At this time of year in Bedford, after a long and cold winter, many of us want to see our gardens filled with flowers. But often times, Moth Nature has other plans. Many of our garden plants are just barely waking up and they arer not ready to put on the show that we desperately want to see. This is not the case with Lenten Rose, also known as Helleborus. This flower gets its common name from the fact that it starts its blooming during Lent.
Buying A Lenten Rose
Because Lenten Roses are such early bloomers, they often get overlooked at nurseries because by the time we are shopping for plants, Lenten Rose’s blooms have faded and they do not have those colorful blooms that attract us to plants in the greenhouse. But Lenten Rose is available at most local plant nurseries. You just may have to ask where they are as they will not be out on display.
The most common color of Lenten Rose is pink, but they do come in colors ranging from white to pink to purple to red with all shades in between those. Among these shades of flowers, you may also find blossoms with and without spots as well as interior bullseye markings. Lenten Rose flowers also come in either single or double form. Some of the more unusual colors and marking will need to be ordered from catalogs, but in today’s internet world this should not be a problem.
People often ask if they would be able to get a plant from a friend who has a Lenten Rose in their garden. Lenten Rose grows very slowly and it is not uncommon for them to not need dividing for decades at a time so it is hard to find a division from a friend’s garden. But, they do frequently self seed and small babies can be shared among friends. Be warned though, seedlings do not often grow true to the parent and will frequently revert to the common pink single bloom.
Planting Lenten Roses
Lenten Rose is for the most part a tolerant plant. It prefers well-draining, moist soil in partial to full shade, but will grow pretty well in all light conditions and can tolerate drier soil. Because Lenten Roses are slow growing and low growing perennials, they are ideal plants for borders and walkways. You can be certain that when you plant a Lenten Rose, it will be years and years before you need to worry about dividing the plant.
When you first plant your Lenten Rose, make sure that you add a balanced fertilizer mixed with soil or compost to the hole before you put the plant in so that the plant will have nutrients to get it off to a good start. You will also want to make sure that your Lenten Rose gets deeply watered every other day for the first two weeks and then deeply watered once a week for the next 2 months.
After this, your Lenten Rose should be established and once established, they are quite the hardy plant. They should only need additional watering if rainfall is less than 2” a week and will only need feeding once a year. Keep in mind that your Lenten Rose may not bloom the first year while it is getting established. After this, you should see beautiful, early blooms like clockwork. It will be one of the first plants in your garden to delight you with spring blooms and, in the Bedford area, is often seen blooming despite the snow around it.
