As perennials show up in sales at local garden centers, you might want to think about buying plants that will add winter interest to the landscape. The hellebore, also known as Christmas or Lenten rose, is an evergreen that prefers partial to full shade. It requires little care, is deer and rabbit repellent, and has few insect or disease problems.

Hellebores, hardy in Zones 4 to 9, are a 15- to 18-inch groundcover with shiny, dark-green foliage. The coarse-textured, dissected foliage combines especially well with the delicate foliage of ferns, the more rounded foliage of hostas, and smaller-leafed perennials and shrubs.

Most species bloom between December and late April, and they stay in bloom for a month or longer. The blossoms are 3- to 4-inch drooping, cup-shaped flowers that are close to the ground — a characteristic that is a survival mechanism against snow, sleet and rain.

The petals of the hellebore are actually sepals that do not drop as readily as other flowers so they can last for a couple of months. The foliage remains attractive into summer, so mass plantings are appropriate. Once established, hellebores readily tolerate drought. Under extreme drought conditions, established plants may droop, but they quickly perk up again after watering, with no damage to the foliage.

Hellebores are long-lived plants, and rarely need division. They are heavy feeders that need most of their nutrients in the spring and summer. Time-release fertilizer, applied in the spring and late summer, will carry the plants into full bloom.

Some varieties of hellebores:

• H. argutifolius (Corsican Hellebore) is a robust plant, either erect or sprawling, 2 or 3 inches tall and wide with blue green sharply divided leaves and pale green cup shaped flowers. Leafy stems carry clusters of 2-inch pale green flowers from winter to spring. Best varieties are ‘Janet Starnes’ or ‘Pacific Frost’.

• H. niger (Christmas Rose) is a traditional cottage garden plant. This elegant, 1-foot tall and wide plant, blooms from Christmas to spring. Dark green leaves are divided into seven to nine lobes. White clusters of delicate flowers turn pinkish with age. New double pink hybrids are now available.

These plants need more shade than other hellebores. This is probably the cold hardiest of all the species. The most well-known variety is ‘Potter’s Wheel’ an exceptionally large flowering strain, with flowers up to 5 inches.

• H. orientalis (Lenten Rose) is the most popular hellebore, forming a clump 2 to 3 feet tall and wide. Basal leaves have five to 11 sharply toothed leaves with no obvious stems. It blooms late winter to spring. Flowers are 2 to 4 inches wide and range in color from pinks, greens, creams, and purples. Many flowers are spotted with deep purple depending on the hybrid.

This plant is easy to transplant and readily self-sows.

Learn more about hellebores at https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/yard-garden/hellebores/.

Submit gardening questions to csumg2@elpasoco.com or call 719-520-7684. The help desk is open 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays at 17 N. Spruce St. Find us on Facebook at Colorado Master Gardeners – El Paso County.