Helleborus hybridus Magic Double Rose

Magic Double Rose Oriental Hellebore is a charming variety that surprises gardeners during flowering: its double flowers have variable colours on the same plant and from one plant to another. Most often in shades of pink, the corollas also feature white, mauve, purple, and violet, and are sometimes adorned with small dots, spots, and contrasting stripes. Hellebore is a robust and very hardy plant that will enliven borders and the ground under shrubs, flower beds and flowering pots on the terrace. Easy to grow, even in heavy soil, it thrives in shade or non-scorching sunlight.

Originating from Greece, Turkey, and the central and eastern Caucasus, Helleborus orientalis, sometimes called Lenten Rose, is a perennial plant of the buttercup family that easily hybridizes with other species, resulting in hybrid offspring with varied colours and forms through. No varieties are named for these hybrids; they are distinguished by shape and colour. Oriental Hellebore is a hardy plant that can tolerate temperatures as low as -15°C, naturally growing in forests, thickets, and clearings up to 2,000 m (2,187yards) altitude.

Magic Double Rose Hellebore forms a compact and leafy clump measuring 40 cm (16in) in all directions. It is composed of palmate, slightly toothed, dark green and shiny, evergreen basal leaves composed of 7 to 9 thick leaflets which only live for 8 months and are regularly replaced by new leaves. Between February and April, a bouquet of double, cup-shaped flowers 4 to 5 cm (2in) in diameter forms among the foliage with three rows of satin petals increasing in size from the centre of the flower to the outer part of the corolla. They are inclined downwards, allowing water to slide off like an umbrella to protect the heart of the flower from rotting. Hellebore does not like to be moved once established, as the young plants take a little time to flower. The seeds are sown by ants.

Use hellebores as elements of an ancient tapestry, mixing them with woodland plants in brighter colours. These perennials are best showcased near Pieris, small-sized rhododendrons, under conifers (especially in windy sites), surrounded by primroses, wood anemones, Corydalis, dicentras, cardamines, or spring-flowering bulbs and snowdrops. You can also accompany them with ferns and shade-loving irises to create a beautiful contrast a little later in the season. They can be planted in groups near the entrance of the house, in a shady location, to enjoy their early flowering up close. They are suitable as cut flowers and in flower beds, borders, or even containers... Over time, Hellebore flowers do not fade like the majority of other flowers, but dry out: they remain decorative for a long time.