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Helleborus

Helleborus x hybridus

Hellebore Species

Hellebore Structure

Growing/Propagating

Hybridizing

Links/Resources

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Links and Resources

With the growth in the popularity of hellebores, the amount of information on the Web has grown
tremendously. Much of the information is useful, but as with all topics on the Web, plenty of it is
inaccurate as well. Here I've provided some links and resources that I believe to be for the most part
accurate, useful, and of quality.

I will add to this page as necessary. There are of course many breeders and experts in the world that
may not have business or personal websites. Gisella Schmiemann, Elizabeth Strangman, Elfi Rahr,
and Ian Collier are just a few that immediately come to mind. Fortunately, their plants are available at
least indirectly from several sources. There are also many good sites that are not listed here, many in
non-English formats. If you know of any sites that are particularly useful, please let me know:
admin@hellebores.org

Breeders/Growers

USA

Heronswood Nursery: Producers of many fine hybrid hellebores.
www.heronswood.com

Northwest Garden Nursery: Ernie and Marietta O'Byrne are regarded by many as producing some of
the best hybrids in North America. Their nursery is located in Eugene, Oregon.
www.northwestgardennursery.com

Pine Knot Farms: Dick and Judith Tyler grow many hellebores, including Ashwood plants. Judith is co-
author of a very good hellebore book published by Timber Press, Hellebores: A Comprehensive
Guide. Their nursery is located in Clarksville, Virginia.
www.pineknotfarms.com

Sunshine Farm and Gardens: Certainly one of the biggest producers of hybrid hellebores. Barry
Glick's nursery is located in Renick, West Virginia.
www.sunfarm.com

Winterwoods: A nursery with interesting seed offerings including open and hand-pollinated
categories. Winterwoods also sells plants in bloom on site in Richmond, Virginia.
www.winterwoods.net

Canada

Pacific Rim Native Plant Nursery: A very interesting nursery that offers quite a few hellebore plants,
including many species.
http://www.hillkeep.ca/per%20helleborus.htm

Europe

Ashwood Nurseries: Regarded by many as the producer of some of the finest hybrids in the world,
Ashwood hybrids have become some of the most famous and sought after in recent years. They
produce a wide range of colors and forms.
www.ashwood-nurseries.co.uk

Broughton Nursery: Tim Murphy is a friend and excellent plantsman. He is an avid grower of
hellebores and cyclamen. He visits wild populations of hellebores every year and has recently
developed a very good seed list.
www.broughtonnursery.co.uk

Chris and Rita Vermeire-Engels: Chris Vermeire has produced some wonderful hybrids in Belgium,
many involving species such as Helleborus torquatus. A gallery of plants can be viewed on the site.
www.veen-helleborus.be

Graham Birkin: Mr. Birkin is recognized as one of the best hybridizers of the past few decades. Many of
his plants derived from those of Helen Ballard. He supplies divisions of plants to the US through a
supplier near Washington D.C.
http://hellebores.hort.net/homepage.html

Hazles Cross Farm Nursery: Mike Byford has worked to stabilize lines of Helleborus x hybridus and
has some excellent plants, but also grows hellebore species and hybrids involving H. niger. He also
grows trilliums and other specialty perennials and woodlanders:
Hollins Lane
Kingsley
Staffs ST10 2EP
tel: 01538 752669
email mikebyford@hazlescrossfarmnursery.co.uk

Phedar Nursery: Will McLewin has long established himself as one of the most knowledgeable
figures in the world when it comes to hellebores. He has visited wild populations for years, and also
grows many hybrids. He has published several articles on the genus. Phedar is the best source to
date for species seed, and its gardens are unparallelled in genetic diversity.
www.phedar.com

Australia

Elizabeth Town Hellebores: John and Corrie Dudley produce hybrids and offer seed via mail order. It is
a very good source for seed from double plants and is the source of hybrids involving the proven
parent 'Mrs. Betty Ranicar', a very good white double cultivar. Their nursery is located in Elizabeth
Town, Tasmania.
http://www.southcom.com.au/~hortus/

Post Office Farm Nursery: Probably one of the best sources for hellebores in Australia, Post Office
Farm has accumulated a wonderful assortment of stock plants for hybridizing. Their website is also
nicely organized and informative.
www.postofficefarmnursery.com.au

Japan

Noda Engei: A nursery in western Tokyo specializing in hellebores and camellias.
http://www.nodaengei.com

Wakaizumi Helleborus Farm: Beautiful artistic photos of some incredible plants. Information in
Japanese.
http://www.wakaizumi-farm.com


Informative Websites and Forums

www.hellebore.com
Graham Rice's site is still one of the more informative on hellebores. The information follows that in
the Rice and Strangman book The Gardener's Guide to Growing Hellebores but in several cases is
more up to date. The site is particularly useful for those interested in the history of named cultivars; it
also includes a species section and information on hellebore culture and propagation.

www.gardenbuddies.com
Gardenbuddies has one of the most active Hellebore forums on the web, and in my opinion is the best
in English. Its format allows for images and text together in the same thread and is quite easy to use.
Gardeners of all abilities including several experts visit the forums regularly. It is the source of a wealth
of information and is a great place to share photos and information. The archives represent one of the
best resources on hellebores anywhere. Perhaps best of all, it is very much like a community. People
are respectful while not afraid to discuss challenging topics.

www.gardenweb.com
Site of one of the oldest Hellebore forums and still occasionally active.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hellebore
An active group with contributing members of all sorts, including several notable figures in the
hellebore world. Very good for sharing information but like Gardenweb, is not the best format for
sharing images and information together. Registration is also required to view messages. The
community seems very cooperative and willing to discuss all aspects of hellebores. It also has a seed
exchange every summer, which is an added bonus.

http://www.perennialnursery.com/forums
A relatively new hellebore forum but one that is certain to become a great place to view some very nice
hellebore photos and have interesting discussions.

http://www.helleborus-chris.com
The homepage for the Japanese Helleborus Society. Most of the information is in Japanese, but there
is also a small English section. This is a great place to browse as it contains many wonderful links to
exquisite photos of very nice hellebores.

http://www.helleborus.be
A well-structured and informative Belgian site. Information also in English

http://ohgi-nursery.seesaa.net
Very interesting archives with photos. Discussions and information in Japanese.

Books

Ahlburg, Marlene. Hellebores: Christmas Rose, Lenton Rose. B T Batsford Ltd, 1993. Out of print.

Burrell and Tyler: Hellebores: A Comprehensive Guide. Timber Press: Portland, Oregon, 2006.

Mathew, Brian. Hellebores, 1989.  One of the best books on hellebores to date but unfortunately out of
print and very hard to find.

Schmiemann and Westrich. Helen Ballard, The Hellebore Queen. Florilegium, 1997. Out of print.

Strangman and Rice. The Gardener's Guide to Growing Hellebores. Timber Press: Portland, Oregon,
2001

Articles

McLewin, Will. "Hellebore Notes", 2002.
Available from Phedar Nursery. A 44 page pamphlet that serves as a very nice introduction to the    
genus. It is also quite an entertaining read in places.
42, Bunkers Hill
Romiley
Stockport
UK
SK6 3DS
Telephone number +44 161 430 3772
Fax number +44 161 430 3772

Anyone with a serious interest in the genus may want to obtain copies of the series of articles by Will
McLewin and Brian Mathew that have appeared in The Plantsman/New Plantsman. Back issues are
available through the Royal Horticultural Society: theplantsman@rhspublications.co.uk


Speciation in Acaulescent Hellebores", The New Plantsman. 3:3,
September 1996. 170-177.









General interest sites

American Horticultural Society: General information about many aspects of gardening, along with
useful resources and links.
www.ahs.org

Ranunculaceae Society: International organization based in Ireland devoted to promoting members of
the buttercup family. Some information on hellebores.
www.ranunculaceae.org