Forum home› Plants

Is this a Hellebore?

Darren8Darren8 Posts: 46
in Plants

Hello all.

Could any of you lovely helpful folks out there tell me what plant this is?

I think it's a Hellebore but am not 100% sure.

I inherited it when I moved in & it's certainly thriving in my North facing perpetually damp front garden

imageimage

Many thanks in advance

Darren

Posts

  • LG_LG_ Posts: 4,063

    Yes :-)

    'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'
    - Cicero
  • Darren8Darren8 Posts: 46

    Many thanks. You're a diamond. image

  • chickychicky Posts: 10,322

    Its the native one - also known as the stinking hellebore.  I was a bit worried about the name but apparently it only stinks if you crush the leaves ? 

    They get tatty after the first year,  but seed really easily so there are always babies waiting to take over ?

  • Chrissy the gardenerChrissy the gardener Posts: 1,072

    It looks like helleborus foetidus common name stinking hellebore, although I've not noticed mine smelling badly.

  • Darren8Darren8 Posts: 46

    Thanks Chicky & Chrissy.

    Certainly no nasty niffs but it has gone rampant the past 12 months.

  • Hortum-cretaeHortum-cretae Posts: 979

    There are two natives and this one is very rare in the wild, although it naturalises from gardens as an escape readily, which is weird. The other one, helleborus viridis, is more delicate, a smaller plant with finely toothed leaves and larger flowers.  Once established, there's little that disturbs them. As said, they seed about freely, often producing better results than if you carefully gather the seed and sow them in trays of perfect compost! Very few pests and diseases, they're happy in the shade, flower for months, the single ones are loved by bees - what better plant is there? 

    H-C 

Sign In or Register to comment.