Breck's

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Behind the Beauty:

Get to know the Breck’s family of growers and hybridizers.

Theo Janssen

Hellborus Breeder

For our friends at the van der Meijs nursery in Geldern, Germany, hellebore breeding is a passion—and the family business. Three generations of van der Meijs hybridizers had a hand in creating these remarkable king-size hellebores. But offering them to home gardeners is not what they originally had in mind. Back in the 1960s, their objective was different—to develop a bigger, taller hellebore for the cut-flower industry. They started with a Helleborus niger cultivar called 'Christmas Glory', and their breeding efforts eventually resulted in bigger, more floriferous plants. They could have stopped there, but we're so glad they didn't. The van der Meijs family took what they learned from their cut-flower hybrids, and shifted their focus to Helleborus orientalis, a favourite species of hellebore gardeners. And now Breck's is proud to present this line of king-size hellebores to American gardeners. Current breeding work is being done by Theo Janssen, who continues the legacy that Erik van der Meijs' grandfather started. The oldest plants in the van der Meijs nursery are over 40 years old and produce no less than 50 stems each! WOW! Hellebores are the result of over 50 years of careful breeding. Single and double blooms up to 4" across will stand tall and strong atop 24-28" stems. This makes them better for cut arrangements than traditional hellebores—just one more reason to love them! Each collection features king-size hellebores that look amazing in garden groupings, cute containers, or growing among your bleeding hearts, cyclamen and hostas.