WINTER ROSES...

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29831, 25 May 1962, Page 12

WINTER ROSES...

One of the herbaceous plants which has gained a place of affection in most gardeners’ hearts is the winter rose, or hellebore. There are a number of species which are grown, but the most popular one is Helleborus niger, THE winter rose! It has delightful white flowers, often suffused with pink, and it is in flower from now onwards, right through until early August. The scientific name is a puzzle to some people. How can a plant with white flowers gain the name “niger”—meaning black? It actually refers to the root colour. The black roots were once collected for use in medicine. It is an easy plant to grow, given the right conditions. These are simply a shady spot, and a leafy soil, so that the plant does not dry out in summer. Unlike many herbaceous plants, it is an evergreen, as are many of the hellebore group, so that the winter foliage can be quite attractive in clothing a shady corner, apart from the beauty of the flowers. Incidentally, one of the best ways of dis-

playing the flowers is by * floating them in a bowl.

preferably with a dark interior. They show up beautifully. An uncommon hellebore, but one which can be bought if you search for it, is Helleborus corsicus. This plant has most striking leaves, and it is well worth growing for the foliage alone. The flowers are an apple green in colour, but they are not produced until quite late in winter. They persist for a very long time on the plant, and will often just turn papery and die without much noticeable change in flower shape. The leaves are trifoliate, and have strongly pronounced toothed markings along their margins, which gives quite a feeling of distinction of form, when seen in bulk. Contrasted with a grassy leaved plant such as Iris siberica, which will tolerate the same semi-shady conditions it enjoys, it makes quite an attractive feature.

Perhaps more common than either of these plants are the purple flowered hybrids of Helleborus orientalis. This plant flowers later, is taller, and is much more easy to grow in warmer districts than the true winter rose. Its more

common nature in gardens appears to be due entirely to the fact it is somewhat easier to propagate. To my own mind it is not as attractive a plant, with its dark flowers, but that is purely a matter of opinion. One of the most uncommon hellebores in cultivation is the English native, Helleborus foetidus. The name is a bit unfair, for it doesn’t really smell, or at least not until the leaves are bruised and crushed in the hand. Flower production on this plant is exceedingly prolific, and a single stalk can carry anything up to 150 flowers. They are rather indifferent in quality compared with the much finer winter rose. Helleborus foetidus flowers are greenish, with a purplish rim to the flower lip, pendant, and only about half an inch across. Nevertheless, there is something about this plant which gives it a quiet charm. My own plant is in a small bed where its placing contrasts its foliage with that of a camellia on one side — broad and glossy, a tall-grow-ing heather on another, and the attractive variegated foliage of Pieris japonica variegata in front. The four plants make a pleasing little combination. AU the hellebores mentioned will strike quite readily from seed. Even the slowest growing, Helleborus niger, will flower in three years from seed, so this is a cheap and satisfying method of raising.