Elizabeth is a Permaculture Garden Designer, Sustainability Consultant and Professional Writer, working as an advocate for positive change. She graduated from the University of St. Andrews with an MA in English and Philosophy and obtained a Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design from the Permaculture Association.
Reviewed By COLIN SKELLY
Colin is a Horticulturist and Horticultural Consultant with experience in a range of practical and managerial roles across heritage, commercial and public horticulture. He holds the Royal Horticultural Society’s Master of Horticulture award and has a particular interest in horticultural ecology and naturalistic planting for habitat and climate resilience.
IN THIS GUIDE
- 1) H. × nigercors ‘Snow Love’
- 2) H. × ericsmithii ‘Winter Moonbeam’
- 3) H. × hybridus ‘Double Ellen White’
- 4) H. × hybridus ‘Harvington Double White’
- 5) H. × hybridus ‘Pebworth White’
- 6) H. × hybridus ‘Pretty Ellen White’
- 7) H. niger
- 8) H. niger ‘Potter’s Wheel’
- 9) H. niger ‘Wintergold’
- 10) H. × sahinii ‘Winterbells’
- 11) H. thibetanus
- 12) H. ‘Verboom Beauty’
Helleborus are very easy plants to grow and are suited to many UK gardens.
They are often best suited to partial shade, though many types also do well in full sun, as long as they have moist but well-drained, alkaline to neutral soil.
They are great for wildlife-friendly gardens, providing a nectar source for pollinators and other insects when there are few other sources around at that time of year.
“White hellebores are a real spring treat, their flowers have a delicacy and poise that makes them a stand-out garden plant for humans,” says Colin Skelly, a Master Horticulturist.
“When planting for non-humans, I often see bumblebees taking advantage of this early flower.”
This list of white cultivars should be a great place to start if you are wanting to add a hellebore to your garden display.
1) H. × nigercors ‘Snow Love’
- COMMON NAME(S): hellebore ‘snow love’
- HARDINESS RATING: H5
- FOLIAGE: evergreen
- SUNLIGHT: full sun / part shade
This clump-forming perennial plant grows around 45cm high.
It has dark green, serrated leaves and stems which stand out against the foliage, bearing creamy white flowers which become lightly flushed with green as they mature.
The flowers bloom between the middle of winter and early spring and are perfect for moist but well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade.
This variety is H5 hardy.
2) H. × ericsmithii ‘Winter Moonbeam’
- COMMON NAME(S): hellebore ‘winter moonbeam’
- HARDINESS RATING: H5
- FOLIAGE: evergreen
- SUNLIGHT: full sun / part shade
This option also forms mounds, but these are to around 35cm.
It has attractive silvery-grey, vein-like markings on the leaves and bears white, single, outward-facing flowers on a short stem.
The flowers turn pinkish and then reddish as they fade.
‘Winter Moonbeam’ is H5 hardy.
3) H. × hybridus ‘Double Ellen White’
- COMMON NAME(S): hellebore ‘double Ellen White’
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FOLIAGE: evergreen / semi-evergreen
- SUNLIGHT: full sun / part shade
The white flowers on this semi-evergreen, clump-forming perennial are large, double blooms with ruffled edges.
They bloom through the winter and into spring.
It is H7 hardy.
4) H. × hybridus ‘Harvington Double White’
- COMMON NAME(S): hellebore ‘harvington double white’
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FOLIAGE: evergreen / semi-evergreen
- SUNLIGHT: full sun / part shade
Another semi-evergreen Hellebore, this variety thrives in partial shade, where its pendent or outward-facing, double, saucer-shaped flowers stand out pleasingly above the dark green leaves.
A bushy type, it grows up to around 60cm high.
This plant is H4 hardy.
5) H. × hybridus ‘Pebworth White’
- COMMON NAME(S): hellebore ‘pebworth white’
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FOLIAGE: semi-evergreen
- SUNLIGHT: full sun / part shade
The blooms on this cultivar are white with green or pale pink flushing, lightly marked with a little red towards the centre.
It grows to around 50cm in height and is H7 hardy.
6) H. × hybridus ‘Pretty Ellen White’
- COMMON NAME(S): hellebore ‘pretty Ellen White’
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FOLIAGE: semi-evergreen
- SUNLIGHT: full sun / part shade
This Hellebore is semi-evergreen and grows to around 35cm tall.
It has divided, dark green leaves and its white flowers also often have faint green or pink blushing and light spotting towards the centre.
They are borne in late winter and spring and are H7 hardy.
7) H. niger
- COMMON NAME(S): christmas rose
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FOLIAGE: semi-evergreen
- SUNLIGHT: part shade
Also known as the Christmas rose, this is a semi-evergreen perennial which grows to around 30cm tall.
Each plant bears 1-3 pure white or pink-tinged blooms up to 8cm in width.
This plant is H7 hardy.
8) H. niger ‘Potter’s Wheel’
- COMMON NAME(S): christmas rose ‘potter’s wheel’
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FOLIAGE: semi-evergreen
- SUNLIGHT: part shade
While you may simply purchase and grow the species type, there are also several named cultivars of Christmas rose to choose from.
This is one of the best-known, with flowers that can be 10-13cm across, overlapping pure white petals that are marked green towards the centre and golden-yellow stamens.
Like the species, this named cultivar is H7 hardy.
9) H. niger ‘Wintergold’
- COMMON NAME(S): christmas rose ‘wintergold’
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FOLIAGE: evergreen
- SUNLIGHT: part shade
Another named cultivar of the Christmas rose is ‘Wintergold’.
This plant grows 30-35cm high and its white flowers are around 8cm across, pure white, with bright yellow stamens.
10) H. × sahinii ‘Winterbells’
- COMMON NAME(S): hellebore ‘winterbells’
- HARDINESS RATING: H4
- FOLIAGE: evergreen
- SUNLIGHT: full sun / part shade
This is an interspecies hybrid of H. niger and H. foetidus.
Its flowers are not pure white, but rather white overlayered with soft pink and greenish hues, which look lovely against the silvery-green foliage.
It can cope with partial or even full shade on suitable soils.
11) H. thibetanus
- COMMON NAME(S): tibetan hellebore
- HARDINESS RATING: H5
- FOLIAGE: deciduous
- SUNLIGHT: part shade
An interesting option, the Tibetan hellebore is a deciduous perennial growing to around 45cm tall.
Its leaves have saw-like edging and the flowers are bell-shaped, arriving in clusters of 2-8.
They are around 5-6cm across and bloom in early spring.
The flowers, which have a papery texture, start out pure white but fade through pale pink to green, sometimes with dark veining.
12) H. ‘Verboom Beauty’
- COMMON NAME(S): hellebore ‘verboom beauty’
- HARDINESS RATING: H6
- FOLIAGE: semi-evergreen
- SUNLIGHT: full sun / part shade
This hellebore is semi-evergreen.
It flowers early and abundantly on compact plants and bears beautiful pure white flowers in late winter and spring.
It is H6 hardy.
Hellebores can often be an excellent way to bring interest to a shady spot and are a boon for the bees.
These white flowering options are just some of the many plants within this genus to consider growing in your garden.
