Helleborus Ice N' Roses Marbled Mary Marble - Hellebore

Hellebore 'HGC® Ice 'N' Roses® Marbled Mary Marble' is a hybrid Christmas rose selected for its floribundity, the beauty of its flowers, but also for its marbled foliage that is not lacking in appeal. The plant combines all the qualities of its ancestors, including Mediterranean hellebores (H. lividus), Christmas rose (H. niger), and Lenten rose (H. orientalis). The result is a compact plant that is very resistant to cold, heat, and fairly dry soils in summer, offering a particularly long flowering period. This Mary Marble variety produces large white flowers with a pink border that intensifies and widens as the flower ages. This hellebore will live for many years in the garden, in all climates.

Hellebores belong to the Ranunculus family. The Helleborus x iburgensis Ice 'N' Roses® Marbled is a complex horticultural hybrid belonging to a series of Christmas roses developed in Germany after many years of research and drastic selection. All the Ice 'N' Roses Marbled hellebores develop marbled foliage, meaning that the leaves have lighter spots that are generally located along the veins. All the hellebores in this line have names starting with the letter M, for example 'Mindy Marble', 'Maddy Marble', 'Milla Marble', 'Megan Marble', etc.

'HGC® Ice 'N' Roses® Marbled Mary Marble' is a sturdy perennial plant with remarkable longevity, fairly rapid growth, and vigorous vegetation, but sterile; its delicate reproduction will only be possible through division of clumps. It has a bushy habit, with an adult plant reaching a height of 30cm (12in) and a spread of about 40cm (16in). From December to March-April, brown stems appear, not very tall, carrying purplish-violet buds that open into 5-petal flowers, 6-7cm (2-3in) wide, with beautiful yellow stamens in their centre. The white corolla is surrounded by a dark pink to raspberry margin that, as the flowers develop, spreads onto the petals. The flowers eventually become all pink, veined with slightly darker pink. The evergreen foliage is composed of fairly tough leaves, 10 to 30cm (4 to 12in) long, borne on brown petioles. They are divided into 5 to 7 ovate or lanceolate segments, strongly dentate, with a shiny texture. Their colour is a dark green marbled with lighter green. This hellebore is hardy up to -20°C (-4°F) and tolerates a range of very varied soils, whether limestone or clay, humiferous or sandy, constantly moist or even dry in summer.

The 'Marbled Mary Marble' hellebore should thrive in all our gardens, from north to south of our country. Already in the first year, many flowers appear on the plants. New flowers are constantly forming, creating a beautiful contrast between the open and faded flowers. These flowers can be used perfectly in bouquets. It is also a good ground cover for semi-shady areas of the garden. Use hellebores like elements of an ancient tapestry, mixing them with brightly coloured woodland plants. They will be planted near evergreen bushes of moderate size (Mahonia 'Apollo', Nandina 'Fire Power') and under conifers (especially on windy sites). Surround them with spring-flowering bulbs and snowdrops. You can also accompany them with ferns and shade-loving iris to create a beautiful contrast a little later in the season. They can also be planted in groups, like a bouquet, near the entrance of the house, in a shady location, to enjoy their early flowering up close. They are suitable for borders, mass plantings, and containers. Over time, hellebore flowers do not fade like the majority of other flowers, but they dry out.