From the Greekhelein , to down , bora , solid food ; some species are poisonous(Ranunculaceae).Hellebore . dauntless perennial , often retaining their leaves through the winter , with thick fibrous ascendent . All blossom too soon in the class and the flowers are long lasting . Most of them have handsome , leathery , divided leave , sometimes spiny . They are natives of southern Europe and westerly Asia .
Species cultivatedH. abchasicus,1 foot , flowers purplish - green , January to March ; vars.coccineus , wine-coloured red , venousus , rosy - purpleness with sorry vein . H. argutifolius(syn . H. corsicus),2 - 3 feet , apple - green flush in February and March which persist until mid - summertime . H. foetidus , stinking hellebore , 2 - 3 feet , pale green flowers , the petal tipped purple , February and March , native plant . H. guttatus , metrical foot , blanched flush , to a great extent spot with crimson inside , January to April , the parent of most spotted hybrids in culture . H. lividus,3 feet , light-green prime presently turning brown ; dubiously audacious .
H. niger , 1.5feet ; Christmas come up , 1 foot , white , dish - shaped flowers with a boss of golden - yellow anthers ; volt-ampere . Altifoliusandmacranthus , longer stem . ‘ Potters Wheel ’ is a fine cultivar.H.xnigricors , ( H. nigerxH. corsicus),1 feet , pallid green , February , hybrid . H. odorus , fragrant hellebore , 14 feet , greenish - yellow flower with faint elderflower scent , March . H. orientalis , Lenten rise up , 2 feet , varying flowers , purple , pinkish or almost black and often spotted with other shades , February to May . ‘ Albion Otto is a white , purple - spy cultivar . H. torquatus , feet , flowers empurple inside and blue - purple outside , February to March , rather shy - flowering , leaves die down in summer . H. viridis.green hellebore , 1 - 14 substructure , pallid unripened flowers , February .
CultivationA well - drained , fat soil is well and although a shaded position is usually advocate , this is not essential , although fond shade is preferable to full sun . Once established , the works like to be impart undisturbed , although they quickly sink down if they are go in winter with plenty of soil round their roots . In December , protect the flowers of the Christmas rose by a cloche or by mulch with peat to prevent the short - stemmed flowers from being splashed by soil . Plant in October or November , or March , 15 in aside in groups , gear up the site well and comprise some manure .
plant can be forced in grass by annul and potting up in October and maintaining a temperature of 40 - 50 ° F ( 4 - 10 ° coulomb ) . Replant out of doors in April .
Propagate from seed or by variance of roots after flowering .
How to growHelleborus
Helleborus(hel - le - bor - us )
