Mary Claire Rowe

By Mary Claire Rowe

Buttercup cousin, Helleborus orientalis or Lenten Rose, is an evergreen perennial in the Ranunculaceae family. Its name refers to Hellen, the ancestor of the Hellenes or Greeks.

Greece is where this lovely plant was first recorded to grow. Helleborus niger, a native of Europe, is called Christmas Rose, and it blooms after mid December until February.

Early Europeans used the dried roots and rhizones of Helleborus niger medicinally to stimulate the heart. Lenten Rose, pictured today, starts blooming in February and carries on until the end of April.

Thus the rather drab late-winter months are the time this flower blooms and brings us a bit of pleasure. It is not showy, but is quiet and persistent. It can be counted on to bloom despite snow and freezing weather.

In a hard freeze Hellebore tend to tuck their heads and shrivel a bit until the thaw, when they will rise again with a bit of sun in the warming weather, filling out, much like a butterfly arising from the cocoon.

As early as 1730 an English nurseryman named Robert Furber published the first illustrated seedsman's catalogue in which there were 12 colored plates showing flower arrangements made with the flowers blooming in each month of the year. Narcissi, hellebores, and cowslips were among the flowers shown for March.

In Jamaica Kincaid's book "My Favorite Plant," two writers praised the beauty of Hellebores. Daniel Hinkley, co-owner of Heronswood mail order nursery, said "Hellebore season. It resonates with images and aromas, so much like other short, yearly appointments with things we love: Walla Walla sweets, Copper River reds, etc."

We might add: "Noonday onions.''

Colette a well-known writer at the turn of the 20th century said, "let the wintry frost blanket us, and the hellebore will show you its true colors."

Its colors are generally subtle pastels, and its five petaled flowers do remind us of simple roses, which is how it got its common name.

Hellebore are a tenuous tenant in our Texas climate, but can be fairly happy planted under deciduous tress and then left undisturbed in soil, well enriched with organic matter and mulched to retain moisture. Feeding with a complete plant food in the spring will help it make the journey through our summers.

As soon as spring flowering is completed is the time to divide the clumps and plant about a foot or less apart. Each transplant should have four or five growth buds on it. With any new transplant, a little more watering will be necessary until it is well established.

Some of these plants do reseed well, but it takes three years for them to flower. When starting from seed in the garden it is best to keep the area moist to protect the tender new growth, especially here in our hot summer climate.

Hellebore grow from 12-18 inches high and make a nice addition to the near-front position of a flowerbed. With its evergreen leaves and soft colors it would look particularly lovely growing with narcissi, primroses, cyclamen, violets, and violas.

It would be nice set in front of winter-flowering shrubs and trees, such as Witch Hazel, with its spidery, sulfur-yellow blossoms. It would also be attractive with Loropetalum, which has plum and gray-green leaves dotted with bright magenta blossoms. Loropetalum bloom all winter and are blooming still.

Combining winter-into-spring bloomers in such a way dramatically changes our winter scene from drab to bright. In our Rose Garden Complex Hellebore are blooming in a bed along the Camellia walk. They would be such a nice addition to our more commonly used favorites and make for a much more interesting garden.

"What's Blooming In Our Garden'' is a regular feature of the Tyler Morning Telegraph Garden Page. It is written by Mary Claire Rowe, a Master Gardener with the Texas Cooperative Extension, and focuses on flowers and plant life around East Texas. To share your comments on gardening, write her in care of the Morning Telegraph.

THE “LENTEN ROSE’’
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