Helleborus HGC® Ice N' Roses® White

Helleborus HGC® Ice N' Roses® White: Bright White for Late-Winter Shade

Snow-white flowers with chartreuse centres, blooming while there's still actual snow around. This Lenten Rose is basically camouflage with an attitude. YOU'LL WALK RIGHT PAST IT. THEN YOU'LL BACK UP.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Helleborus x glandorfensis
• Common Name: Lenten Rose, Hellebore
• Series: HGC® Ice N' Roses®, from the German hellebore breeder Heuger
• Height: 30–50 cm (12–20 in)
• Spread: 45–60 cm (18–24 in)
• Flowers: Large, single, snow-white flowers with a chartreuse centre and pale yellow stamens, facing outward. Sold under the cultivar code 'Coseh 4500'.
• Bloom Time: Late winter to spring (March to May)
• Foliage: Leathery, deep green and hand-shaped, on maroon stems. Evergreen.
• Features: Evergreen, long-lasting flowers, good for cutting
• Plant Patent: PP28293

Where to Plant: White flowers carry in low light, so this is the hellebore for the darkest corner you still look at: the north side of the house, under a maple, or beside a shady patio. It's lovely massed along a woodland path or used in a big container by the door.

Companion Plants: White hellebores glow beside Pulmonaria 'Dark Vader', whose purple flowers appear in April and May. Dicentra 'Gold Heart' rises 60 to 75 cm behind with pink flowers in May and June. Add Cimicifuga 'Chocoholic' for pink flower spikes from August to October, so the bed has a second show in fall. This group is happy in shade or part shade.

Plant Care: Plant in part sun to full shade, in moist, humus-rich, well-drained soil. It prefers neutral to slightly alkaline soil and doesn't like drying out. Water through the first season and in dry summers. In early spring, before the buds open, cut last year's leaves off at the base so the flowers are clean and visible. In zone 5, mulch loosely with shredded leaves or count on snow cover. Don't move established plants. Wear gloves when handling, since the sap can irritate skin.

History: Ice N' Roses® White was bred by Josef Heuger in Germany and is sold under the HGC® label. The series crosses Helleborus x hybridus with other hybrid hellebores such as H. x ericsmithii or H. x ballardiae, a group Heuger named Helleborus x glandorfensis after his hometown of Glandorf.

Final Thoughts: Pair it with dark-leaved neighbours so the white really pops. Cut a few for the table. Deer won't. CRISP, CLEAN, COMPLETELY UNBOTHERED.