Winter roses a seasonal special
A once small colour range now spans many appealing options, writes The winter rose is a highly valued plant offering colour at this time of year when it can be scarce in the garden.
RAIN, RAIN SOME SUN and more rain. Although somewhat restrictive weather to be outside, grabbing a moment to get into the garden between showers is highly rewarding. These wintry days are good for making new plantings of many plants as there is zero stress from hot sun and soil moisture levels are excellent.
Stores are also full of new season’s lines of roses, fruits, deciduous ornamental trees, rhododendrons, camellias and much more.
Some plants really thrive in the cold weather, it is in fact perfect for promoting the flowering of two real July favourites: polyanthus and helleborus.
If you want some winter cheer by the front door, in some pots or in a garden bed then look no further than polyanthus. The warm colours evoke great happy feelings to boost the spirits of a cold wintry day.
Another great plant for July is the helleborus. Commonly known as lenten or winter roses, these cold weather beauties produce a spectacular display in the wind, rain, frost and any other conditions that generally make resting by the fireplace seem the most desirable.
The winter rose is a highly valued plant, offering colour at this time of year when it can scarce in the garden. The blooms can be enjoyed indoors, where they will last up to three weeks as a cut flower.
Some early-blooming varieties start flowering from late May and run through into late July, other varieties start during July and will run into late August or even September. In the northern hemisphere this coincides with the Christian festival of Lent, hence the name lenten rose.
Traditionally hellebores were mostly white and pink with shades in-between. No longer is the colour range restricted. The winter rose has experienced intense focused breeding and selecting of varieties in recent years. The result has been an abundance of new, highly desirable flower forms, colour shades and shapes.
The colours now range from the traditional white through the shades of pink to dark black flowers. Also, there are greenflowered hybrids, yellows, apricots and all the combinations of above in “picotee” (spotted) colour formations. There are also double-flowered hybrids in an exceptional colour range.
A few varieties highly worthy of mention are
‘Ice N Roses Red’ has blooms in a vivid red. These deeply coloured blooms stand relatively upright showing their faces. Grows approx. 40cm high by 60cm wide. (ref. kiwi gold).
‘Sophies Delight’ combines pure white and deep mulberry on a simple and elegant bloom held above its evergreen foliage. (ref. living fashion).
‘Conny’ has a unique speckled pattern of contrasting purple-red speckles on silverywhite petals. The flowers are profuse and are about 5cm across. Bred in Germany, this strong healthy grower will form an evergreen small spreading cover of approximately 40cm high by 60cm wide. ‘Tutu’ has semi-double flowers that are a dusky pink colour and show lovely speckling. Bred for its superior flowers it blooms in August and September each year.
‘Mollys White’ has white flowers that are flushed lime green. An attractive plant and flower with its cup-shaped blooms.
Helleborus are a shade-loving plant, preferring good drainage. They are ideal for growing under trees and along the shady side of a house or fence.
Most of the helleborus species enjoy humus-rich, free-draining soil. They occur naturally in the deciduous forest and meadows of eastern Europe. This situation provides lovely organic material in the form of leave mould and built-in drainage provided by the tree roots. You can mimic this situation in your own patch by planting helleborus under trees and the addition of Yates peat moss or Tui Organic Compost.
Helleborus also enjoy soil of higher pH, lime rather than acidic soils, although as long as there is relatively neutral pH you can grow hellebores with rhododendrons.
In areas that have heavy clays, one needs to be a lot more careful to provide the necessary drainage. Planting in raised beds is one helpful solution and planting under trees is another.
The method of planting right into the base of deciduous trees works on the principle of the tree taking up excessive moisture immediately under it, therefore providing the suitable drainage. You need to be a little careful with the likes of conifers, which may block out moisture completely, as the hellebores do need some moisture.
Helleborus enjoy being mulched, this has many benefits — it keeps the plant moist and cool over the summer, is a great source of organic material and is also really good at keeping the weeds down. The best time to apply mulch is generally in the spring at the time when the old leaves are cut off just as the flower buds are appearing.
Cutting the leaves off the Helleborus x orientalis hybrids is beneficial, but not absolutely necessary. The flowers will come through the old leaves perfectly well, but the plants look tidier with the old and dying leaves removed, you can leave on any good-looking, healthy ones. The clearing of the old leaves does help display the flowers better and also provides a good airflow around the plant’s corm to reduce the risk of fungal disease. Don’t cut the leaves off the other species, just Helleborus x orientalis.
Diseases in helleborus are not a major as the plants are very resilient. Helleborus leaves are poisonous to animals, although they will not eat them unless under extreme pressure. Some have them growing in paddocks in places and the sheep and cattle will graze right around them without touching the leaves. Aphids can attack during summer — they don’t care if they are poisonous or not! The use of Yates Mavrik proves effective against these pests.
Helleborus do not need much in the way of fertiliser. If you mulch once a year you can rely on that to provide nutrients. A topdress with novatec fertiliser is beneficial, but don’t be too heavy-handed. Dolomite lime is also beneficial to add calcium.
Helleborus will tolerate a dry site far better than a wet one. It doesn’t really matter how much rain, hail and snow you get as long as the plant doesn’t sit in a wet boggy soil for too long.
The free drainage is paramount. You can bring a helleborus back from death’s door from being too dry, but it won’t come back from being too wet!
Keep warm and have a great week.
For more gardening information visit www.springvalegardencentre.co.nz
Gareth Carter is General Manager of Springvale Garden Centre