2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Heleborus (lat. Helleborus) - shade-tolerant winter-hardy perennial from the Buttercup family. The second name is hellebore.
Description
Heleborus is a perennial with a height of thirty to forty centimeters, equipped with leathery, rather dense and mostly hibernating, finger-like leaves sitting on long petioles.
Heleborus begins to bloom immediately after the snow melts. Its light flowers (whitish-greenish, white, reddish, purple, yellow or greenish) reach four to six centimeters in diameter and are located either on the tops of leafy wintering stems, or on peduncles growing in spring. There are double forms of flowers, and they are also very beautiful! As a rule, the Heleborus bloom occurs in April-May. And its fruits are bizarre multileafs.
Sometimes Heleborus or hellebore is also called the rose of Christ - this is due to the fact that, according to one of the legends, this plant was found near the manger in which the newborn Jesus Christ was placed.
In total, it is customary to distinguish about two dozen species in the genus Heleborus.
Where grows
Heleborus is very widespread in the picturesque Mediterranean forests. In addition, it is quite common in the Transcaucasus or Southeast Europe, while most often it can be seen in shady areas or in the mountains.
Usage
Heleborus is characterized by impressive decorativeness throughout the season. Its ability to bloom early and to preserve the beauty of the leaves until the very fall make Helleborus a welcome guest in many gardens. It will look great in shady rockeries, and in rabatki, and along the paths, and in mixborders or flower beds. It is quite possible to use this handsome man for cutting. Yes, and in the "wild" gardens with not too high and dense grass, the Cheleborus will also have a place!
Over time, heleborus will form huge and lush clumps, each of which includes up to fifty to sixty stems. And the best partner plants for this handsome man will be primroses, daffodils or anemones.
Heleborus is a poisonous plant, so you need to handle it carefully. By the way, some of its varieties are excellent honey plants.
Growing and caring
Best of all, the cheleborus will feel in the shade of deciduous trees and the same species of shrubs, however, if you provide an excellent plant with regular watering, it will grow well in open areas. Soils for growing Cheleborus should ideally be clayey, heavy enough and enriched with valuable organic fertilizers.
When the cheleborus fades, the soil around it should be mulched with well-decomposed compost or peat. You need to water the Heleborus regularly. And without division and transplantation, it can easily grow for as long as twenty years!
In the summer, the most optimal temperature for the full development of the Heleborus will be in the range from twenty to twenty-five degrees, but at the same time this plant can easily tolerate a temperature drop to five to six degrees.
Reproduction of Heleborus is usually carried out by dividing the bushes, which is carried out with the onset of early spring. It is quite permissible and immediately sow it in open ground, only this should be done at the end of June. As a rule, freshly harvested seeds invariably produce friendly and strong shoots. However, the seeds of this plant require a two-stage stratification - first they are placed in warm conditions, and then transferred to cold ones.
