Plant of the Month: January
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Helleborus foetidus Wester Flisk Group
Common name: Stinking hellebore, dungwort, bear's foot, stinkwort.
Family: Ranunculaceae
Vital statistics
Height and spread: Up to 80cm (32in) x 45cm (18in).
Form: Perennial.
Soil: Moist, fertile and humus-rich.
Aspect:Prefers partial shade.
Hardiness: Fully hardy to frost hardy. |
Helleborus foetidus Wester Flisk Group @ Harlow Carr
Helleborus foetidus Wester Flisk Group is located within the Scented Garden at Harlow Carr. From the entrance turn right at the bottom of the steps, continuing along the path to the very end, passing the grass border on your left hand side and the alpine display glasshouse on your right - turn left and then the next right stepping into the scented garden. Helleborus foetidus Wester Group is in the first bed on your right hand side.
Helleborus
This genus contains 20 or so species of perennials from central, eastern and southern Europe and western Asia, in scrub, woodland, grassy and rocky areas, usually on chalk or limestone soils. Helleborus is the Greek name of the Lenten rose, H. orientalis.
Most hellebores produce rhizomes with leaves and stems arising at its tips, and roots produced all along the rhizome. Hellebores are either clump-forming with deciduous, basal leaves or shrubby, with leafy biennial stems.
The leaves are lobed or fully divided into leaflets, leathery, usually toothed and light to dark green.
Flowers are white, cream, pink, purple or green and sometimes spotted. They are pendant, outward facing and saucer-to-cup shaped or tubular-bell-shaped and usually have 5 sepals. The sepals look like petals together with many creamy-yellow stamens in the centre of each flower.
All hellebores flower between winter and mid-spring and are most effective grown in groups in a shrub border or woodland garden.
In the 17th and 18th centuries H. niger was widely used to treat a variety of complaints including mania, epilepsy, skin infections and worms. However, today hellebores are regarded as poisonous plants which will cause severe discomfort if ingested, and irritation if sap comes in contact with the skin.
Helleborus foetidus
This is one of Britain's native hellebores, which is also found in much of Europe. It grows up to 75cm (2.5ft) with a spread of 1.2m (4ft).
The leaves are divided into narrow, toothed leaflets and are dark green.
The pale green flowers are about 2cm (0.75ins) across and grow in cymes, are pendant, bell-shaped, often with purple margins and sometimes pleasantly scented.
Helleborus foetidus Wester Flisk Group
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This cultivar group has strikingly red-tinted stems and leaf stalks with greyish-green leaves. The plant from which the group is derived originated at Wester Flisk on the Firth of Tay, discovered by Mrs Mamie Walker in the early 1970s in her rectory garden. This garden had previously been tended by Rev Dr John Fleming in the early 1800s, who was a Professor of Natural Philosophy at Aberdeen, with a keen interest in botany. It is possible that the Professor was responsible for bringing the plant to Wester Flisk from Spain, where similar plants occur in the wild. |
AGM
The RHS Floral A Committee awarded Helleborus foetidus an Award of Garden Merit and described it as: Evergreen perennial to 60cm with erect stems and leaves palmately divided, several narrow dark green leaflets. Nodding, purple-edged, pale green flowers to 2.5cm wide are borne in large open clusters.
Cultivation
Tolerates a range of fertile, moist, humus-rich soils but prefers neutral to alkaline soil in dappled shade.
Propagation
Sow seed in containers in a cold frame as soon as ripe. Plants come true from seed provided they are isolated from other forms. Poorly coloured plants are best discarded.
Pests and Diseases
Snails, aphids, leaf-spot and black rot may be a problem.