Wedding Party® Blushing Bridesmaid Lenten Rose

Size

A very special hellebore to spark up your sun-challenged winter beds and containers, Wedding Party Blushing Bridesmaid brings corsage-worthy blooms to the party. Against deep green dissected foliage, flowers with double-layered blooms are lined with burgundy, making a ruffled effect. Dainty streaks of raspberry filter into the central ivory flare and chartreuse stamens. Blooming for up to six weeks, they also last well as a cut flower, and look amazing floating in a bowl like a lotus blossom on a pond. They will be a magnet for bees in the winter, who venture out on balmy days scouting for pollen. However, the deer and rabbits will leave them undisturbed, letting you enjoy the beautiful foliage year-round. Hellebores are reliable, easy-care perennials that get bigger and better with each year. Blushing Bridesmaid grows in an upright form, spreading about 18 to 24 inches tall and wide, and will be a great container subject for winter color and evergreen foliage support, or massed in the shaded border. She is part of the Wedding Party series of hellebore hybrids, from the group that blooms near the Christian observance of Lent, hence the name Lenten Rose. Wedding Party® Blushing Bridesmaid Lenten Rose Care Like other hellebores, Blushing Bridesmaid is an accommodating, long-lived addition to your garden beds and containers. The ideal situation is in partial to full shade, in neutral or alkaline soil, of average to fertile quality. Hellebores are salt- and drought-tolerant, though its important to water regularly the first two years to establish the root system. Top-dressing with a couple of scoops of compost in early spring or a slow-release granular fertilizer in a container should be enough to encourage happy growth and blooming. The only trimming needed is to remove any unsightly leaves before bloom; this discourages spread of disease and shows the flowers to best effect. Wedding Party® Blushing Bridesmaid Lenten Rose Spacing For enough elbow room, give Blushing Bridesmaid about 24 inches on the dance floor to strut her stuff.