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Hellebores

Hellebores are often known as Christmas or Lenten roses, because they flower from late winter into spring. The thing is though hellebores aren’t related to roses and actually belong to the buttercup family. They are though great pollinators - and every garden should have some.


What are they?


Hellebores are classic plants for winter interest that come in a variety of colours - from greens to ruby. They are perennials with a long flowering period often lasting well into the spring. They tend to be mainly evergreen with lovely looking leaves and they love a shadier spots in the garden.


How do they grow?


Their nodding flowers (in greens, whites, pinks or plum, or even blackish–purple) sit beautifully amongst clumps of leathery, evergreen leaves. Most varieties are quite compact - 12–18in tall - but some can grow to as tall as 3ft.


They grow well in fertile, moist soil, although they should be fine in most soil types. They grow well in light shade, but they’ll often also cope in a sunnier spot - provided you don't let the soil get too dry. There is even a variety - the stinking hellebore (Hellebore foetidus) that will grow happily in deep shade.


However they don't deal well with extremes – very wet or very dry soil is unsuitable, as is full sun, which can scorch the leaves in summer. There are a few Oriental hybrids that are hardy - Helleborus x hybridus but there are some that easily damaged by winter cold and wet - Helleborus tibetanus, Helleborus lividus and Helleborus nigerare


How do I grow them?

  1. Plant them now!

  2. They like light or dappled shade with sun for part of the day.

  3. Prepare your planting area with some organic matter - they love it! Use one bucketful per square yard.

  4. They thrive in conditions that are neither very dry nor waterlogged.

  5. Plant them at the same level they were growing in their original container – they don’t like being planted too deep.

  6. Typically space space them 14–18in apart. Bear in mind that some - the larger types - need a little more space – as much as 2–4ft apart.

  7. Finally lay a mulch of organic matter over the soil to help it from drying out. Leave a gap around the base of the plant to help prevent it from rotting.

What have we got?


At the moment we've got three varieties. They're in 3 litre pots and delivered to your door if you've got a BA11 postcode they're £12 each or 3 for £30.


Single Slate.



Single White Blotched.



Single Gold Red Star.



Go on. Treat yourself.

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