Helleborus x Sternii

Helleborus x Sternii.
This plant has many attributes that make it extremely valuable. Its appearance when not in flower, with bold and dark evergeen leaves toothed at the margins, is very attractive but as an added bonus it will look even better in shade. Root competition - no problem, poor soil - no problem. It has a compact habit and will self seed making spreading colonies, as in the photo to the left, no more than about 40cm tall. It bears its cream coloured flowers at a strange time of year - December to March, when you could be forgiven for missing them but they have their own charm being flushed with pink/red like the leaf stems and branches of the whole plant. As the flowering period draws to an end the previous seasons leaves die back and after the flowers there is an impressive new burst of leaf growth. This is the time to watch the plant however - aphids love the new foliage and if they get a chance to overrun the tender new shoots the plant may disfigured for the whole of the next season.