Deck the halls with... hellebores
The sustainable plant for the holidays
Is there anything more joyous than decorating the house for the holiday season? From putting up the tree and switching on fairy lights to unpacking ornaments and decorating everything with tinsel, it’s a wonderful time of year.
But welcoming nature inside at Christmas can be problematic. Mistletoe and holly are fun for a while but quickly shrivel and die. One of the most popular plants of the season – the poinsettia – fares little better.
Indigenous to Mexico and Central America, this red-leafed beauty usually makes it through Christmas but, by the new year, is often consigned to the bin along with leftover turkey and unwanted gifts. Once this tender plant’s splash of color fades, it’s as welcome as the pair of socks from a distant aunt.
Syngenta stopped producing poinsettias three years ago, preferring to concentrate on sustainable Christmas plants that are suitable for both home and garden. The star of the show is the ‘Christmas Carol’, guaranteed to brighten up the dreariest day with its shining white flowers and strong dark green leaves.
Christmas Carol hellebores are a sustainable holiday plant that are suitable for both home and garden.
Christmas Carol hellebores are a sustainable holiday plant that are suitable for both home and garden.
“The helleborus is a much more sustainable and manageable crop for us but also for the consumer,” says Steve Waters, Product Manager Perennials at Syngenta Flowers. “There is that element of reusability because it turns from a pot plant into a garden plant.”
A plant is for life, not just for Christmas
While Syngenta has been developing hellebores (the botanical name for the Christmas Carol is Helleborus niger) for more than two decades, the popularity of its Christmas Carol series has gathered pace thanks to its early flowering and compact foliage. Traditionally, the nodding flowers on hellebores don’t emerge until late winter or early spring, and some types can grow to three feet tall.
Two years ago, two new Christmas Carol varieties were launched, ‘Christmas Carol Early’, which flowers on average two weeks before the classic version, and ‘Christmas Carol Compact’, suitable for smaller pots on indoor tables as well as balconies and terraces.
Waters says: “The ‘Early’ is doing very well and is fast becoming the new standard. The reason for also breeding the ‘Compact’ was to go into a more mass-market application, smaller product form offer. Major volumes are being switched between the original Christmas Carol and the new Christmas Carol Early.”
In addition, both the Early and the Compact varieties need far fewer plant growth regulators. This means that growers require fewer chemicals, adding to the plant’s environmentally-friendly credentials.
At Gardening Express, a leading online garden center in the UK, the Christmas Carol is one of its top sellers.
Chris Bonnett, Founder of Gardening Express, says: “We source it from a major grower in the Netherlands, and last year we sold over 40,000 of them between mid-November and the end of December alone, so it’s clearly a hit with our customers.
"What makes Christmas Carol so special is its early and abundant flowering. Many traditional hellebores don’t bloom until January, but Christmas Carol reliably produces beautiful flowers in time for the festive season. This makes it perfect for gardeners who want an eye-catching display over Christmas, or for anyone looking for a thoughtful, long-lasting gift.”
The Christmas Carol Compact is suitable for smaller pots on indoor tables.
The Christmas Carol Compact is suitable for smaller pots on indoor tables.
Chris Bonnett, Founder of Gardening Express, says the Christmas Carol has been 'a hit with our customers'.
Chris Bonnett, Founder of Gardening Express, says the Christmas Carol has been 'a hit with our customers'.
A plant is for life, not just for Christmas
While Syngenta has been developing hellebores (the botanical name for the Christmas Carol is Helleborus niger) for more than two decades, the popularity of its Christmas Carol series has gathered pace thanks to its early flowering and compact foliage. Traditionally, the nodding flowers on hellebores don’t emerge until late winter or early spring, and some types can grow to three feet tall.
Two years ago, two new Christmas Carol varieties were launched, ‘Christmas Carol Early’, which flowers on average two weeks before the classic version, and ‘Christmas Carol Compact’, suitable for smaller pots on indoor tables as well as balconies and terraces.
Waters says: “The ‘Early’ is doing very well and is fast becoming the new standard. The reason for also breeding the ‘Compact’ was to go into a more mass-market application, smaller product form offer. Major volumes are being switched between the original Christmas Carol and the new Christmas Carol Early.”
In addition, both the Early and the Compact varieties need far fewer plant growth regulators. This means that growers require fewer chemicals, adding to the plant’s environmentally-friendly credentials.
At Gardening Express, a leading online garden center in the UK, the Christmas Carol is one of its top sellers.
Chris Bonnett, Founder of Gardening Express, says: “We source it from a major grower in the Netherlands, and last year we sold over 40,000 of them between mid-November and the end of December alone, so it’s clearly a hit with our customers.
"What makes Christmas Carol so special is its early and abundant flowering. Many traditional hellebores don’t bloom until January, but Christmas Carol reliably produces beautiful flowers in time for the festive season. This makes it perfect for gardeners who want an eye-catching display over Christmas, or for anyone looking for a thoughtful, long-lasting gift.”
The Christmas Carol Compact is suitable for smaller pots on indoor tables.
The Christmas Carol Compact is suitable for smaller pots on indoor tables.
Chris Bonnett, Founder of Gardening Express, says the Christmas Carol has been 'a hit with our customers'.
Chris Bonnett, Founder of Gardening Express, says the Christmas Carol has been 'a hit with our customers'.
Holiday cheer
On average, 90 percent of the Christmas Carol series flowers before mid-December. Christine Besson, Campaigns Manager at Syngenta Flowers, says: “I love that you can have it in your house for two weeks before the Christmas period and then, afterwards, you can enjoy it in your garden. And it comes back every year.”
Unlike poinsettias, hellebores are extremely hardy plants, tolerant of temperatures as low as minus 34 degrees Celsius. These conditions may seem extreme but bitterly cold climates are not uncommon. In Canada, for example, much of the country will see minus 20 degrees during the winter.
And, provided hellebores are placed in moist, free-draining soil, they are easy to maintain, with their flowers providing valuable nectar for early pollinators.
Martine Klasen, Product Marketing Communications at Syngenta, creates a seasonal arrangement with a Christmas Carol.
Martine Klasen, Product Marketing Communications at Syngenta, creates a seasonal arrangement with a Christmas Carol.
Hellebores are extremely hardy plants, tolerant of temperatures as low as minus 34 degrees Celsius.
Hellebores are extremely hardy plants, tolerant of temperatures as low as minus 34 degrees Celsius.
Lee Burkhill, also known as Garden Ninja, is an award-winning garden designer and TV presenter, including for the BBC’s popular Garden Rescue show. He describes hellebores as “winter plant heroes”.
“While everything else has retreated, they're producing gorgeous flowers from December through to the early spring, with very little work from us gardeners,” says Burkhill.
“The Christmas Carol series is brilliant because they flower reliably in time for Christmas, providing that winter cheer when you need it most. Plus, they're crucial for early pollinators such as bees emerging on warmer winter days and in desperate need of nectar sources. Hellebores deliver when almost nothing else is flowering."
Lee Burkhill, an award-winning garden designer and TV presenter.
Lee Burkhill, an award-winning garden designer and TV presenter.
Waters adds: “The Christmas Carol makes a wonderful gift. Poinsettias are given as gifts, but are they gifts that people remember fondly? Probably not, because it died on them last year and will probably do so again this year. But the Christmas Carol is just like Christmas itself in that it comes back every year and greets you with a smile.”
The Christmas Carol is easy to maintain outside, with its flowers providing valuable nectar for early pollinators.
The Christmas Carol is easy to maintain outside, with its flowers providing valuable nectar for early pollinators.
Furthermore, given that hellebores happily brave chilly weather and can be planted outside after festivities have ended, embracing this sustainable Christmas plant mirrors the increasing trend of buying real Christmas trees - with roots - which can later be transferred to the garden.
Burkhill says: “The throwaway culture around festive plants drives me mad. We buy millions of poinsettias every Christmas, then chuck them in the bin come January. Christmas Carol hellebores are the perfect sustainable alternative, as you get that festive color indoors, but then get to plant them outside in January, where they'll come back bigger and better for decades, which is far less wasteful and helps Mother Nature too.”
So, it’s no wonder that the Christmas Carol is fast becoming a popular plant for the holidays. Tis the season to be sustainable, after all.
🎥 Create a stunning Helleborus Christmas Carol display.
🎥 Create a stunning Helleborus Christmas Carol display.
🎥 How to plant your Helleborus outside.
🎥 How to plant your Helleborus outside.
