Another recent dramatic improvement in hybrid lenten roses started at the small mom/pop nursery in England, RD plants. Here, Rodney David and Lynda Windsor created the first known hybrids of Hellleborus x ballardiae (niger x lividus) and Helleborus x hybridus. These revolutionary hybrids, previously thought impossible, are now known as Helleborus x iburgensis. They combine stunningly beautiful marbled foliage (from the H. lividus parent), with outfacing flowers (due to both H. lividus and H. niger), with a wide range of flower colors (due to Helleborus x hybridus). Because of the wide range of species used to create these gems, they have been effectively neutered so that no seedlings will be occurring in your garden. Below are a few from our gardens this winter.
They’re lovely! Do you find the iburgensis hybrids have any different cultural requirements than the x hybridus? Are they a bit more picky as to their conditions, or less vigorous? When do they bloom, in relation to niger and hybridus? After niger but before the hybridus?
bloom time is virtually identical to H. x hybridus as a group, and cultural requirements are identical.