Helleborus HGC® Jesko Hellebore

A member of the Gold Collection® series, Helleborus HGC® Jesko is an evergreen perennial offering year-round interest. Heavy and long blooming from early winter (as early as November or Christmas time in warm regions) to mid-spring, HGC Jesko sets large white flowers with a tuft of golden-yellow stamens. The flowers tinge pink in cool weather and turn pale creamy green as they finish. Borne singly on short, sturdy stems above a basal roseate of leathery dark green leaves, the upright to outward-facing flowers last a long time, sustain early emerging bees, and make cute kitchen table bouquets or lovely additions to cut floral arrangements.

This herbaceous plant, also known as Christmas rose or hellebore, HGC Jesko has a very compact, clumping, spreading habit and moderately vigorous growth rate. Hellebor is shown to best effect when massed or grouped in beds, borders, and patio pots or under a high-branched deciduous tree or large shrub, protected from strong winter winds. The plant makes a lovely ground cover that will naturalize, slowly spreading via rhizomatous roots. It also self-seeds in ideal growing conditions but will not become invasive.

Cold hardy, easy to grow, and low maintenance, hellebore grows best in dappled to full shade locations with organically rich, moist, well-draining soil, having an alkaline pH. However, it grows well in most soils, including chalk, clay, and loam, and in most growing conditions. Jesko prefers some winter sun and is drought tolerant once established, but it will not tolerate extremely wet, waterlogged soils.