Helleborus 'Rd09' PIPPA'S PURPLE

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. PIPPA’S PURPLE is another hybrid Lenten rose developed by Rodney Davey and Lynda Windsor from Devon, England. It belongs to the Rodney Davey Marbled Group and is currently sold with a series name Frostkiss. It was launched in 2014 and is protected by the following patents: EU 50872 (Europe – 2016) and PP27121 (USA – 2016).

PIPPA’S PURPLE hellebore boasts 6-7 cm wide, single, enchanting flowers composed of 5 rounded, overlapping petals. They are burnt pink with a prominent deep purple pink freckles which disappear towards the margins. Their centres are decorated with a chartreuse crown and a small bunch of creamy white stamens. The stems are deep maroon and reach about 30 cm in height. Blooming begins from the first frost-free days of the second half of winter, and new buds are formed for more than a month keeping the clump pretty with flowers for almost three months. Flowers are slightly nodding like bellflowers.

Apart from beautiful flowers, Lenten rose hybrids in the Rodney Davey Marbled Group are renowned for handsome foliage. The leaves of PIPPA’S PURPLE are evergreen, leathery, highly glossy, deep with light green marbling, and palmately divided into usually 3 large, broadly ovate leaflets with serrated margins. If they are exhausted and unsightly after the growing season you can remove them just before stems with new flower buds emerge.

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 19-02-2024