Hankering for Spring? Try Hellebores!

It is one more day of overcast skies and freezing temperatures.  Will spring ever arrive?  When I stare out at my bleak garden I spy one delightfully frilly reminder of spring’s recuperative powers.  My Hellebores are blooming like crazy! This diverse group of plants is evergreen, has flowers that last for months, and blooms at the dreary end of winter.  It is also very much in vogue--Helleborus x hybridus or lenten rose was named as the 2005 perennial plant of the year by the Perennial Plant Association.  By now you may want to drop the paper and rush to the nearest nursery if you don’t already have at least one of these incredible beauties in your garden.  But, hold your hats for a bit more information—these are very interesting plants.

According to Wikipedia, “Several legends surround the hellebore; in witchcraft it is believed to have ties to summoning demons. Helleborus niger is commonly called the Christmas rose, due to an old legend that it sprouted in the snow from the tears of a young girl who had no gift to give the Christ Child in Bethlehem.
In Greek mythology, Melampus of Pylos used hellebore to save the daughters of the king of Argos from a madness, induced by Dionysus, that caused them to run naked through the city, crying, weeping, and screaming.

During the Siege of Kirrha in 585 BC, hellebore was reportedly used by the Greek besiegers to poison the city's water supply. The defenders were subsequently so weakened by diarrhea that they were unable to defend the city from assault.

Some historians believe that Alexander the Great died because of a hellebore overdose, when he took it as medication.”  Now, that is one colorful biography!

Hellebores have long been used in homeopathic medicine; however they have poisonous properties (see above!) so its home use is discouraged. They are coarse perennial herbs with palmately or pedately lobed leaves.  The flowers, resembling large buttercups to whose family they belong, either hang like pastel petticoats or face up to the sun.  They thrive in the shady border in good garden soil.  Like most plants they need consistent moisture, but mine have done well through these two hot, dry summers.  They form pleasing clumps that can be divided or if the flowers are left on, will self seed.  My seedlings were blooming the second season.  Common strains with a variety of colorful blooms, though lavender and pale green seem to predominate, are widely available.  The newer hybridized varieties, “Winter Jewels,” “Royal Heritage,” “Brandywine” or even the Helleborus niger mentioned above, for instance, offer a more intense palette but might only be found online. However, I did locate Helleborus “WalHelivory” (Ivory Prince) at Lewis’s Nursery and feel it is exceptional.  Its white veined green leaves and red stems are beautiful all year and it produces plump oval buds that open to consistent ivory-colored flowers.  I think these would be lovely in a woodland garden and pair well (and alliteratively) with hostas and heucheras.

For more information, consult your nearby nurseries.  Books on Hellebores are not widely available, but The Gardener’s Guide to Growing Hellebores, by Graham Rice and Elizabeth Stranman should be relatively easy to find and contains a great deal of information. 

Eleanor Moyer, Master Gardener