LOOMIS CREEK IS HIGH on hellebores! Hands down, Helleborus x hybridus (hybrid hellebore or Lenten rose) gets our vote for plant of the week. This sturdy perennial provides an early dose of colorful, nodding, cup-shaped flowers in our borders. Bloom begins in mid- to late March and continues well into April in most Hudson Valley springs (generally coinciding with the Christian observance of Lent – hence the common name Lenten rose). Despite those unpredictable curve balls thrown by Mother Nature, blooming hellebores are generally unfazed by early spring heat and nighttime frosts.
After bloom, hellebores offer fantastic groundcover foliage that rides through winter – thick leathery, dark green palmate leaves with 7-9 segments. Long-lived clumps thrive in part to full-shade with little care as long as soils do not go bone dry. Hellebore seedlings germinate near the crowns of established plants and are easily transplanted.
There are a number of hellebore hybrids in the marketplace. Loomis Creek Nursery favors and stocks the following the following in limited quantities:
Helleborus Brandywine (pictured) – from David Culp, hellebore breeder and Sunny Border Nurseries sales rep; a seed strain that boasts singles, doubles and anemone-style flowers in red, pink, apricot, and white.
Helleborus Lady Series (Red, Blue, Yellow Lady, etc.) – a seed strain from German Jelitto Perennial Seed Co. that offers exciting single colors (not a mix).
Helleborus Royal Heritage Strain – an English group with large, 2-inch flowers in purple, red, white, green, pink & yellow.
Helleborus Mardi Gras Series – bred by Pacific Northwest plantsmen Charles Price and Glenn Withey comes this colorful mix of blooms from nearly black and deep purple to rose-pink.
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