Helleborus (genus)

Japanese name: ヘレボルス
Scientific name: Helleborus

[Overview]
A perennial.
The leaves are basal, divided in a bird's-foot pattern, leathery and toothed.
They have long petioles.
The flowers are borne in cymes, and what look like petals are sepals.
The true petals have changed into small tubular nectaries that surround the many stamens in a ring.
The fruit is a follicle.
Many species are said to be poisonous in all parts and to contain cardiac glycosides with a burning taste, and care is needed because the sap can cause inflammation if it gets on the skin.

[Cultivation]
Propagate by division or from seed.
A fertile, well-drained place that receives sun from autumn to spring and is shaded in summer is suitable.
It grows from autumn to spring and becomes semi-dormant during hot, humid periods.
Overly wet conditions cause the roots to rot, so keep it slightly on the dry side throughout the year.
Water when the soil surface dries, but during dormancy hold back on watering, just short of letting it become extremely dry.
Fertilize only from winter to spring, giving liquid fertilizer once every 10 days.
Frost and cold wind damage the leaves, so care is needed.
If you do not intend to collect seed, pinch off the flowers at the neck after flowering so that the plant does not become exhausted.
In early winter, when new leaves emerge, cut off the old leaves at the base.
Pests and diseases include gray mold and black spot.

[Notes]
The Japanese name Kurisumasu-rozu (Christmas rose) originally refers to Helleborus niger, but most of the plants sold generally as Christmas roses are hybrids.

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