Outdoor landscape plantings are generally not a major priority during the Christmas holidays, but there is a special plant now in bloom that has an unusual flower and reveals a very special holiday meaning — it is the Christmas rose (Helleboreus niger). These unusual holiday blooming plants, also known as hellebores, are members of the buttercup family. Hellebores are cool season; low-growing plants with blooms that resemble rose blooms, however these plants are not in the rose family. Hellebores are quite popular with over 20 different varieties showcasing different bloom colors, combinations and blooming seasons.

There are other varieties of hellebores that bloom in early spring, known as Lenten rose.  These low-growing, evergreen plants display their blooms in mid-winter to early spring. Hellebores are often recommended as shade plants; however, filtered sunlight is beneficial for the plant’s health and production of bountiful blooms. They are advertised as a deer resistant plant that can be utilized in shady locations. Hellebores can be quite expensive because it takes three to five years for them to achieve a bloom and gardeners want plants that are blooming.

According to legend, a young girl wanted to see the baby Jesus, but was forbidden because she had no gift. An angel saw her weeping outside the manager with her tears falling in to the snow. The tears immediately became beautiful flowers (Christmas rose) which enabled her to visit the baby Jesus with a gift of beautiful flowers. Go to https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/helleborus-orientalis/  for more detailed information on hellebores.

Darrell Blackwelder is the retired horticulture agent and director with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service in Rowan County. Contact him at deblackw@ncsu.edu.