Hellebore: a new generation in our collection

Hellebores are perennials distinguished by their beautifully coloured winter flowering. Their flowers come in shades of pink, red, purple, white, and yellow, with petals surrounding a very decorative bouquet of central stamens. Their flowers are sometimes beautifully speckled with purple spots. A new range of hellebores has recently joined our catalogue: we are proud to present these varieties to you today!

To learn everything about hellebores, feel free to consult our complete guide: “Hellebores: planting and cultivating them”

1 - What are the advantages of these new varieties?

The new varieties we are presenting today are from the ViV and HGC ranges (Helleborus Gold Collection). They encompass several dozen varieties, offering a very wide choice! They are particularly notable for being produced through in vitro propagation.

In vitro propagation is a multiplication technique carried out in a laboratory that allows for the production of new young plants from a fragment of the mother plant. It is somewhat akin to micropropagation: a small section of the plant is taken, placed in a suitable medium, and it will develop into a complete young plant.

This guarantees uniform young plants: the new young plants are rigorously identical to the one from which they originated, as they are clones with the same genome. This represents a significant advantage in the case of hellebores, as when they are multiplied by sowing, the new young plants exhibit colour variations and are generally not true to the original variety. Indeed, classic varieties hybridise very easily with one another.

In vitro hellebores therefore provide an excellent solution to ensure variety conformity. Moreover, with selective breeding work, the hellebores from these ranges are generally more compact, more floriferous, and they offer more colourful and intense flowering. They are also free from viruses and diseases.

Discover the most beautiful varieties

Hellebores from the ViV range:

Hellebore ViV Victoria: This is probably one of the most beautiful Oriental hellebores. It is a stunning variety with violet flowers, featuring five petals, contrasted by a bouquet of yellow stamens. It forms a compact clump, about 40 cm tall.
Hellebore ViV Ariana: ‘Ariana’ is a beautiful variety with downward-facing double flowers: these consist of several rows of imbricate petals, in a purplish pink colour, speckled with small purple spots. This gives the flowers a sophisticated and elegant appearance.
Hellebore ViV Celestina: This superb variety flowers early, as soon as September, producing simple flowers with light pink petals, beautifully speckled with purple.
Hellebore ViV Lucrezia: ‘Lucrezia’ stands out with its very bright yellow flowers! They consist of five petals, surrounding a central collar and a heart of stamens. They bloom from January to February, bringing a touch of light in the middle of winter!
Hellebore ViV Maeva: This is a beautiful variety with simple flowers, featuring yellow petals speckled with small purple spots. This makes its flowering intense and contrasting! With its compact size, it is well-suited for pot cultivation.
Hellebore ViV Gianina: ‘Gianina’ is an early variety, flowering as soon as September, and offers beautiful pure white double flowers. The flowers are large, consisting of several rows of petals, and feature a bouquet of yellow stamens at the centre.

New varieties of hellebores: the ViV range — ViV Hellebores 'Victoria', 'Ariana', 'Celestina', 'Lucrezia', 'Maeva', and 'Gianina' (©Microflor)

Hellebores from the HGC range:

Hellebore lemperii Leona: This hellebore bears large flowers with dark red petals, surrounding a heart of yellow stamens, well contrasted. Its intense colour is appreciated! It is ideal in pots, to bring colour to a balcony or terrace.
Hellebore lemperii Liara: ‘Liara’ bears large simple flowers (up to 10 cm in diameter) from December, consisting of five petals in pale pink, with a deeper pink reverse, offering beautiful colour nuances. This is a very romantic flowering!
Hellebore lemperii Linn: This variety offers simple cream-white flowers, adorned with yellow stamens. It forms a well-compact clump and bears particularly large flowers, reaching about 15 cm in diameter.

New varieties of hellebores: the HGC range — HGC Hellebores 'Leona', 'Liara', and 'Linn' (©Cerdys)

3 - How to cultivate them?

Hellebores will thrive if you plant them in shade or partial shade, in rich, cool, but well-drained soil. They have the advantage of being perfectly hardy, tolerating temperatures of around –15 to –20 °C. These new varieties, being floriferous and compact, are perfect for pot cultivation on a terrace, balcony, or windowsill, but they can also be planted in the ground. You can pair them with the decorative foliage of heucheras, the beautiful yellow flowering of Eranthis hyemalis, and the delicate white bell-shaped flowers of snowdrops. Also consider winter-flowering shrubs, such as Viburnum x bodnantense 'Dawn', Daphne odora 'Aureomarginata', and Hamamelis.