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.
The secret of successful hellebore germination is to sow the seeds as early as possible after harvest, between June and August. They should then start to germinate from November/December when the termperatures start to drop. Please bear in mind that a little patience is needed as often hellebores will take two years to flower from germination but we think it is well worth the wait!
All our seeds are hand-pollinated from our carefully selected excellent breeding stock. Most of our colour series are now coming true and although we cannot guarantee 100% the colours or forms we can promise exciting results.
Flowering period: Mid-winter - early spring
Height: 30cm to 60cm.
Spread: 45cm - 90cm
Culture: Will thrive in semi-shade, plant in rich well-drained soil.
For more information on sowing hellebore seed please see our Sowing hellebore pages.
