
among the best perennials for deciduous shade. They can seem to bloom for months. This is because
what look like flower petals are actually the long-lasting sepals of a modified calyx (the part that cups and supports the flower). A hellebore's real flower is a ring of nectaries modified into short, tubular petals at the base of the sepals. As these petals age, they drop off (just like the petals of a rose). But the sepals and carpels last a long time (just like the calyx and hip of a rose). All that said, in ordinary conversation hellebore lovers refer to the sepals as the flower. We do the same in our descriptions here. Plant your hellebores in leafy duff or rich humus that never quite dries out. If your soil is very acid, give them dolomite. To minimize frost damage, place early risers on a cold-shedding slope and bury them in piles of leaves. In fall or winter, prepare for spring. Snip off the old, haggard leaves of deciduous species before new shoots emerge. If evergreen species become too lanky, cut them back, even to the ground. They will return with new vigor. The plants we offer are species, as currently defined. They are from wild seeds, either directly or as divisions. Species hellebores are rare in gardens, though many have contributed genes to cherished garden hybrids. Currently, 17 species are accepted. Discussions continue, however, for hybrids abound in the wild, populations intergrade and exploration is incomplete. |
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| Helleborus abchasicus | ||
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| Helleborus abruzzicus | ||
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Photographs © Paige Woodward |
Helleborus argutifolius Viviani. Corsican hellebore. Argutifolius means "silver-leaved." We treasure this plant for the gleam of its leathery, serrated leaves. It produces tall wands of pale green flowers in January-March; to support them, we grow it through a peony hoop. Native to the Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Sardinia, H. argutifolius is surprisingly hardy. We have grown it for many years in reflected light against a N-facing wall. The origin of our mother plant is lost, but the seeds come true. Height to 90 cm (3'.). Evergreen to Zone 6; reported hardy to Zone 4. Flowering-size division. $15.00 |
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Photographs © Paige Woodward |
Helleborus
atrorubens Waldstein
& Kitaibel. The flowers, usually 2-3 per stem, bloom in February-March
among coarsely serrated leaves divided into 3-5 fingers.
Atrorubens means "dark red". The flowers of many of our
plants are indeed a deep red-purple that glows ruby with the sun behind it.
But the flower color varies considerably. Some
of ours are dark with a celadon veil and one (shown here but not for
sale) is a powdery turquoise-grey with cherry trim. This
species is native to NW parts of the former Yugoslavia. We offer divisions of plants grown from seeds collected by Will McLewin (WM 9825)
in what is now Croatia. Deciduous. Height to 35 cm (14"). Zone
6.
Flowering-size division. $18.00 |
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| Helleborus bocconei | ||
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Photographs © Paige Woodward |
Helleborus
croaticus Z. Martinis. Croatian hellebore. The purple flowers, blooming in January-March,
resemble those of H. torquatus
but are a little smaller. The leaves resemble those of H.
atrorubens. The stems, pedicels and bracts are sprinkled
with glandular hairs. This species is native to NE Croatia. We offer divisions of
plants collected there by the Dutch plantsman Léon Doyen. Deciduous. Height to 38 cm
(15"). Zone 6.
Flowering-size division. $30.00 |
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Photographs © Paige Woodward |
Helleborus
cyclophyllus Boissier. Spring-flowering
form. Yellow-green flowers, up to 7 per stem, bloom in February-March amid
many-fingered leaves. Cyclophyllus means "wheel-leaved"; if laid
on the ground, a mature leaf would fill a circle (more or less). Native to much of the S Balkans, this
species is thought to
be the "black hellebore" of the ancient Greeks. We offer divisions of plants collected by Antoine Hoog in 1991 (AH.9144) in
central Greece on Mount Vardousia, where they were growing in subalpine
meadow at 1400 m (4600'). This is similar to the more northerly H. odorus,
but the carpels are free at the base. Deciduous. Height of leaves 20-25 cm
(8-10"). Zone
6, possibly colder.
Flowering-size division. $18.00 |
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| Helleborus
cyclophyllus Boissier. Autumn-flowering
form. This is similar to the previous plant, but it blooms in November.
We offer divisions of plants collected by Antoine Hoog in 1989
(AH.8934) in
central Greece on Mount Pilion.
Flowering-size division. $18.00 |
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Photographs © Paige Woodward
Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog |
Helleborus
dumetorum Waldstein &
Kitaibel ex Willdenow. Nodding green flowers with a glaucous cast, unscented and 3 or more per stem, bloom in February-March.
This is a true woodlander (dumetorum means "of hedges or bushy
places"). It is native to a swathe from Croatia and Slovenia across
Hungary and S Austria to perhaps as far as the Black Sea. Our plants are from seeds collected
by Will McLewin (WM 0023) near Vargesztes, Hungary, in the Mescek
Mountains. Deciduous. Height
20-30 cm (8-12"). Zone 6.
Flowering-size division. $15.00
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Photographs © Paige Woodward |
Helleborus
foetidus Linnaeus 'Ruth' strain. Stinking hellebore. This
evergreen beauty with dark, leathery, fingered leaves sends up wands of
chartreuse flowers in January-March, very
welcome at the beginning of the year. Sometimes
the flowers have magenta lips. They do not stink at all. (If crushed, the
leaves of some plants, but not all, may smell a little funky; but who
crushes the leaves?) This species is native to woodlands across Europe.
Our plants are from garden seeds that descend from 'Ruth,' a floriferous,
dark green strain with particularly narrow fingers that was selected by
Will McLewin. We received our seeds from John Dudley, the Tasmanian
hellebore breeder. Height to 90 cm (3'). Zone 6.
Flowering-size root. $12.00 |
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Photographs © Paige Woodward |
Helleborus
foetidus Linnaeus 'Red Silver' strain. Stinking
hellebore. With silver-blue leaves, red petioles and copious flowers
heavily rimmed in red, 'Red Silver' is a knockout. At left you see it in
our garden. Bloom time is February-March. Our 'Red Silver' came directly from Ernie and Marietta
O'Byrne, who selected it at their nursery in Oregon. We offer
open-pollinated seedlings of those plants. Evergreen. Height to 75 cm (30")
Flowering-size root. $12.00 |
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| Helleborus hercegovinus | ||
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Photographs © A.M.D. Hoog |
Helleborus
multifidus Visiani subsp. bocconei
(Tenore) B. Mathew. Sometimes called H. bocconei. Native to Italy,
including Sicily, this plant is adapted to stony scrub and open woods at
chilly elevations. Its
leaves are dissected, but much more coarsely than in subsp.
hercegovinus. Our plants are from seeds collected
by Will McLewin (WM9905) in W Sicily, S of Palermo. Height 20-36 cm (8-14"). Zone 6, perhaps colder.
Flowering-size division. $25.00 |
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Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog |
Helleborus
aff. multifidus Visiani subsp. bocconei (Tenore)
B. Mathew extreme form (new
subspecies?). Sometimes called H. abruzzicus. Similar to the previous plant, but the
leaves are more finely dissected. Our plants are from seeds collected by
Will McLewin NE of Rome, in Italy's Lazio/Abruzzo region. Zone 6, perhaps
colder.
Flowering-size division. $25.00 |
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Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog |
Helleborus multifidus
Visiani subsp.
hercegovinus
(Martinis) B. Mathew. This is the form
of multifidus with the most dissected leaves, sometimes called H.
hercegovinus. The
nodding flowers are dusty lime green, the leaf segments serrated. It is native to
the coastal mountains of Herzegovina, Montenegro and perhaps Albania.
Our plants are divisions of material collected at several sites in the
Balkans. With us they emerge late, in March. Deciduous.
Height 20-36 cm (8-14"). Zone 6, perhaps colder.
Flowering-size division. $25.00 |
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Photographs © Paige Woodward |
Helleborus
niger Linnaeus. Christmas
rose; Schneerose ("snow
rose," German). Large, white, waxy, bowl-shaped flowers open in
December-March (with us, in February), and later often flush pink,
amid dark, leathery, pedate, evergreen leaves. Native to the S Balkans.
Our plants are a seed strain traceable back to Slovenia. Deciduous. Height 15-20
cm (6-8"). Zone 4.
Flowering-size division. $12.00 |
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Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog |
Helleborus occidentalis (Reuter) Schiffner tall form. Sometimes called H. viridis subsp. occidentalis. Fat, bright green flowers, up to 4 cm (1.5") wide, bloom in March-April. Native to W Europe, this good garden plant is a lover of deep shade and fairly slow-growing. Our robust stock, with very large leaves, are divisions of plants collected in Belgium by Jeannine and Michael Hoog (JMH 8134). Height 30-40 cm (12-16"). Deciduous. Zone 6. Flowering-size division. $13.00 |
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Photographs © Paige Woodward |
Helleborus
occidentalis (Reuter) Schiffner short form. This plant
is only half as big as the previous one, making it ideal for pot
culture and shaded rock gardens. The leaves and sometimes the outer sepals
are coarsely saw-toothed. We offer divisions of plants collected in
E Belgium by Jeannine and Michael Hoog (JMH 8901). Height 15-20 cm (6-8"). Deciduous. Zone 6.
Not available this season. |
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Photographs © Paige Woodward |
Helleborus
orientalis Cars. ex Nyman subsp. orientalis. Lenten
rose. Large flowers, white shading to green and up to 4 per stem,
bloom in March above dark green, leathery,
pedate leaves. This species is native to many habitats across NW Greece,
Turkey, Ukraine and Georgia. We offer divisions of plants from seeds collected in the Caucasus N of Tbilisi in Georgia. Deciduous. Height
to 36 cm (14"). Zone 6, perhaps colder.
Flowering-size division. $20.00 |
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Photographs © Paige Woodward |
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Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog |
Helleborus
orientalis subsp. abchasicus
(A.Braun ) B. Mathew. Lenten rose. Nodding flowers of good size that are rose, red or
purple bloom in February-March above
coarsely toothed, wide-fingered, leathery leaves that often start out
black or purple. This species
is native to the W
Caucasus Range. We offer divisions of plants grown from seeds
collected by Will McLewin (WM 9607).
Deciduous. Height to 45 cm (18"). Zone 5.
Flowering-size division. $25.00 |
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Photographs © Paige Woodward |
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Helleborus purpurascens Waldstein & Kitaibel. Big, nodding, cup-shaped flowers, 2-4 per stem and up to 7 cm (3") across, bloom in January-March. Purple-violet with a bloom of buff or grey, the first flowers may open at ground level as the stem rises. The palmate, coarsely serrated leaves, sometimes as wide as the plant is tall, radiate from the top of the petiole. They may be dark if they emerge in very cold weather, but green up (alas) eventually. This species is native to the Carpathian Range in Romania, Ukraine, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. We offer divisions of plants collected by Léon Doyen in Hungary's Bükk Mountains, a karst region. Deciduous. Height in flower 20 cm (8"). Zone 6. Flowering-size division. $16.00 |
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Photographs © Paige Woodward |
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Helleborus thibetanus Franchet.
Chinese hellebore. 铁筷子属
Tie
kuai zi shu kuai zi shu (Chinese).
チベタヌス (Japanese).
This deciduous beauty is
the lone hellebore of eastern Asia. It is native to
open montane forests in the Chinese provinces of Gansu,
Hubei, Shaanxi and Sichuan. Thibetanus means "Tibetan,"
of course; here "greater Tibet" seems to be meant, the realm of
Tibetan culture, which extends far beyond Tibet proper. The coarsely toothed leaves
of this species are divided into 7-10 segments. The "flowers" start out
white or pale pink, blush deeper pink as they ripen, then fade toward
white again. This treasure will vanish by summer to
return in January, bronze stems splitting the cold ground. Height to 40 cm
(16"). Zone 6, possibly colder.
Not available this season. |
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Photographs © Paige Woodward |
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Helleborus
torquatus Archer-Hind.
This species, specially valued for its fingered leaves, has flowers that are
purple outside, and purple shading to green inside. It blooms in February-March
and is native to much of the former Yugoslavia. Our plants, dark
with a celadon to turquoise interior, are divisions of plants collected by Antoine Hoog (AH 9115) in what
is now Serbia & Montenegro, near Mojkovac. They were at 950 m (3100') elevation on a N-facing slope in beech
woods, in deep soil; their companions included Crocus vernus and Hepatica
nobilis. Height 20-40 cm (8-16"). Deciduous. Zone 6.
Flowering-size division. $20.00 |
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Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog |
Helleborus vesicarius Aucher ex
Boissier. Seldom seen in cultivation, this hellebore is native to hot, dry, stony, alkaline fields and scrub in SE
Turkey and neighboring Syria. Vesicarius means "inflated like a
bladder", a reference to its lantern-like seed pods. This plant survives by going dormant in
summer. Like the bulbs of the same region, it starts growth with the
autumn rains, blooms in spring and then goes dormant again. Although its
dormant period is hot and rainless, deep down in the soil its fleshy roots remain moist.
Unless you can supply these conditions outdoors, grow it in a glasshouse. Our
stock is from seeds collected by Edouard Hanslik near Gaziantep in
SE Turkey in 2000. H. vesicarius does look like celery in a way,
you're right. Height to 60 cm (24"). Deciduous. Zone 7?
Flowering-size division. $30.00 |
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| Helleborus viridis | ||
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| This page was updated March 18, 2008 | ||
