Helleborus hybridus ViV Stefania

The Oriental Hellebore ViV Stefania is a remarkable variety due to the beauty of its flowers. Appearing in November and throughout December, its flowering expresses a certain romantic charm. These flowers, blending white and a fairly bright pink with multiple darker spots, have delicately undulated petals that visually multiply their number. These double flowers are remarkably enhanced by the dark, evergreen foliage, which is decorative all year round. This Hellebore is a robust and hardy perennial, easy to grow in all our regions, including slightly heavy soils, although it prefers humus-rich soils. It will make beautiful displays in shaded areas, as it dislikes direct sunlight.

The ViV Hellebores are varieties derived from in-vitro multiplication. Unlike varieties derived from seed multiplication, hellebores produced by in-vitro guarantee a flowering that is identical to the variety they come from. They therefore have the same genetic characteristics as the mother plant, are more vigorous and develop uniformly.

The Hellebore (or Lenten Rose) Stefania belongs to the family of Ranunculaceae, which includes about sixty genera and approximately 2500 species, mostly herbaceous. The type species Helleborus orientalis is native to Greece, Turkey, and the central and eastern Caucasus. It is a perennial plant that hybridises very easily with other species to produce, through random seedlings, hybrids with diverse colours and forms, so much so that these hybrids are rarely given variety names. They are distinguished by their shape and colour characteristics. Oriental Hellebores are hardy plants that can withstand temperatures as low as -15°C, naturally growing in forests, thickets, and clearings up to 2,000 m (7ft) altitude.

Compact and sturdy, Stefania forms a tuft that is 35 to 45 cm (14 to 18in) tall and about 30cm wide. Its foliage consists of palmate basal leaves, slightly toothed, dark green, and shiny. They are evergreen leaves in winter, which actually only live for 8 months and are regularly replaced by new leaves. They provide a perfect dark background that enhances the lighter flowers that appear from November and for long weeks until winter sets in. Their petals have undulated edges, giving them a charmingly crinkled appearance that reinforces the romantic aspect of their colour. This colour combines a lovely pink speckled with darker pink and mixed with white, with a slightly greenish centre and a bouquet of cream-white stamens of the finest taste. As with other varieties, they are pendulous, allowing water to slide off like an umbrella, thus protecting the heart of the flower from rotting. Hellebores do not like to be moved once established, and young shoots sometimes take time to flower. Therefore, be careful to choose their location well when planting.

Hellebore Stefania is particularly precious with its magnificent flowering during the winter season. It will perfectly associate with other perennials with staggered flowering in shaded areas, to enjoy flowers almost all year round. To stay in a romantic tone, you can plant White Cyclamen coum alongside it, which is more resistant than its delicate flowers would suggest, defying winter from January to April depending on the climate.  Caucasian Forget-Me-Nots, or Brunnera, will then take over with their vaporous blue or white flowers above often very decorative foliage. Pink Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis Rosea) can accompany them with its charming little bells. And for the summer, choose Tiarella cordifolia Mint Chocolate, with its beautifully cut mint green foliage with chocolate veins and its feathery white spikes that will occupy the space until the majestic white spires of the Bugbanes, highly aesthetic members of the Ranunculaceae family, appear.