This selection of different cultivars of Lenten rose contains plants that produce creamy white, rose, and purple (almost black) flowers, often with purple dots on the sepals. The showy parts of the "flower" are actually sepals, and they will remain on the plant well into midsummer. During an exceptionally mild winter, the foliage will remain evergreen in Chicago gardens.

This species is widespread from northern Greece and Turkey eastward to the Caucasus region. Across this geographic range, a number of color forms can be found that can (and often do) hybridize freely with each other in garden settings, producing a wonderful array of flowers.