Winter flowers: learn how to grow hellebores, a beautiful and hardy plant
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Winter is the time of year when most plants enter a dormant phase. In fact, there are very few species that show luxuriant foliage during the coldest months of the year, and even fewer that flower at that time. This is why a flower like hellebores is fascinating.
This herbaceous plant is able to bloom in the months with fewer hours of sunshine and the most frigid of temperatures with simple or double inflorescences (clusters of flowers on a branch or a system of branches) of many different colors. In fact, the flowers are the reason this plant is known by the common name of the Christmas Rose, and they are ready to flower as early as December. Find out more about caring for this beautiful plant.
Exposure: these are plants that grow in the woods and on the edge of fields. They can adapt to positions in full light (in the coldest areas) up to those with partial shade. Also they can be placed in pots, for borders, or under some shrub.
Soil: soil must be fertile and well draining, without the risk of water stagnation. It is also advisable to mulch every year with good quality compost or some manure.
Irrigation: in winter, unless there are exceptional periods of drought, the plants in the ground do not need to be watered, while those in pots will need to be irrigated when the soil dries out. The same rule applies for the rest of the year.
When to plant them: They can be planted at any time of the year, as long as the ground is not frozen. They are easily found in nurseries and shops when they are in bloom, but also during the rest of the year it is possible to find them. Planting them at the end of summer or during autumn prepares them in the best way for their first winter. Once you have planted them, however, do not move them again. When new leaves emerge, cut off the old ones (which will be brown by now).
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Some interesting types
- Flowering period: they give their best, depending on the variety, from January to May. Their flowers are very rich in pollen, therefore they are a precious source for pollinating insects that are around in the coldest periods of the year.
- Appearance of flowers: many hellebores have the peculiarity of having flowers that always face downwards. needs to gently take them between the fingers and turn upward to be able to admire the colors and the different shapes of the petals. The reason for this lies in the fact that in this way they are able to "shake off" the snow and rain that can deposit on them in winter. The petals can be more or less pointed, and the flower can also have a double corolla. The colors range from white to a purple so dark that it seems black. And even when the phase in which their vivid tones passes, they remain fleshy on the plant for a long time, turning various shades of green (a bit like hydrangeas).
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