Helleborus 'Liara'
Hellebore 'Liara'
Helleborus x lemperii 'HGC Liara'
Hybrid Lenten Rose 'Liara'
USDA Zone 6a
Like most hellebores, 'Liara' grows in a compact fashion with mounds of relatively large leathery dark green foliage that are just as showy as the flowers. They are hardy & perennial for many years. 'Liara' blooms earlier than the typical hellebore -- in November, December, & January, & can last until April. The flowers are a light rose pink with reverse petals that ae flushed with a darker pink color. Just when you thought cut flower season was over, Hellebores come in with winter options for any arrangement.
If harvesting blooms for a vase arrangement wait until the stamens have dropped off & the seed pods have started to form. They may be slightly less attractive, but they will last longer.
At maturity 'Liara' will get to a height of 13-24" & should be spaced 18-24" when planted in the ground.
Hellebores do well planted in container gardens, as well.
SUN
Partial to full shade.
SOIL
Hellebores will adapt to many types of soil. Most importantly is that the soil is kept evenly moist, but not soggy & well drained.
Plant in beds or as border plants. They thrive when planted under deciduous trees & shrubs.
MAINTENANCE
Remove faded, damaged, or dead foliage when the flowers appear. Cut back spent flower stems. Never allow plants to become completely dry & avoid water logged conditions.
COMMON PROBLEMS
with 'Liara' include black rot & black death. These cause black streaking & mottling between veins & black marks in a ringspot pattern down the leaf stalks.
PROPAGATION
You can propagate 'Liara' one of three ways; through division, by rhizomes, or by seed.
Division: divide one plant into multiple plants after flowering in spring.
Rhizomes: after the hellebore has flowered & been divided, split the rhizomes into pieces to regrow.
Seed: seeds can be sown as soon as they are harvested.
- If you plant your hellebore in the ground, try & find a spot where it can be left undisturbed for multiple seasons. Most hellebores do readilly seed in the garden by open pollination. These offspring are inferior to their parents as some traits (like variegated leaves) never transfer to the seedlings. Even more so, the seeded hellebores sometimes take 3 to 4 years to bloom. If you are patient once your hellebores have been dividing & multiplying for 3 or 4 years in the same area, you will have a stunning sea of hellebore blooms.
BONUS
Attracts bees & are great additions to pollinator gardens.
Deer & rabbit resistant.
Very cold hardy.
WARNING: Hellebores are known to be poisonous if ingested & may irritate skin.
**Our plants have yet to bloom. The picture of the hellebore flower was taken by ElderFlowerSquishyBoots. All rights reserved.
- Immerse the pot/root ball in water shortly before planting until the air bubbles stop rising to the surface. This means the root ball is saturated with water & ready for planting.
- Dig a hole approximately double the size of the current root ball.
- Loosen the soil at the bottom of the hole to a good depth.
- Remove the plant from the pot & plant it so deeply that the top of the root ball is lightly covered with soil. Then press down the soil around the plant.
- Water in after planting.
SPACING IS IMPORTANT
Space the plants 80 cm apart because the plants will grow strongly in their second year, requiring more space.