Jan 12 2007

The garden catalogues describe them irresistibly with accompanying 

beautiful photographs. Evergreen foliage, shade tolerant and deer 

resistant with colorful blooms in late winter, sometimes as early as 

January or February. Sounds too good to be true. The hellebores, 

commonly named Lenten or Christmas roses, actually do live up to most 

of these listed attributes.

Hellebores, once grown only by the most avid of gardening enthusiasts 

are becoming more popular, especially in areas with heavy deer pressure. 

Deer avoid them since they are high in alkaloid toxins. In their 

Natural habitat these plants thrive in full sun but they are equally 

at home in woodland shade. They are drought tolerant and survive with neglect. 

The only thing they won’t tolerate is poor drainage.

Helleborus orientalis or Lenten Rose is the species most commonly 

offered in catalogs and stores. In the past the flowers were muted, 

ranging from pale green to light mauve. Recent efforts in hybridization 

have yielded bolder colors- black purple, red purple, pink white and 

even yellow. Technically the colorful part of this flower isn’t the 

petals but a modified calyx, the structure that usually holds the 

petals. It’s the reason that the flowers last for three months. 

I’ve found their bloom time to be closer to early spring than winter, 

appearing in March or April in my garden. That is until this mild 

winter. Here it is the second week of January and the hellebores are 

blooming!

You can expect to pay more for hellebores than other perennials. Most 

of the hybridization work has been done in Europe and they aren’t easily 

mass marketed. Obtaining true colors takes two to three years from 

seed. 

Purchasing non-flowering mixed seedlings is more economical and you can 

expect the colors to be similar to the parent plants. Fortunately the 

plants grow to be large clumps and will self sow. The Royal Heritage 

hybrids are a good choice. They have a good range of colors including 

deep maroon, rose and pink. Be sure to plant them near paths or 

entryways to enjoy the extra early blooms.

Another group of plants that are growing well in this mild winter are 

the winter annual weeds. Bittercress, henbit, chickweed and dead nettle 

are some examples. Bittercress has become an increasingly common weed 

in nurseries and home gardens. This delicate looking plant produces an 

exploding seed capsule that scatters seeds over a broad area. These 

annual broadleaf weeds germinate in the fall or winter and grow during 

any warm spells in the winter months. They produce seed in the spring 

and die down in the hot weather. Most of them spread quickly with 

adequate soil moisture. Conditions now are just right for them to 

thrive. Fortunately most of these weeds are shallow rooted and easily 

pulled up by hand. Pre-emergent controls need to be applied in the fall 

before the seeds germinate. Post-emergent broadleaf weed controls can 

offer some control if the weeds are in active growth and the 

temperature is warm.

The mild temperatures have many gardeners worried about their landscape 

plants. Some plants that should be dormant at this point in the season 

are starting to bloom, probably reducing their anticipated spring 

display. Gardeners have reported seeing cherry trees, forsythia, quince 

and hyacinth blooming to name a few. And if the plants aren’t in true 

dormancy a sudden cold snap could lead to winter injury.

Fruit trees require a certain number of chilling hours below 45 degrees 

F, followed by warm temperatures for proper leaf and flower bud 

formation. The chilling period is interrupted if the temperature climbs 

above 60 degrees F. The chilling requirement varies depending on the 

variety. Peaches for example need anywhere from 500 –1200 chilling 

hours depending on variety and location. Once the requirement is satisfied 

the tree can be expected to flower and grow normally. If not, flowering 

will be sporadic and fruit production reduced.

It’s hard to imagine a winter without freezing temperatures or snow 

in this area of the Northeast. Although we may be very comfortable and 

relieved to be using less heat, for the health of the plants let’s 

hope winter comes soon.

Beth Nardone, botanist, is a resident of Hillsborough and is the 

Nursery 

Manager at the Belle Mead Co-Op. Questions and comments can be sent to 

bethtanical@patmedia.net