Plant Library

Other Names:  Lenten Rose, Winter Rose, Hellebore

Description:

Cup-shaped dangling white flowers emerge in mid to late winter, one of the first flowers to come up in cool weather and a harbinger of spring; an excellent addition to indoor containers

Features & Attributes

Christmas Rose features showy nodding creamy white cup-shaped flowers with yellow eyes at the ends of the stems from late winter to early spring. Its glossy oval compound leaves remain bluish-green in color throughout the year.

This is an herbaceous evergreen houseplant with an upright spreading habit of growth. This plant may benefit from an occasional pruning to look its best.

Planting & Growing

When grown indoors, Christmas Rose can be expected to grow to be about 18 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 18 inches. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 5 years. This houseplant performs well in both bright or indirect sunlight and strong artificial light, and can therefore be situated in almost any well-lit room or location. It does best in average to evenly moist soil, but will not tolerate standing water. The surface of the soil shouldn't be allowed to dry out completely, and so you should expect to water this plant once and possibly even twice each week. Be aware that your particular watering schedule may vary depending on its location in the room, the pot size, plant size and other conditions; if in doubt, ask one of our experts in the store for advice. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soil. Contact the store for specific recommendations on pre-mixed potting soil for this plant. Be warned that parts of this plant are known to be toxic to humans and animals, so special care should be exercised if growing it around children and pets.

There are many factors that will affect the ultimate height, spread and overall performance of a plant when grown indoors; among them, the size of the pot it's growing in, the amount of light it receives, watering frequency, the pruning regimen and repotting schedule. Use the information described here as a guideline only; individual performance can and will vary. Please contact the store to speak with one of our experts if you are interested in further details concerning recommendations on pot size, watering, pruning, repotting, etc.

-- THIS IS A HOUSEPLANT AND IS NOT MEANT TO SURVIVE THE WINTER OUTDOORS IN OUR CLIMATE --