Christmas rose (Helleborus niger) profile

Christmas Rose, scientific name Helleborus niger is a perennial plant with buds blooming in winter and spring. Christmas Rose is suitable for outdoor planting in warm areas. The soil should be loose and fertile, preferably mixed with some peat. Christmas Rose like a sparse shade environment, vigorous growth stage, timely topdressing. If the sowing method is adopted to propagate Christmas roses, it is usually carried out in autumn, and the seedlings need 4 years of cultivation before they can blossom.

Christmas rose picture

Morphological features of Christmas rose

Christmas rose (Helleborus niger) is an evergreen perennial herb. Stem is 23-30 cm high, leaves dark green, leathery, bird - foot - shaped. Flowers of Christmas rose are cup-shaped, waxy, white, occasionally pink, open late winter to early spring.

The ecological habits of Christmas rose

It's not easy to grow Christmas rose (Helleborus niger) well, because acid soil, dry and poor conditions and full light are not suitable for it. Christmas rose is suitable for planting in moist, humus-rich alkaline soil, and preferably in areas with scattered light.

Christmas rose growing methods

Soil requirements

Christmas Rose (Helleborus niger) is strong in growth and has strong adaptability, cold resistance and early resistance, and is not strict in soil requirements. It likes sunny, cool, well ventilated and well drained soil. Christmas rose (Helleborus niger) grows best in fertile neutral or slightly acidic light loam soil. The roots are mainly distributed in the range of 15-50 cm. The flowering period is in spring, and then decreases significantly.

Engraftment

Christmas rose (Helleborus niger) splitting methods can be planted in spring and autumn, and it is better to transplant the seedlings propagated by cutting and burying strips in autumn. Transplanting density row spacing of 2 m, plant spacing of 1.5 m.When digging, apply sufficient base fertilizer to decomposed organic fertilizer as well.

Field management

In the north, after thawing in spring, combined with soil cultivation, and after falling leaves in autumn, fertilizer is applied once respectively. And a proper amount of nitrogen phosphate potassium fertilizer or compound fertilizer. Early winter irrigation a frozen water, usually in the drought, especially in the severe spring drought should also be watered. Christmas rose pruning can be done simply by cutting off the thin, white-stalked branches behind the flowers, and by cutting off the squeezed branches after falling leaves in winter.

Harvest

Christmas rose (Helleborus niger) are harvested at different times for different purposes. Such medicinal flowers should be in the bud fully expanded, but not yet open when the harvest ;Fresh cut Christmas rose flowers can be collected when the buds are just opening; When eating, you can choose between fully expanded buds to fully open, and pay attention to the time of harvest. 

For the above open cultivation, Christmas rose can also be planted in protected areas, and certain technical measures, such as dwarfing and close planting treatment, making them more branched, and controlling cultivation time, can significantly increase the yield of roses, and the perennial flowering period is continuous, and its economic benefits are more considerable. 

Christmas rose propagation 

There are many propagation methods of Christmas Rose (Helleborus niger), which are mainly dividing and cutting. Planting more than spring, autumn, every 2-4 years, depending on the growth of the plant. Christmas rose cutting propagation, the south with hard branches, tender branches, the former in spring to choose 2 years old branches for mud inserted, the latter in summer selected in the shade of the seedling bed cuttings.In the north, more shoots are inserted, carried out in a cold bed and kept in a high humidity state. In addition, grafting and burying of Christmas rose propagation can also be used for propagation. The planting method is suitable for the arid area of North China. It can be carried out from deciduous leaves to the next spring before germination, and the earlier is better. 

Disease control of Christmas rose

There are not many diseases and insect pests in Christmas rose (Helleborus niger), mainly including rust, corruga, scarab, leather worm, aphid, etc., which can be controlled by efficient, low toxicity and low residue safe pesticides before or after flowering.

The flower language of Christmas rose

Christmas rose (Helleborus niger) flower language: Hesitation