The queen amongst the winter bloomers: Helleborus. Helleborus is also known as the Christmas rose, but ‘winter rose’ might be a better name, since it blooms throughout the winter period and brings colour during the darkest time of the year.
Helleborus provides a cheerful spectacle in our greenhouse during the dark period around Christmas. We have opted to grow two varieties: Advent Early Star and Endless. Both varieties have sturdy green leaves and snow-white flowers. The nice thing about Helleborus is that the leaves stay on the plant all year round, so that the plant brings structure to the garden throughout the year. Helleborus is also a plant that adapts well to different soil types and conditions. It thrives in damp, well-drained soil, but can also tolerate drier periods.
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12/17 cm |
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30/35 cm |
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wk 40-50 |
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327208 |
Helleborus is an exceptionally robust plant that requires little care and can even withstand extreme cold down to -20o Celsius. This plant has a unique strategy to protect its flowers from frost: in severe frost the Helleborus withdraws the moisture from the flowers and temporarily stores it in the leaves and roots. This causes the flowers to droop, but they don’t freeze. Once the frost has passed, the Helleborus pumps water back to the flowers again, and the plant recovers beautifully.
