The famous Christmas Rose (Hellebores) is a traditional white flower variety. The name Christmas Rose is often associated with Hellebores and, in particular, Helleborus niger, from a legend that the plant sprang from the snow from a young girl’s tears, unable to offer a gift for the newborn Christ in Bethlehem.
Hellebore, over the years, has become a prevalent plant during the winter season, especially during the festive season. Thanks to breeding programmes, Hellebores are now available in a range of colours, with the flowers of these new varieties having upward-facing blooms.
Plant your Christmas Rose with different evergreen foliage such as Ajuga, Festuca or Carex for a contrasting colour that lasts autumn and spring.
No winter garden should be without a Hellebore. It is ideal for a shady spot in moist soil conditions. Plant them on mass around your winter dogwood (Cornus) to create a vibrant display in your garden from late winter through early spring. Perfect for containers near a doorway or on a patio, planted with Blue Grass (Festuca) in containers for an eye-catching display. The Christmas Rose is a Perennial that spreads and produces more flowers each year.
Typically, Hellebores are woodland plants, but most modern varieties will also thrive in the sun, making them ideal plants for a pot on a balcony giving months of blooms.
Popular varieties of Christmas Rose (Helleborus)
Helleborus niger
Helleborus niger in the winter offers a sea of white flowers that appears from the dark leathery leaves of the traditional ‘Christmas rose’. The five-petalled white flowers have a greenish centre with yellow stamens and simplistic beauty, helping to bring colour to the dullness of the winter garden.
Helleborus ‘Christmas Carol’
Helleborus ‘Christmas Carol’ is a traditional Christmas flowering white variety of Helleborus niger with a sea of multiple small white flowers. This Christmas flowering white variety has long-lasting flowers. Helleborus is a clump-forming perennial that loves shade. Looks great mixed with Evergreen Ferns, Brunnera, and Bergenia. Also, when underplanted around large shrubs such as Cornus.
Helleborus ‘Annes Red’
Helleborus Annes Red is a showstopping dark maroon red flower with contrasting yellow stamens that catch the eye and is an ideal plant for a container. Create a colourful mass around your winter dogwood (Cornus) for a vibrant display in your garden from late winter through early spring. Perfect for containers near a doorway or on a patio, with Blue Grass (Festuca) in containers for an eye-catching display.
Helleborus ‘Molly’s White’
Helleborus ‘Molly’s White’ is a large flower variety producing a multitude of off-white flowers with a greenish-tinged centre. This variety of Christmas Rose is a semi-evergreen clump-forming perennial. Branched stems support its leathery, green-marbled foliage with dangling cup-shaped single white flowers that turn lime green in late winter and early spring. Its beautiful foliage creates a terrific foil for the dazzling white flowers to attract bees to your garden.
Helleborus ‘Glenda’s Gloss’
Helleborus ‘Glenda’s Gloss’ has gorgeous pink flowers blushed with white and central yellow stamens. Being a long flowering variety, it is a difficult choice in which is more adorable, the variety's enchanting flowers or luscious foliage. Blooming in late winter to early spring, the buds transform from pink-flushed palest apple-green to single cup-shaped flowers that are mesmerising. Each petal is white with a bleeding magenta edge as if hand-painted. As with other Helleborus, its leather foliage has a glossy appearance highlighted with a hint of grey-green marbling. This striking variety perfectly adds textured interest to shadier garden areas year-round. Its nectar-rich blooms attract buzzing bumble bees and are a superb choice for cottage garden wildlife.
Helleborus ‘Frostkiss Pippas purple’
Helleborus ‘Frostkiss Pippas purple’ has dark purple blooms with contrasting yellow central stamens. Flowers are uptight, lasting a long time above the beautiful foliage. Its mottled foliage has a bright pink and white marbled pattern.
Helleborus ‘Naomi’
Helleborus ‘Naomi’ is a highly desirable variety bearing dark purple, almost black crimson aubergine flowers that shimmer in the sun with a central display of bright yellow stamens.
Helleborus ‘Cinderella’
Helleborus ‘Cinderella’ is a frilly flowering form with multiple layers of white petals decorated with pink dots that are so precise they give the impression of being painted. Highly decorative variety is suitable for a pot in the ground in a shaded position away from strong winds.
Helleborus orientalis ‘Viv Victoria’
Helleborus orientalis ‘Viv Victoria’ from Hellebore breeder Het Wilgenbroak has dark pink flowers throughout winter. A gorgeous, relatively new variety stems from the home of the ViV collection, a dedicated group of breeders that take up to a decade to produce specimens worthy of their signature. A variety that excels in its own right.
This variety blooms from September to April throughout the autumn and spring season.
Helleborus × sahinii ‘Winterbells’
Helleborus × sahinii ‘Winterbells’ is a newer hybrid with large upright facing pink blushed white flowers with yellow stamens. It has an incredibly long season of blooms starting in September and lasting until the spring. Breed as a result of a cross of Helleborus niger x Helleborus foetidus.
Helleborus × hybridus ‘Harvington series’
Helleborus × hybridus ‘Harvington series’ from Harvington nurseries, is a collection of quality named cultivars of early spring flowering Hellebores are a range of colours from purples, pinks, Yellows, reds and white. These spring Hellebores are also commonly known as ‘Lenton Rose’.
Hellebore HGC® Ice N’ Roses®
Hellebore HGC® Ice N’ Roses® is a trademark name for a range of high-quality modern hybrid hellebores with large upright-facing flowers in a range of reds, pinks and white. The flowers appear from a carpet on glossy green year-round foliage. Easy to care for a range of Hellebores, ideal for containers.
If you are looking for Christmas Rose Hellebores for your winter garden and containers, visit Boma Garden Centre in Kentish Town, which has one of the largest ranges of Helleborus varieties in London, available online and in-store at the garden centre.
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