Helleborus hybridus ViV Isabella

Oriental Hellebore ViV Isabella is a particularly compact variety with highly coloured flowers. Flowering from January and for several weeks, this Lenten Rose has double, dark pink to red flowers with a yellow stamen heart that contrasts well with the petals. Forming a small compact clump of about thirty centimetres, it is well suited for container gardening. A robust and hardy perennial with evergreen foliage, it is also easy to grow in a border in the ground, under shade. Preferring humus-rich and slightly moist soils, it also tolerates clay soils, but without excess water in winter.

The ViV® Hellebores are varieties derived from in-vitro multiplication. Unlike varieties derived from seed multiplication, hellebores produced by in-vitro guarantee a rigorously identical flowering to the variety from which they originate. They therefore have the same genetic characteristics as the mother plant, are more vigorous and develop in a regular manner.

Hellebore ViV Isabella belongs to the family of Ranunculaceae, which includes about sixty genera and around 2500 species, mostly herbaceous. The species Helleborus orientalis is native to Greece, Turkey, and the central and eastern Caucasus. It is a perennial plant that readily hybridizes with other species, resulting in hybrids with varied colours. As a result, these hybrids are rarely given variety names but are instead distinguished by shape and colour characteristics. The Oriental Hellebore is a hardy plant that withstands temperatures down to -15 °C, naturally growing in forests, thickets, and clearings up to 2,000 metres (7 feet) altitude.

This particularly compact variety forms a clump that is only 25 to 35 cm (10 to 14in) high, and about thirty wide. Its foliage consists of palmate basal leaves, slightly toothed, dark green and glossy. These are evergreen in winter and only live for 8 months, regularly replaced by new leaves.
Isabella blooms in the heart of winter, mainly from January to February. Its flowers are a lovely pink-red and formed by several overlapping rows of pointed petals. A bouquet of yellow stamens emerges from the centre, creating a distinct colour contrast. Like other varieties, these flowers tend to droop downwards to let water slide off like an umbrella, thus protecting the heart, which would otherwise rot. Hellebores do not like to be moved once established, and young plants sometimes take time to flower. Therefore, be careful to choose their location well. 

Hellebores are among the favourite plants of garden lovers who want to enjoy flowers continuously throughout the year. Thanks to them, the dormant season is much less dull, and by associating them with other winter-flowering plants, such as the superb Cyclamen coum with its beautiful pink flowers, you can enjoy the garden at this time of year. With its blooming period in January-February, Isabella will also allow you to create flower scenes all year round. Arbutus unedo with its white bell-shaped flowers in late summer and its orange and then red fruits will be a perfect backdrop, decorative for much of the year. On the edge of a shaded border, you can also associate it with the small Ivy Jake, whose leaves, alternately yellow and then lemon green, will complement the dark green of our little Hellebore. And to enjoy spring, add some Epimedium plants, with delicate white, pink, orange, or mauve flowers, depending on the cultivars.