Helleborus niger

Helleborus niger, Christmas Rose is the well-known and deservedly popular evergreen perennial that bears beautiful white flowers with a green throat and yellow anthers throughout the winter months and on into the spring. The buds usually start forming from late November onwatds. Its dark green leathery leaves with their purple petioles are an added bonus.

Coming from the alpine regions of several European countries, Helleborus niger does best in a cool moist semi-shaded aspect with a humus-rich but akaline rootrun. It does not favour a dry or acidic substrate and care should be taken to see that it doesn't dry out in the heat of summer. These relatively simple but nontheless important cultivational requirements are sometimes overlooked and the plant is often treated as a semi-disposable gift for Christmas that may eventually find its way into an unsuitable corner of the garden. It is by no means a rare or unusual plant but grown well it is exceptionally beautiful and deserves just that little care it requires to see it flourish.