Helleborus sternii - Evergreen Helleborus

Hellebore x sternii is a pretty perennial with beautiful clusters of lime green flowers and graphic foliage, green marbled with white and strongly dentate on the edge.

This hybrid hellebore is the result of a cross-breeding between the Corsican Hellebore (Helleborus argutifolius), with glaucous green leaves, green flowers, and good hardiness, and the magnificent Helleborus lividus, native to the island of Majorca, with low hardiness, compact vegetation, small often marbled leaves, and plum-colored stems and flowers.

Hellebore sternii has a dense habit, with strong upright stems, brown-purple in colour, which carry both the foliage and the flowers, giving it a unique appearance. Gathered in terminal clusters, the lime green flowers bloom from February to April. The leaves are leathery, evergreen, dark green with white veins.  These are finely toothed on the edge, adding extra appeal to the plant.

Unlike oriental hellebores, Hellebore x sternii grows in the sun (tolerating partial shade in hot regions) in any well-draining and permeable soil, and tolerates rocky and limestone soils. It is very hardy and withstands cold and dry winters well, but it does not tolerate water stagnation during winter.

Plant it in a rock garden, on a slope, along a path in a meadow garden or a romantic garden, alongside heucheras, botanical tulips, ornamental garlic, and evergreen grasses.