Christmas Rose Flower Seed

Season: Perennial
Zones: 4 - 8
Height: 12 - 18"
Bloom Color: White
Bloom Season: Early Winter to Early Spring
Environment: Partial Shade
Soil Requirement: Moist, well drained

The Christmas Rose (Helleborus Niger) has a rugged, coarse-textured, leathery, shiny green foliage that remains attractive year-round. A stemless, herbaceous ground cover that reaches 12 - 18" tall and spreads about the same across. Christmas Rose blooms early winter to early spring with white flowers that might be tinged with pink. It is a perfect addition to give a garden some winter color.

Lining the edges of a sidewalk or garden path is a job that they perform remarkably well, especially since they must be observed up close to be fully appreciated. Foot traffic is not recommended. The plant is poisonous, so it is not recommended to use as a cutting if you have pets that like to nibble on flowers.

If sowing the flower seed outdoors, sow in the fall. The seeds require a cold treatment to germinate. You can either sow them where you will be planting or sow in pots, and then bring them in after a month or so of freezing weather. This will encourage them to germ quickly. Prior to sowing indoors, freeze seeds for 3-6 weeks to break dormancy, then plant in a seed starting medium. When the plant is around 2 inches tall, transplant to the permanent place. Can take up to 3 years for the plant to flower.

Approximately 10 seeds makes one full plant.