Some of my favourite hellebores are the species, including the Christmas rose, Helleborus niger, which is lovely to look at but often frustratingly tricky to grow. The Corsican hellebore, H arguti-folius, is a plant I fell for while studying at the Chelsea Physic Garden in London, where they thrived in the shady winter beds. A native British treasure is H foetidus, which, despite its unpromising common name — the stinking hellebore — combines attractive tall flowering stems topped with pale green flowers and dark green foliage.
Though the species hellebores have much to offer, it is the hybrids that are currently attracting most attention. British nurserymen are at the forefront of hybridising, with giant leaps being made in the past few years. Some recent improvements are subtle, affecting the number of flowers borne on one plant and altering the way the flower is held on the stem, or in relation to the foliage. Other developments — in flower shape, colour and markings — are more immediately obvious to the viewer.
I have a fair selection of hellebores in my London garden, many of which are the self-sown seedlings of my half-dozen original purchases, but I haven’t actually planted a new one since the end of the 20th century. So I asked a few nurseries to send a selection of plants that would give me a good idea of what is currently available. The first delivery was from Ashwood Nurseries, which is renowned for its hellebore-breeding programme.
I opened the box with an impatience I usually reserve for chocolates. The contents were indeed mouthwatering: six plants, each more beautiful than the last. They are collectively called Hxhybridus ‘Ashwood Garden Hybrids’, but the specific colours are not individually named as there are so many variations and their parentage is so mixed.
The first was an inky-black, the outside of the flower the colour of Welsh slate; the next had large, bowl-shaped flowers of crushed raspberry pink, and the third had rounded disc-like blooms with a narrow band of colour to the edges of the petals, known as picotee staining. Most had very forward-facing flowers with short stems, but a couple retained the more traditional coyly downward-drooping blooms, which must be tilted gently upward to appreciate their full beauty. Number four out of the box was absolutely packed with buds, one of which was fully open, revealing an astonishing clear primrose-yellow flower, sprinkled on the inside with aubergine dots and dashes around a central ring of golden stamens.
I was a little less convinced by a specimen with pale yellow petals, stained reddish pink on the outside, but cannot deny it would work combined with the glossy, russet stems of a naked winter dogwood. Perhaps most surprising were the doubles. I had expected to dislike these, but what emerged were captivating plants with water lily-shaped flowers dangling elegantly from arching stems. The first — a delicate white, flecked and speckled with burgundy towards the centre of the flower — was particularly pretty. The colours of the second were reversed, with the outside of the petals stained a rich, deep shade of crushed plum, opening to reveal palest pinky-dove grey inside the flower.
Another nursery with impressive credentials in the breeding of hellebores is Harveys Garden Plants, which continues to develop its beautiful Bradfield hybrids. These include the unusual ‘Bradfield Stars’, which have delicate narrow petals with undulating edges reminiscent of the smaller-flowered clematis. Available in pure or speckled white and warm pink, I think they are exquisite, but stock is limited, so even at a hefty £25 per plant, you will have to get a move on to bag one.
Harveys has also introduced two new plants this year: H ‘Winter Moonbeam’ and H ‘Winter Sunshine’, for which owner Roger Harvey has particularly high hopes. “They are multistemmed early on, so the new plants flower prolifically from February to April. You would normally have to wait years for them to bulk up to this stage.” The vertical-facing flowers open white, developing a rich, pink tone after the stamens drop off. Best of all, they are held well above the foliage, which means they can be clearly seen.
When it comes to buying hellebore hybrids, the variability of individual plants is such that personal taste will dictate whether you are drawn to those closest to the original species, or the latest thing. If the latter, the best advice is to choose them in flower, so you know exactly what you are getting.
Michael Loftus of Woottens Plants is a purist who knows what he likes in a hellebore. “We don’t do the doubles, which I hate; we do yellows and whites, spotted, picotees — which are very delicate and fresh-looking — and blacks.”
Near-black hellebores remain popular with gardeners, but Loftus says the lighter shades show up better in low winter light. “The pale ones are the best garden plants. Though everyone oohs and ahhs about the dark ones, stick them in the garden and they just disappear. I like the white ones best; in fact, the white H orientalis is my favourite hellebore, full stop. The form of the flower is just so fresh — slightly green in the middle. It’s a delicate thing, and not at all crippled by its own stiffness.”
To prove his point, he sent me an example. Certainly, when compared with the hybrids, the flower of the straightforward species is smaller in scale and more dainty, retaining a simplicity and charm that makes it hugely appealing.
Loftus is also partial to Helleborus cyclophyllus. “It’s deciduous, which I think is no bad thing in a hellebore, and very good fun, and I’m also keen on the hybrids betweenH niger and H argutifo-lius, such as Helleborus x ericsmithii ‘HGC Silvermoon’, which stay in flower forever — well over three months from mid-January, even until May.” The white flowers are studded on the stems and look outwards above dark green, pewter-flushed serrated leaves. “They’re open, poised and quite flat — very different from anything else.”
Most hellebores are easy to grow, coming up reliably year after year. John Massey, the owner of Ashwood Nurseries, knows how to get the best from them. “I recommend people plant hellebores on a slope, so the drainage is good, because they need plenty of moisture but also excellent drainage. And one can look up into the flowers. Ideally, put them in among shrubs, such as Cornus sanguinea or Ribes ‘White Icicle’, which can be pruned to maintain their size — this creates a top storey to provide shelter. Forms of H nigerare the most difficult to establish in the garden because they need shelter and hate wind, and if the leaves get battered, they are more likely to let disease get in.”
Hellebore leaves can be susceptible to unsightly black blotches and veining, caused either by damage or virus. “H sternii used to get terrible blotching on it because it’s evergreen,” says Massey. “I now plant it underneath cedars and pine trees, where it seems to enjoy the needle drop and drier conditions than those found under deciduous trees, where the fallen leaves lay on the hellebores creating humidity.”
Whether they are marked or not, Massey recommends cutting the leaves off the Ashwood Garden Hybrids just after Christmas for two reasons. “If you have a lot closely planted together, there is more risk of disease; and the other great thing about taking off all the foliage is it opens mice to predators, so they are less likely to take the flowers, which they seem to love at the bud stage. Removing foliage is not imperative to the plant, but if they look tatty I would always do it.”
Cutting off the foliage is often done simply to concentrate attention on the flowers without the distraction of leaves; indeed, if you buy them potted up, they usually arrive with the foliage removed to show the flowers to best advantage
Ashwood Nurseries, 01384 401 996, www.ashwood-nurseries.co.uk; Harveys Garden Plants, 01359 233 363, www.harveysgardenplants.co.uk ; Woottens Plants, 01502 478 258, www.woottensplants.co.uk
Hellebores: A Comprehensive Guide by C Colston Burrell & Judith Knott Tyler (Timber Press £25)
