Helleborus WINTER ROSES™ 'ST. CECILIA'

Hellebore (Lenten rose) is not a new plant to Czech and Slovak gardens. I remember those flowering stems that surprisingly pushed through the snow in late winter and I kept asking grandma how come that a plant can flower while there is still snow on the ground. These evergreen perennials are still very popular, mainly thanks to newly hybridized varieties with fantastic flowers. Winter Roses™ is a Dutch hellebore series bred by Walter Blom and all its varieties are holy. Don’t you believe? Just check the names – they all mention a saint: St. Lilli, St. Cecilia, St. Caspar, St. Lucia, St. Nicolas, and St. Amabilis.

St. Cecilia is a Lenten rose variety with large flowers reaching about 10 cm across. They boast an exquisite shade of pastel pink and centres decorated with a chartreuse crown, few beige anthers, and a deep maroon stigma. Stems are deep maroon, too, slightly arching, only new stems with just opened flowers are upright with flowers facing sideways, otherwise they are nodding. Flowers come out according to weather, mostly from February until late April. Evergreen leaves are leathery, palmate, deep green and the clump is dense yet rather prostrate and loose.

Hellebore likes heavy, evenly moist, neutral to alkaline, rich in humus soil in dappled shade or filtered sun. This hybrid will prefer at least half a day with direct sunlight. Fertilizing will increase flowering and help the leaves remain strong and nice throughout the winter. Grow it somewhere near your house entrance or close to the window you look out of frequently so that you can enjoy the plant when it starts flowering since at that time the weather outside is not yet ideal for walking around the garden. The flowers can cheer up a number of grey and dull days of late winter therefore thumbs up for hellebore! Harmful if eaten. Hardy to about -29°C (USDA zone 5).

Last update 17-02-2024