5 decidedly not-sullen hellebores to illuminate your PNW winter garden

ONCE UPON A TIME, specialty seed-sown strains of Lenten rose (Helleborus orientalis) were the “it” plant of the winter garden, with ivory, mauve, pink, peach, even primrose yellow blooms. But the most desired forms, certainly the ones that most of our plant dollars went toward, flowered in dark shades of slate, purple black and dusty wine. Then we noticed that overcast skies turn sultry blooms sullen. Our prized dark horse perennials were nearly invisible in the soggy winter garden.

Today, most hellebores on nursery shelves are the product of complex hybridizing — as is evident in their alphabet soup nomenclature — resulting in larger, sometimes double, outward-facing flowers. Success with tissue culture means these vigorous, disease-resistant plants are widely available.

True hellebore flowers are relatively insignificant compared to the sturdy petallike sepals that protect the central reproductive parts of the bloom. Plump seed pods appear after pollination while the sepals continue to mature and deepen in color, giving the impression of an extended bloom period.

In order of blooming, the following decidedly not-sullen blooms are ready and waiting to illuminate your winter garden.

● Ice N’ Roses® Early Rose (Helleborus HGC® Early Rose) produces large rosy-pink, outward-facing blooms that contribute a splash of color to the winter garden.

● Mahogany Snow (Helleborus HGC® ‘Mahogany Snow’ ‘COSEH 930’ PP23898) produces large, creamy white blooms with a pink reverse that matures to rich mahogany. Flowers appear on complementary reddish stems in late winter through early spring.

● Pink Frost (Helleborus HGC® ‘Pink Frost’) produces burgundy and white buds that open to a soft pink that deepens in color with maturity. Flowering begins late winter, although silvery green foliage adds interest to garden beds and containers throughout the year.

● Ivory Prince (Helleborus x hybridus ‘Walhelivor’ Ivory Prince®) produces deep-pink buds that open to white outward-facing blooms that deepen with maturity to shades of deep pink and green. Deep green foliage with silver veining is attractive throughout the year.

● Ice N’ Roses® Rosado (Helleborus x glandorfensis HGC® ‘COSEH 5400’) produces white outward-facing blooms with dark margins and a deep wine reverse above sturdy green foliage.

Improved hybrid hellebores are robust, long-lived and disease-resistant, excellent in garden beds and container compositions where their sturdy evergreen foliage sets off other woodland plantings. Here in the PNW, hellebores appreciate bright light when blooming but prefer partial shade during the summer months. An ideal planting location is in the shade beneath a deciduous tree.

Once established, hellebores are drought-tolerant, although the plants benefit from additional water during the hottest spells in summer. Keep container plantings evenly moist throughout summer. Remove weary foliage in late winter by cutting it back to the base to clear the way for emerging buds. After blooming has finished, cut back flowering stems to their base to encourage new growth.

Let’s face it: It’s cold outside during prime hellebore season. If you’re not inclined to linger in admiration, you can bring blossoms indoors and float them in a shallow bowl of water for a fleeting but close look at the blossoms’ intricacies. Picking flowers for the vase requires a little more patience. Wait to harvest bloom stems until seedpods are beginning to form for wilt-free midwinter bouquets.