A new and distinct cultivar of Helleborus plant named ‘HL 1036’ characterized by its upright to somewhat outwardly spreading and mounded plant habit; moderately vigorous to vigorous growth habit; dark green-colored leaflets with lighter green-colored venation; freely flowering habit; purplish red-colored flowers; and good garden performance.

STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY INVENTOR/APPLICANT

A European Community Plant Breeder's Rights application for the instant plant was filed by the Inventor/Applicant, Mr. Josef Heuger of Glandorf, Germany, on Dec. 1, 2022, application number 2022/2765. Foreign priority is not claimed to this application.

The Inventor/Applicant asserts that no publications nor advertisements relating to sales, offers for sale or public distribution occurred more than one year prior to the effective filing date of this application. Any information about the claimed plant would have been obtained from a direct or indirect disclosure from the Inventor or Applicant. Inventor/Applicant claims a prior art exception under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(1) for disclosure and/or sales prior to the filing date but less than one year prior to the effective filing date.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Helleborus plant, botanically known as Helleborus niger X Helleborus x hybridus and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘HL 1036’.

The new Helleborus plant is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Glandorf, Germany. The objective of the breeding program was to create new uniform Helleborus plants with unique and attractive plant habit, leaf and flower coloration and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses.

The new Helleborus plant originated from a cross-pollination conducted by the Inventor in Glandorf, Germany in December 2014 of a proprietary selection of Helleborus niger identified as code number P881, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent and a proprietary selection of Helleborus x hybridus identified as code number O1489, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Helleborus plant was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant from within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination grown in a controlled greenhouse environment in Glandorf, Germany in December 2016.

Asexual reproduction of the new Helleborus plant by in vitro axillary meristem culture in a controlled environment in Glandorf, Germany since April 2017 has shown that the unique features of this new Helleborus plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Plants of the new Helleborus have not been observed under all possible combinations of environmental conditions and cultural practices. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environmental conditions such as temperature and light intensity without, however, any variance in genotype.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of ‘HL 1036’. These characteristics in combination distinguish ‘HL 1036’ as a new and distinct Helleborus plant:

Plants of the new Helleborus differ from plants of the female parent selection in the following characteristics:

Plants of the new Helleborus differ from plants of the male parent selection in the following characteristics:

Plants of the new Helleborus can also be compared to plants of Helleborus niger ‘COSEH210’, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 21,048. In side-by-side comparisons, plants of the new Helleborus differ primarily from plants of ‘COSEH210’ in the following characteristics:

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The aforementioned photographs and following observations, measurements and values describe plants grown during the autumn in 17-cm containers in a glass-covered greenhouse in Glandorf, Germany and under cultural practices typical of commercial Helleborus production. During the production of the plants, day temperatures ranged from 12 C to 32 C and night temperatures ranged from 5 C to 12 C. Plants were 48 weeks old when the photographs were taken and 14 months old when the description was taken. In the following description, color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, 2015 Edition, except where general terms of ordinary dictionary significance are used.