This time of year, my gardens look bleak no matter how often I find a nice afternoon to do a few chores. Picking up downed alder branches and pulling little bittercress as soon as it appears are just a couple of things I like to do when I have a nice day. But nothing will help those bare spots in the garden where the hosta are sleeping, nor the bare branches of the Japanese maples.
So I take great comfort in whatever plant is brave enough to poke its blossoms out in January. One of my favorite plants that fit this description are the Hellebores. My Helleborus foetidus or bear’s foot hellebore, have been blooming since mid-December. And they will continue to bloom until well into the spring. The flowers are a pale green with a reddish-purple edge. The leaflets are a dark, leathery green and grow in a swirl. The only drawback to this plant is that it releases an odor when the leaves are crushed or bruised. As it doesn’t have an odor otherwise, I really don’t mind this quirk. It easily self-seeds in an area where it is happy.
There are two other popular hellebores: the Lenten Rose (H. orientalis) and the Christmas Rose (H. niger). Neither of these plants have obvious stems, but have basal leaves with between 5 and 11 leaflets. These leaflets are sharply toothed. I have noticed that even the nurseries mislabel these two hellebores, but you can tell the difference because the Christmas rose has dark green leaves with 7 to 9 lobes and they seem to rise directly from the soil. The Christmas rose needs more shade and cooler climates than the Lenten rose, but both bloom about the same time.
The Lenten roses easily hybridize and that’s why we now have such wonderful bloom colors and shapes. The blossoms are generally cupped, and hang down like little bells. But many growers have now developed hellebores that point their little “faces” into the air, allowing for us to enjoy them without having them be planted on a high wall. Blossoms can be ruffled and be single or double-petaled. There is now a range of colors from snow white to a deep, dark purple that approaches black.
Hellebore "Hot Flash'
Care for these plants is relatively easy, too. The old foliage that has been battered by the weather can be cut back in late winter, allowing the new growth room to spread. If you don’t want the plants to self-sow, deadhead the flowers after blooming. This is a case of personal choice, as even when the flower petals are starting to fade, they still retain some attraction as they become more pastel in color.
If hellebores have a drawback, it is that they tend to be on the expensive side. I have seen some unusual ones at the flower shows for $30 a plant. That is way out of my budget! But similar varieties can be found for about $12 to $15, and I am more willing to spend that for a plant I know will thrive in a coastal garden. And these are long-lived plants, making them a good investment.
These plants prefer a well-drained site, amended with lots of organic matter. The Christmas rose likes a more alkaline soil, but the Lenten roses are okay with moderately alkaline or even pH neutral soil.
Decide before you plant them where you will want them to live forever as hellebores don’t like to be moved. They could take more than two years to re-establish, but if they are happy and do self-sow, the seedlings can be easily transplanted in the spring. I am forever pulling out these seedings because until they have true leaves, they look very much like little weeds to me. So I am patient and wait to see if those true leaves appear before I gently lift them for transplanting.
Because the seedlings easily hybridize, however, these young may not grow true to the parent. In order to have true offspring, plants should be divided. This can be done when the new growth is mature. Young clumps of the Lenten rose can be pulled apart, but older plants and other species should be divided using two pitchforks back-to-back.
Many of the hellebore species will set seed. Test a seed capsule by squeezing it. If the seeds readily split to reveal dark seeds, they can be harvested.) I find I need to wear gloves when doing this as these plants do have a sap that can be an irritant to the skin. Yet another reason to invest in a good pair of gardening gloves.) The seeds will start to germinate in the spring or the autumn, depending on weather conditions, and will take that two years to bloom. Well worth the wait.
Find a gardening friend who loves these wonderful plants as much as you do, and you can work on hybridizing them together, possibly coming up with a variety worth a $30 price tag.
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