Helleborus x nigersmithii
'Ivory Prince'

IVORY PRINCE LENTEN ROSE
syn. Helleborus x nigersmitthii 'Walhelivor'.
Family: Ranunculaceae
Pronounced: hel-eh-BORE-us

 

Quick Jumps

Growing Guide
Rainy Side Notes

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GROWING GUIDE

Origin:
Garden.
Plant Group:
Perennial.
Hardiness:
Sunset zones: 2-9, 14-17.
USDA zones: 5-9.
Mature size:
Height: 12 inches (30 cm).
Width: 18 inches (45 cm).
Flowering period:
Late winter to early spring.
Flowering attributes:
Outward facing creamy-white flowers, flushed with pink and streaked with green turning pinker with age, open from pink buds.
Leaf attributes:
Evergreen, leathery, blue-green leaves with toothed margins and silvery veining on top of wine-red tinted stems.
Growth habit:
Clump-forming.
Light:
Light to partial shade.
Soil:
Humus rich, moist, well-drained soil.
Feeding:
Side dress with compost or manure. Fertilize in spring with a complete organic fertilizer.
Propagation Methods:
These are reportedly sterile plants.
Divide in late spring to early summer.

Pruning methods:
Remove older leaves in spring.

 

 

Rainy Side Notes

 

Who doesn't go "oo-oo" or "ahhh" over this exquisite hellebore with upward facing ivory flowers, tinged with streaks of pink and green, adorning this wonderful late winter-flowering perennial? When it was first introduced, photos of this evergreen perennial made me take notice. I bought one when it became locally available; its blue-green foliage on wine-red stems looked outstanding, which was reason enough to introduce it into my garden. When it bloomed, the flowers were exquisite.

Bred by David Tristram of England, this is a cross of a cross of a cross; let's see if I'm able to make heads or tales of its parentage. It's a cross between Helleborus. niger and another hellebore that is a cross between H. niger and H. x sternii. H. x sternii is a cross between H. lividus and H. argutifolius. No matter, Tristram came up with this beauty in his breeding program and introduced it to the trade. Lucky for us, this deer resistant, disease resistant, handsome year-round plant is now ours to grow in the garden.

More Helleborus.

Photographed in author's garden.

A Pacific Northwest Plant of the Week (2012)