That's so pretty!

That's a nice one Carol, was it a chance seedling?

It was a purchased named cultivar! It's been close to ten years for it to reach the current size. Many heavily spotted hellebores have some green sepals or unequal distribution of the markings. This one is very uniform.

This is one of the driest flower beds and that's one reason it survived. The total normal annual precipitation was doubled last year, at 106 ". And that is not the first year of excessive wetness. Seedlings survived but many mature plants with large root systems simply rotted off.

Well, it appears to have lots of babies under it ;)

I have one that could be its twin!! Mine is from the Winter Jewels 'Painted' series. Although the xhybridus types are not my faves, I really like the ones with dark blotching or freckling. I have another that is a golden yellow with maroon freckling - Winter Jewels 'Golden Sunrise'.

I'd add photos but it is still dark out......maybe later :-)

106" is a LOT of rain!! It is no wonder that many plants could not withstand that sort of deluge. That is a rain forest quantity in my neck of the woods!

And people think Seattle is wet......we only got 35.5 inches last year!! And we are about 4" behind normal so far for 2019.

Many homeowners here are having drainage issues. Natural springs have been flowing over street surfaces! We really need to dry out. Water seeping out of the ground constantly isn't good.

A little four-year old boy stopped at my garden and looked at the hellebore flowers. He noticed that most of the flowers were pendant, hanging down , then posed a question.

" Are they sad ?" he asked. I had such a chuckle over that.

I need to dig up some seedlings and either pot them or transplant soon before warm weather hits. I will post pictures of some nice seedlings beneath a huge old red maple ( Acer rubrum).

The instructors at Longwood mentioned that hellebores could grow beneath the network of maple roots if seeds were scattered there. I can attest to that! It's amazing.

I will try to locate the label on the heavily spotted hellebore. It had an exact name... so not a variation or seed strain.

I am having trouble posting some of my pictures. They must be too large and when uploaded they are not sited properly, are sideways. This is one seedling beneath the maple.

carol... I love your 'Blotched' one. I have one I bought at Pine Knot a few years ago that is so much that way that it looks more like a dark maroon with a tiny picotee white edge. Not open yet this year but I'll try to get a photo.

There are two very similar hellebores in the same bed. I found a label on the other and it's an O'Byrne hybrid , It has taken some years for the plant to mature but was worth the wait for the explosion of flowers. I appreciate the color contrast in each flower. They don't need a companion plant to draw attention.

Wow, your blotched hellebore is gorgeous! I love its contrast in colors. May have to find these to buy. Can you recommend a source? I don't see these offered at my local garden centers.

https://hirts.com/ice-follies-winter-thrillers-christmas-rose-helleborus-3-pot/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI05aGnbrJ4QIVsP_jBx3SMg9fEAQYBCABEgI-7_D_BwE

I looked on line and found a source. I haven 't ordered from them so you should check out reviews. These are very small pots. My original plant was larger than that and has taken many years to reach its current size.

The time to plant them is during cooler weather!

Thanks, Carol! I will take a look.

Gorgeous flower! I have two I have to move as they are not getting enough sun to bloom. The labels, like the one above, show shade to part sun. So mine have been almost entirely in shade.