botanic garden, Breeding, breeding program, evergreen, evergreen foliage, Evergreen Perennials, evergreens for shade, hellebores for sale, helleborus, helleborus lenten rose, helleborus x hybridus, hybridization, hybrids, interspecific hybrids, JLBG, juniper level botanic garden, lenten rose, perennial breeding, plant breeding, Plant Delights Nursery, Tony Avent, winter blooming plants, Winter Delights hellebores, winter flowering plants, winter flowers, winter garden, winter gardening, winter open house, zone 7b
The earliest of the lenten roses, Helleborus x hybridus, have just opened. Depending on the genetics of each clone, they will continue to open until mid-March. Flowering on each variety continues for many weeks to over a month if the temperatures remain cool. Only a few weeks remain before our Winter Open Nursery and Garden, when you can visit and see these first hand in the garden, and even select your own flowering plants from our on-site nursery, Plant Delights.
I am in Zone 5B, and up until now we have been having a mostly Zone 7 winter. And, yes, some of my Helleborus have broken dormancy. Good thing they are so very hardy, since we will be having zero and below for lows this coming week. I love all the Helleborus – so easy, so pretty!