Hellebores
Our Barnhaven strains of hellebores are hybrid crosses of Helleborus x hybridus, (formally known as Helleborus x orientalis) and often named the Lenten rose. We have been breeding hellebores here since 2004. Our collection originated when we were given a box of seeds by Jan Kay, a passionate hellebore lover from England and we have been working on them ever since to create stable strains as we have done with our primroses. Tough as old boots and perfect companion plants to our primroses, Barnhaven hellebores are known for their glorious harmonising colours of pinks, whites, purples, greens and yellow and are available in an ever growing range of shades and forms.
Barnhaven hellebores are all unique plants and have been sown here in the nursery using hand-pollinated seed from our carefully selected excellent breeding stock. None of our plants have been micro-propagated. They have been grown on here in non-heated shade tunnels and will be ready to be planted out directly in the garden.
Barnhaven's hellebores are dispatched as well-rooted plants in 9 cm pots or 1-2L pots.
Young plants in 9cm pots will establish well in the garden. They are one to two years old and have not yet flowered. They will usually flower the year after planting. This is a cheaper way of buying plants, but please keep in mind that we cannot give a 100% guarantee that the colours or forms will come true and though our lines are fairly stable now there are always a few surprises. The photos are only given as an indication of the form and colour of the plant.
Mature plants in 1-2L pots. These are plants that are three or four years old and have already flowered and have been selected as true to form.
Flowering period: Mid-winter – early spring.
Height: 30 - 40cm
Culture: Best in dappled shade, well drained humus rich soil. Hellebores will form quite large clumps after two or three years (up to a metre across) and will need regular feeding or mulching with well-rotted manure to give a good display. They will self-seed freely. Cut all the old leaves back in early winter to avoid harbouring any diseases.
For more information on growing hellebores see our Growing hellebore pages.
