Buy Christmas rose Helleborus niger

Helleborus niger

Christmas rose

From mid-winter to early spring, bowl-shaped white flowers, sometimes flushed with pink, appear on sturdy stems, each up to 8cm (3in) wide with a distinctive green eye. This hardy plant thrives in partial shade, making it ideal for woodland gardens or the front of a border.

Helleborus niger prefers moist but well-drained soil and benefits from an annual mulch of well-rotted compost. In order to see the beautiful flowers more clearly, and provide good air circulation, the older leaves should be removed as new growth emerges.

Once established, it dislikes disturbance but will readily self-seed in suitable conditions. Also known as the Christmas rose, it makes a striking cut flower, with blooms that can be floated in water for an elegant display.

How to care for Helleborus niger:

Add lots of well-rotted leaf mould or organic matter to the planting hole. Cut the old leaves back down to the ground in January or February as this will show off the new emerging flowers to best effect. It will also help to get rid of foliar diseases such as Hellebore leaf spot.

Apply a generous 5-7cm (2-3in) mulch of well-rotted organic matter around the base of the plant in autumn and provide a top-dressing of general fertiliser each spring.

Flowering period:

Eventual height:

0.3m

Eventual spread:

0.45m

Position:

Light shade

Rate of growth:

Average

Soil:

Moderately fertile, moist, well-drained soil

Hardiness:

Fully hardy

This perennial dies back to below ground level each year in autumn, then fresh new growth appears again in spring.

Humans/Pets: Harmful if eaten; skin irritant