Dappled shade, full shade, full sun, partial shade
Aspect:
East facing, north facing, south facing, west facing
Position in Border:
Front
Soil
Prefers rich soil:
Acidic / Chalky / Alkaline / Clay / Heavy / Moist / Well Drained / Light / Sandy
The Christmas rose, Helleborus niger, bears large, round, white flat-faced flowers above low-growing mounds of leathery, deep green foliage. It's perfect for growing at the front of a partially shaded border and makes an excellent cut flower – simply float the blooms in a bowl of water to display them.
For best results grow Helleborus niger in moist but well-drained soil in partial shade. Mulch annually with well-rotted compost or manure, and cut back the old leaves as flowers and new foliage appear. Like all hellebores, Helleborus niger dislikes being moved once established, so should not be divided. Given the right conditions, it will self-seed quite sufficiently to provide replacements.
Explore other varieties of Helleborus:
Helleborus 'Early Purple Group' - has red-tinged foliage and bears large, cup-shaped, nodding, plum-purple flowers with contrasting yellow stamens
Helleborus foetidus 'Wester Flisk Group' - has more finely divided, elegant foliage than most hellebores, and its leaves, stems and lime green flowers are suffused with maroon colouring
Helleborus orientalis 'Smokey Blue' - a hybrid hellebore, bearing nodding or outward-facing, saucer-shaped, flowers, in smoky purple, from February onwards
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Helleborus ‘Niger’ and wildlife
Helleborus ‘Niger’ is known for attracting bees. It has nectar/pollen rich flowers.
