Plant Library

Other Names:  Lenten Rose, Winter Rose

Description:

Buttercup-type flowers are chartreuse with rose streaks; glossy blue-green leaves have silver veins; some variation in height, leaf and stem color, one of the first flowers to come up in spring; does not like to be transplanted

Ornamental Features

Blackthorn Hybrid Hellebore features showy nodding creamy white cup-shaped flowers with chartreuse overtones and rose streaks at the ends of the stems from late winter to early spring. Its attractive glossy oval compound leaves remain bluish-green in color with distinctive silver veins throughout the year. The purple stems can be quite attractive.

Landscape Attributes

Blackthorn Hybrid Hellebore is an herbaceous evergreen perennial with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should be cut back in late fall in preparation for winter. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Blackthorn Hybrid Hellebore is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens

Planting & Growing

Blackthorn Hybrid Hellebore will grow to be about 16 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 18 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 8 years. As an evegreen perennial, this plant will typically keep its form and foliage year-round.

This plant does best in partial shade to shade. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid, and parts of it are known to be toxic to humans and animals, so care should be exercised in planting it around children and pets. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.