Shout out to the Hellebores

Lets give a shout out to the lonely hellebore. Holla....Hellebore.

Out there in our gardens in the freezing cold without even a jacket to keep them warm. Hellebores are basically easy to grow. Most prefer woodland conditions with deep, fertile, humus-rich, well-drained soil and dappled shade, but they're very tolerant of a wide variety of soils and situations as long as they have good drainage and are naturally very long-lived. Although many hellebores perform best in alkaline soil, they’ll usually do just fine in neutral to slightly acidic conditions. Feed them once or twice yearly. Once established, they do not appreciate being moved - they will sometimes take a few years to get re-established following transplanting. Some are also known for freely self-sowing and colonizing when happy. Though if you have more than one type of hellebore in close proximity the offspring may not resemble their parents. I've had some seedlings I received in a plant swap that have survived and grown in almost pure sand at my gardens at home so I can attest to what a tough little plant this is.

We carry a varied selection of them here at Big Bloomers. We have recently added 'The 'Mardi Gras' series. This series boasts exquisite colors and slightly larger flowers carefully hybridized by hellebore guru Charles Price making them truly the big brothers of the genus.

'Mardi Gras White'

'Mardi Gras Black'

'Mardi Gras Pink'

'Mardi Gras Red'

We have also added to our 'Schiemann Strain lady collection' with some lovely 'spotted ladies' as well as a new Metallic Blue lady with a pewter sheen and large bowl-shaped flowers of rich purplish-blue. Beautiful and easy to grow. Isn't she a sight for cold eyes.

Another addition to this series is the lovely 'picotee pink'