These top picks won’t let you down if you’re looking for showstopping late-winter flowers
Hellebores are stalwarts of the winter garden, being one of the few herbaceous perennials to flower in the depths of winter and early spring. Their flowers are large and they’re the perfect low-growing plant to bring colour and interest to your garden when many others are asleep.
Hellebores can be broadly separated into two groups depending on how they flower. The first group all flower at the tips of their stems, meaning pruning in autumn will result in a loss of bloom. These include H. foetidus, H. argutifolius, H. lividus, H. x sternii and the rarely seen H. vesicarius.
The second group are species whose flowers are produced from below the ground on stalks. These plants are normally evergreen, but the shrewd gardener will often remove the leathery foliage in late autumn to allow the flowers to push through and be best displayed without leaves blocking the view.
The commonly grown, many-coloured forms of H. x hybridus are in this category, but so are the following garden-worthy species: H. atrorubens, H. cyclophyllus, H. multifidus, H. niger, H. orientalis, H. purpurascens, H. thibetanus.
While several species make interesting and handsome garden plants, they may be difficult and costly to obtain and are often a little needy when it comes to site and soil. Here are the most robust, reliable and durable species to try in your garden.
H. ARGUTIFOLIUS
Also known as H. corsicus, it makes an impressive dome of serrated foliage topped with pale, lime-green flowers in spring. This plant needs a few years to establish, so don’t be disappointed if it’s a little uneven for a couple of years, like a teenager growing into their arms and legs! When settled and growing well, it’s shrub-like in form with leathery, grey-green leaves, light green stems and terminal clusters of light green flowers over several months in winter to spring. Natural variance in terms of leaf colour and plant size exists, but you can expect it to be the tallest of hellebores out there at 60–75cm tall and wide in five to 10 years. Best in a bright spot, with free-draining, fertile soil. No pruning is necessary, but if you need to, it can be hard pruned in spring after flowering has finished.
H. FOETIDUS
One of the underrated joys of the winter and spring garden. Is it the fact the flowers are green that puts off some gardeners? Perhaps it’s the common name of stinking hellebore? Regardless, it’s a very easy plant to grow, self-seeding freely and abundantly when settled. It’s a great source of pollen for early bees and a great plant for growing u
