Bringing winter flowers inside - Part 2: Hellebores

Bringing Winter Flowers Inside

Part 2: Hellebores

Many of our winter flowers - hellebores, cyclamen, snowdrops and violets - come from an area which 20 years ago was an unproductive, muddy patch under an old willow tree.

Hellebores are perennials and can be bought in pots. They perform well in damp, shady places, especially when planted under hydrangeas and magnolias. They are versatile and will self-seed in the garden.

We Grow Several Types of Hellebores:

• Helleborus orientalis - comes out in February/March and flowers until May in a range of colours
• Helleborus niger - flowers from December through to March
• Helleborus corsicus - a hardy evergreen with large flowers

All varieties can be either picked as cut flowers or brought inside in clumps of soil and later replanted in the garden.

How to Care for Your Hellebores

After planting, cut the leaves down before flowers appear; this helps the plant develop stronger blooms and makes them more visible in the garden.

• Reducing the foliage also helps control the spread of leaf spots
• Lush green foliage regrows after the plants stop flowering
• To keep cut hellebore stems erect, sear their ends before putting them in water
• They will last a couple of weeks indoors
• Note that the stems of Helleborus niger do not need searing
• Hellebores prefer shady, damp spaces; keep them out of direct sunlight
• They are excellent for planting under hydrangeas

Lifting and Potting up Helleborus Niger (Common Name: Christmas Rose)

Helleborus niger is a beautiful and really useful plant which will thrive for weeks, even months, in a shady room. Dig it up when the plant is in flower in early December and bring it indoors. Put a small amount of climate compost (which acts as a fertiliser) at the bottom of the planting container and place the plant on top, adding extra soil as necessary. After the flowers fade, replant the clump outdoors.

Helleborus niger is very decorative, and unlike many plants, it will tolerate warm rooms with limited light. When the white flowers start turning green, remove them.

Potting Up

Helleborus Orientalis (Common Name: Lenten Rose)

These early hellebores are long-lasting and come in a multitude of colour schemes; they self-seed around the garden, producing interesting new forms and colours, and the young new plants are easy to transplant. The best time for picking the flowers is when they start producing seed pods. To make them last for up to eight days and prevent the stems flopping, sear them in boiling water for approx. 15 seconds.

Helleborus Corsicus

Helleborus corsicus (common name: Corsican hellebore) has showy, lime-green flowers and performs well indoors if picked quite short and if the stems are seared in boiling water beforehand.