Hellebores and Companions

By Glenn Lewis
Article and Images © Glenn Lewis

Hellebores are one of those enthralling groups of plants whose flowers seem to magically appear to cheer us up in the dreariest part of the year, as the common names of two of the species indicate: Christmas Rose (H. niger) and Lenten Rose (H x hybridus or orientalis).

Helleborus is from the Greek, a combination of helein, to kill, and bora, food, meaning "food that kills". Indeed, hellebores are poisonous and lend a certain sinister quality to the mysterious flowers. The plants were cultivated during the Middle Ages for medicinal purposes primarily in monastery gardens and the black hellebore, presumably Helleborus niger, was supposedly favoured by witches who used it in their charms because they believed one "finger" of its lobed leaves was evil.

According to legend, only a witch knows which one. Just to set your minds at rest, according to some versions, the mystic rites for collecting hellebores suggest looking to the east to be sure that no eagle witnesses the process; if it does, the gatherer will waste away and die within a year. On a more optimistic note, nothing is lovelier or more cheerful in midwinter, than to float some hellebore blooms in a bowl, picked with half an inch of stem that allows prolonged and close inspection of the secrets they hide. Just to be safe, make sure no eagles are watching when you are picking the flowers!

The Value of Hellebores

• Great leaves, mostly evergreen. Foliage plants par excellence.
• Beautiful, intriguing, refined and mysterious flowers. Nodding saucer-shaped, cup-shaped to star-shaped in marvellous subtle colours, from deepest, dusky purple-black to pale cream, pink, rose, white and green and all those in between. Some flowers also look spray-painted with fine to large speckles in various patterns over one of these colours.
• Partial shade loving but also can take some sun. These are essentially woodland or woodland edge plants.
• Provides good furnishing in the garden all year, but particularly with flowers in winter to very early spring (the rarest period for flowers) that remain as their seed pods form until mid summer.
• Not prone to disease or insect problems, but slugs may chew seedlings.

Various Species and Forms

The following are the main species and forms. I have left out the following mainly deciduous and less well known ones: H. atrorubens, H. croaticus, H. dumatorum, H, x ericsmithii, H x nigercors, H. mulifidus, H. orientalis (the true species) , H. purpurescens, H. tibetanus, H. torquatus, H. vesicarius, H. vernus.

1. H. argutifolius, also once known as H. corsicus

A widely grown, quite easy species that is a tough, imposing plant, hardy to zone 6 which grows to 3 or 4 ft high and wide. It has fantastic evergreen, stiff, leathery, dark greyish-green leaves that are divided into three, spiny-toothed, broadly elliptic leaflets. From January to March or April the leaves are topped by heads of 20 to 30 small, nodding, cup-shaped, green flowers.

Helleborus argutifolius is native to Corsica and Sardinia in a wide range of habitats where it grows alongside Crocus corsicus, Cyclamen repandum, Euphorbia characias ssp. wulfenii, and Lavandula stoechas. It also associates well with Elaeagnus x ebbingei and its forms, Cistus species and hybrids, Euphoria species and hybrids, and Ruta species and forms. An adaptable plant in most soils and partial shade or sun but preferably well-drained, neutral to alkaline, fertile, humus-rich soil in full sun.

2. H. cyclophyllus

An impressive plant but still usually only found in the gardens of collectors. It is very similar to H. odorus. It grows to about 16 inches high by 18 inches wide and is hardy to zone 6 with deciduous, finely toothed, pale green, arching leaves, divided into eleven or more, boldly veined leaflets, hairy beneath. The yellowish-green, saucer-shaped, nodding flowers are about two and a half inches across and bloom in cymes of about seven during February and March. They sometimes present a ribes-like scent. It is found in an area from northern Greece extending into the northern Peloponnese, much of Albania, southern Macedonia, southern Bulgaria and the island of Corfu. It grows mainly around the edges of woods and sometimes on grassy slopes but is typically a plant of the mountains. On the slopes of Mt Parnassus in Greece it grows beside Colchicum triphyllum, Corydalis bulbosa, C. solida, Crocus biflorus, C. sieberi, C. veluchensis, Fritillaria graeca, Muscari botryoides, M. neglectum, Scilla bifolia. It would look splendid in association with Muscari latifolium, Crocus chrysanthus 'Cream Beauty', or with Euphorbia polychroma and Digitalis grandiflora. Not a difficult plant to grow, it appreciates shelter from repeated spring frosts and drying wind, well-drained, neutral to alkaline, fertile, humus-rich, moist soil in dappled shade to sun.

3. H. foetidus

Fondly known as the Stinking Hellebore which is colourful but a bit of a misnomer. The leaves can smell a bit if they are crushed. Actually the flowers of one of the forms, known as 'Gertrude Jekyll', are sweet scented. H. foetidus has stems as much as 30 inches tall by 48 inches across. It is hardy to zone 6. The attractive evergreen leaves are usually very dark green, divided into 7 to 10, narrow lance-shaped, coarsely toothed leaflets. Many-flowered cymes of small, pendent, cup-shaped, pale green flowers with pale green bracts open in January on stems well above the foliage. It is found in much of Europe from Hungary in the east, to the west in Britain and Portugal and south to the Balearic Islands. In southern Spain, it grows along with Cerastium tomentosum, Erinus alpinus, Narcissus assoanus, Ornithogalum reverchonii, Paeonia broteroi, Papaver rupifragum, and saxifraga gemmulosa. In Northhamtonshire in Britain it can be found growing with wild roses and brambles, in mixed blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) and hawthorn (Crataegus) hedges, with Anthriscus sylvestris, Arum maculatum, Galium mollugo, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, Viola riviniana. In the garden, it associates well with white crocuses, snowdrops, Syphytum 'Goldsmith' Pulmonarias, Ajugas, and evergreen Epimediums. It is an adaptable plant, liking well-drained, fertile, humus-rich neutral to alkaline, moist soil in partial shade to full sun. It can also be found in dry shade. There are a number of selected forms, chosen for fine foliage or larger flowers. There's even a variegated form. The best known form is called 'Wester Flisk' which has striking red-tinted stems, leaf petioles and flushed flowers. The leaves are a lovely dark greyish-green.

4. H. lividus

This is not a species you will likely grow as it is from Majorca, quite rare (probably the rarest Hellebore) and somewhat tender. It is a lovely plant, only about 15 inches high, with evergreen leaves divided into three elliptical, leathery leaflets of glossy deep green, sometimes brushed with a steel-blue tone, veined in silver and flushed pink on the undersurface. The small, pendent, bowl-shaped 1 to 2 inch flowers are a creamy-apple green flushed pink to purple outside and borne in cymes of up to 10 flowers. The pink tint to the whole plant is quite distinctive. They start to bloom after Christmas and continue until March. Don't have H. argutifolius anywhere near if you want true seeds or you will end up with H. x sternii. It grows alongside Paeonia cambessedesii in the wild. It also grows well with early flowering alpines and spring bulbs in a rock garden or in a bed suited to Mediterranean plants. It prefers a gritty, fertile, humus-rich, neutral to alkaline soil in dappled shade. Hardy to zone 8. You could also grow it in a pot in a cool greenhouse.

5. H. niger

The Christmas Rose is likely the showiest and best known of the wild hellebores. It reaches 12 inches in height by 18 inches across and is hardy to zone 4. The evergreen, leathery, dark green leaves are pedately divided into seven, eight or nine, oblong to inversely lance-shaped leaflets, sometimes toothed towards the tips. The large, flat, rounded, 3 inch, white flowers, sometimes pink-tinged or fading pink, are carried usually singly on stout stems just below the leaves from January to April. Contrary to its name, the flowers are rarely open at Christmas. H. niger is a widespread mountain species found in the Swiss Alps, through southern Germany, Austria and Slovenia into Croatia as well as northern Italy. It grows in a variety of habitats. mostly in woodland, but also on open slopes. In its more usual woodsy locations it cohabits with Anemone nemerosa, Asarum europaeum, Cardamine kitaibelii, Cyclamen purpurescens, Daphne mezereum, Epimedium alpinum, Gentiana asclepiadea, Hacquetia epipactus, Helleborus atrorubens, Omphaloides verna, Primula vulgaris andVeratrum nigrum.

H. niger ssp. macrantus is very similar but has larger flowers and slightly blue-tinted leaves, edged with tiny teeth. It is native to northern Italy and grows alongside a variety of plants such as: Campanula sibirica, Clematis recta, Coronilla emerus, Cyclamen purpurescens, Cytisus purpureus, Erica carnea, Euphorbia nicaeensis, Gentiana clusii, Gladiolus imbricatus, Iberis sempervirens, Inula ensifolia, and Lilium bulbeferum var. croceum.

H. niger has proved to be sometimes more difficult to cultivate than others. It does not like acid soil, or care for poor, impoverished, dry conditions or being moved (transplant in early spring) and not likely to thrive in full sun. Grow in well-drained, fertile, humus-rich, limy, moist soil in dappled shade.

Named forms of H. niger: Because it is slow and difficult to successfully divide the roots, some named seed strains have been developed. 'Blackthorn Strain', a vigorous strain with pink buds on tall, dark stems opening to white flowers, turning pink as they age. 'Harvingtom Hybrids', a strain that is earlier flowering, from December to April. 'Potter's Wheel', a strain with very large flowers, 4 to 5 inches across, green eyed, glistening white with overlapping petals and centred with golden stamens. 'White Magic', a strain with smaller bright green leaves and profuse white flowers held on strong dark stems.

6. H. odorus

A semi-evergreen clump-former that grows to 12 to 22 inches high and wide and is hardy to zone 6. The leaves have 5 broad elliptic to inversely lance-shaped, toothed leaflets, the outer ones divided again so that in all there are between 9 and 11 segments. the young leaves are often slightly copper tinted and covered in silver hairs which mature a deep green. The saucer-shaped, 2 to 3 inch, outward-facing flowers are basically green but can vary from a luminous yellow-green to dark lime-green. These differences often reflect the different localities where they are found. They are often sweet-to-slightly-catty-scented and appear early from December to March. H. odorus is native in northern Bulgaria and across the border in Roumania, much of the former Jugoslavia except in the south and the coastal mountains. It is found in woodland, on the edge on woods, in scrub and out on grassy slopes in association with: Anemone ranunculoides, Colchicum autumnale, Cyclamen purpurescens, Euphorbia cyparissias, Fragaria moschata, Helleborus niger, Iris pallida, Isopyrum thalictroides, Lathyrus vernus, Orchis morio, Pulsatilla pratensis var. nigicans, Scilla bifolia, and Vinca minor. It also looks good in front of Cornus mas and beside Epimedium x perralchicum 'Frohnleiten', cream Primroses, Hacquetia epipactis, Ajuga repens 'Variegata' or 'Braunherz', and Crocus tommasinianus. Grow in well-drained, fertile, humus-rich, neutral to alkaline, moist soil in dappled shade or in full sun if the soil is rich and moist.

7. H. x hybridus or H. orientalis hybrids (hybrids between H. orientalis and other species: H. atrorubens, H. cyclophyllus, H. multifidus, H. odorus, H. purpurescens).

This is now perhaps the most popular and commonly available Hellebore, probably because of the wide range of coloured forms and beautiful semi-evergreen, 16 inch long leaves, divided into 7 to 11, elliptic to inversely lance-shaped, leathery, very dark green leaflets. The flowers are large, saucer-shaped, rounded to starry, nodding to outward-facing and bloom in up to four-flowered loose cymes. The colours range from the deepest, dark purples, almost black, to rose, pink, pale yellow, green and white. Often the flowers are spotted from very fine all over spatter to larger spots in patterns or radiating from the middle. Other are beautifully veined or have picotee edges in contrasting colours. The plants grow to about 18 inches high and wide. They are hardy to zone 6 and are quite easy to grow in well-drained, fertile, neutral to alkaline, moist soil in dappled shade and tolerant of poorer soils.

There are a number of named forms but they are very expensive and difficult to procure because divisions of the original named plant are extremely slow to increase and do not lend themselves to easy division. You can only maintain the cultivar name if it is a clonal division. Seeds from a particular clone will not come true. Available plants are usually from seed strains. The individual plants in these strains will not be identical but should be similar. Some nurseries offer their own seed strains, usually defined by colour. One strain is called 'Royal Heritage Strain' with a mixture of colours from pure white to near black, red being the predominant colour. 'Zodiac Strain' has a pink ground colour; a clear margin at the edge of the petals surrounds a striking zone of deep maroon-purple. Sometimes you can obtain 'Ballard Strain' seeds or seedlings offered by colour. There is a good ‘Lady Strain' (‘White Lady’, ‘Red Lady”, etc.) based on the Ballard hybrids); Party Dress Hybrids' are a strain of dwarf plants with double flowers, mainly in veiny, hazy pinks.

8. H. x ballardiae (a sterile hybrid H. lividus x H. niger) previously known as H x nigriliv

The name honours Helen Ballard who first made this cross. It is rarely seen but seeds are sometimes available. It is a distinctive plant combining the leaf shape and pedate divisions of H. niger with the blue-green colour and silvery veins of H. lividus. Short stems carry 3 or 4 bell-to-saucer-shaped, nodding, 2 inch flowers with overlapping and curved petals. The colour is white flushed with varying shades of brownish or purplish-pink or green streaked, darker outside or pink-backed. Spring bulbs make a good association in the garden. It grows to 14 inches high by 12 inches wide, is hardy to zone 7 and prefers well-drained, fertile, humus-rich, neutral to alkaline, moist soil in dappled shade.

9. H. x sternii (H. argutifolius x H. lividus)

This is a variable plant that is likely to be closer to one parent than the other and can vary between 12 to 14 inches high to 12 inches broad. Hardy to about zone 6. Evergreen, entire to spiny leathery leaves are divided into 3 broadly elliptic, dark green to blue-green leaflets with purplish-pink main veins and other creamy veins held on pinky-purple leaf stalks. Small pinkish-purple-flushed, creamy-green, nodding flowers are borne in many-flowered cymes during February to April. This plant associates well in a Mediterranean type planting with Euphorbia characias, Rosmarinus, Lavandula and Cistus along with spring bulbs such as Muscari, Fritillaria and Crocus. This hybrid sets seed and sometimes will self-seed. Plant in well-drained, fertile, humus-rich, neutral to alkaline, moist soil in dappled shade to full sun.

Named seed strains of H. x sterni: 'Blackthorn Strain' . A dwarf form of about 12 inches with silvery, bluish-grey, marbled foliage on purple stems and pink flushed, pale green flowers. 'Broughton Beauty Strain' plants have strongly veined, pink-backed, grey-green leaves on pink stems. The flowers are pale green.

Companion Plants to Use with Hellebores

Spring woodland bloomers that will accompany Hellebores are: Galanthus (Snowdrops), Chinodoxa, Scilla, Leucojum vernum, Anemone blanda, A. nemerosa, Hacquetia epipactis, Hepatica nobilis and H. transsilvanica, Cardamine species, Corydalis elata and C. flexuosa forms, Cyclamen coum, C. hederifolium, C. repandum, Disporum species, Epimedium species and cultivars, Erythronium species and forms, Fritillaria camschatcensis, Poilygonatum species and forms, Primula vulgaris, Pulmonaria, Tiarella species and hybrids, Trillium species, Uvularia species.

Summer blooming perennials can also be interplanted with Hellebores, creating a cool, leafy scene. In this case the beautifully textured hellebore foliage will act as either foreground or background to these later bloomers: Anemone sylvestris, Astilbe species and hybrids, Dicentra species and hybrids, Geranium phaeum forms, particularly 'Samobor' and G. sylvaticum forms, Hosta species and hybrids, Iris chrysographes, Asarum species, Euphorbia amydagloides ssp. robbiae, and E. palustris, Gentiana asclepiadea, Milium effusum 'Aureum', Ophiopogon planiscapus 'Nigriscens', Thalictrum species and forms, Veratrum species and ferns.

Autumn blooming perennial associations include: Arum italicum for its fruits, Aster macrophyllus, Cyclamen hederifolium, Disporum smithii for its fruits, Iris foetidissima for its foliage and fruits, Tricytris species and forms.

Early blooming shrubs and trees that make a good background to a Hellebore planting are: Ribes sanguineum, Mahonia, Camellia, particularly the small flowered ones, Hamamelis, Salix daphnoides or Salix magnifica, Viburnum x bodnantense cultivars, V. tinus forms, Cornus mas, Prunus subhirtella 'Autumnalis', Sarcococca species and forms.

Later blooming shrubs that associate well as backgrounds for hellebores include: Magnolia species and hybrids, Philadelphus species and hybrids, particularly P. coronarius 'Aurea', Hydrangea species and forms, especially the lacecaps.

Propagation

Division of a clump is possible, particularly with H. x hybridus. Ideally, divide just as root growth is beginning in early September. This enables the new divisions to settle down, to recover from the shock and to make as much new root growth as possible to ensure progressing plants by spring. The flower buds will already be formed but do not worry if they do not flower after dividing; they may need a year or two to gather strength. Choose a dull, still, cool day, and preferably a drizzly one for your dividing. Alternately do the dividing in a cool, shady shed with a spray to prevent the roots becoming dry. Water the plants thoroughly a couple of days before digging them up. Before digging, tie the leaves together so they are out of the way. Fork all around the plant before starting to lever it out. Keep digging and levering until you have the plant out, taking care to damage the roots as little as possible. Wash off all the soil with a hose so that you can see exactly where to make cuts. Use a large, wide-bladed, sharp, carving knife. Look over the roots carefully to decide the obvious places for your cuts. Often it is best plan to start with cuts into the old rhizome in the middle of the plant. The outer roots are the youngest and most vigorous. Cut the roots so that you retain some roots and at least one mature leaf with each division. Try not to damage any roots, particularly the young ones. Cut off any old dead and damaged roots. Pot up or plant out the new divisions immediately. While waiting to plant use wet sacks over the roots and spray them to make sure the roots do not become the least bit dry. Do not plant too deeply, just with the nose under the soil. Water in well and water twice again the next day.

H. argutifolius, H. foetidus and H. lividus do not divide easily. They do not have clearly defined system of rhizomes. It is much more practical to raise them from seed.

Propagation from seed is easy if a few rules are followed. If using your own seed, always collect it from the best plants, not the inferior ones. Hellebores are promiscuous and you must isolate one colour from another if you want the seed of a particular colour to give you plants of a similar colour. You can also hand pollinate between chosen plants of similar or different colours. Seeds ripen around midsummer. The seed capsules inflate and you must keep a sharp eye on them as they ripen or the seed will drop to the ground. (Some enthusiasts buy empty tea bags and affix them so that when the seed pods open, the seeds will fall into the tea bags.) Cut off the stems as the capsule just begins to split and put each variety in a separate paper bag to finish ripening and drop their seed inside the bag. Label each bag or put a label in the bag. Dry the seed bags indoors for a week or two, then clean them of debris, before putting them in small, labeled envelopes or plant right away.

Hellebore seed should be planted fresh, almost immediately (end of June, early August) or the seed will enter a prolonged dormancy from which it does not seem to want to rouse. Fresh seed should not be stored for more than several weeks. Seed obtained from seed companies or Societies is obviously stored for much longer. In this case, sow as you would the fresh seed and hope for some germination. Storing the seed in the fridge or under cold conditions does not seem to alter the problem of stored seed. So, you should sow your fresh seed shortly after harvest or stored seed any time but both need the same treatment. Use fairly small pots, about 5 inch. Fill with enough seed starting mix, tapping it on a counter, firming lightly and leveling to flatten to leave 1 inch at the top of the pot. Water the pots until water starts to appear at the drain holes (I use a fine spray from the hose). Space the seeds out. You can space out about 20 seeds to each pot if you want. Cover with a half inch of sharp grit. Use 'chicken grit' or fine granite grit from a feed store or sieve coarse sand to get rid of finer particles. Make sure the surface is level. Label each pot with the date of sowing and other relevant information. Water again.

Each pot should then be enclosed in a plastic bag (the thin ones from the supermarket's produce section) and closed with a twist-tie. Put them in the shade for 3 months at a nominal 70 F. Actually they can just be left outside, removing the plastic bag when the weather turns moist enough in the autumn. Don't let the pots dry out. I usually put them in a cold frame then. Watch out for slugs and mice. They can destroy all your seedlings in one night. Seedlings should appear after a cold period in the winter, beginning in January of February or sometimes earlier. If you have sown stored seed anytime, you should give the pots 3 months of warm (inside the plastic bags) followed by 3 months of cold or the fridge (inside the plastic bags). Remove the bags, put in shade, ideally in spring to fall, and keep moist until germination (if ever). As the seedlings continue to grow, pay attention to watering. Do not let them become dry. Protect (in a coldframe or against the house) against the worst weather until March or April.

They are ready for potting up when the first true leaf or leaves have advanced. Tip out the pot of seedlings, separating each seedling carefully as you pot it into a 3.5 to 4 inch pot. Do not handle the seedling by it's stem or roots, or it will be fatal to the plant. Pick it up by the leaf, lower it into a hole you've made in the compost in each pot, to just below the seed leaves (not the true leaves). Firm the soil around the plant gently and then water them thoroughly when you've completed all the seedlings from each particular pot. Some gardeners also fertilize with a weak root starter after potting or dress with a small amount of slow-release fertilizer. Also make sure your pots are labeled so you don't mix them up if that's important. The potted seedlings can be transferred to their garden setting once you see roots appearing at the drainage holes in the pot. Alternately, before planting them in the garden, especially if you are not sure about the quality and colour of the seedlings, pot them on into gallon pots. Grow them on for several years in the gallon pots until they bloom. They may even require bigger pots. It can take 5 years or longer before they bloom. This is why they are expensive.

Besides my own notes and experience, my sources of information are: The Gardener's Guide to Growing Hellebores by Graham Rice and Elizabeth Strangman, A Contemplation Upon Flowers by Bobby J. Ward, and A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants by editors Christopher Brickell and Judith D. Zuk.

Glenn Lewis lives in Roberts Creek, and is a former owner of the nursery Fragrant Flora. He has worked as an artist, horticulturalist, teacher, and cultural management consultant.