When can i plant helleborus

That being said they will tolerate almost full sun to almost full shade but prefer partial shade. Helleborus perennial flowers in late winter to very early spring. Here in NC, my plants have been flowering since January.

I currently have dozens of plants in bloom. The flowers are very long lasting and also make great cut flowers for indoors. For other very early spring bloomers, see this post.

Be careful when you fertilize. If you choose a fertilizer with too much nitrogen in the formula, you will end up with lots of lush leaves but now so many flowers. Bonemeal fertilizer in the fall is recommended. The plant will benefit from additions of organic matter such as compost at planting time and again yearly.

So, either keep the seeds in the fridge for that time before trying to plant, or else, plant outdoors in the fall where the cold period will happen naturally. Seedlings may not end up true to parent, and may need to be thinned out. One of the beauties of this plant is that it self seeds readily, so one plant is likely to become many in a few years.

The flowers of existing will produce large amounts of seeds which can drop and will produce lots of seedlings in years to come. The seedlings may vary from the parent.

Overgrown clumps of Hellebores can be divided in early spring or in the fall for more plants for free. Like any plant, hellebores can look pretty tattered after a hard winter. Old foliage can safely be removed in early spring after frost ends to tidy up the plants. The leaves will especially get ratty looking, even when the flowers are still growing strong. See my tips for pruning hellebores here. Dead heading is not needed: Hellebores flower petals continue throughout the summer and are quite ornamental.

They do lose a lot of their color as the weather heats up. Helleborus perennial plants can grow from 1 to 4 ft high and about 18 inches to 3 feet wide. The largest one that I have in my garden right now is about 18 inches tall and 2 feet wide. Be sure to give room around the plant at planting time because of the self seeding nature of the perennial.

To get the most out of your helleborus plant, these extra tips for pests, companion plants and cold hardiness will be helpful.

Slugs and snails are attracted to Hellebores. These can be controlled with baits, or Diatomaceous earth. You can also surround the plants with eggshells which will deter snails and slugs from coming hear the plant because of their sharpness. Aphids are attracted to the foliage of hellebores. Be sure to check the leaves for fungus. Hellebores are often infected by botrytis, a virus that likes cool and damp conditions. It shows itself as a grey mold covering the plant. Hellebores love to be planted near other shade loving plants.

I have mine in garden beds with several varieties of hostas, Check out Autumn Frost Hosta and Hosta Minuteman for variegated varieties that look lovely with hellebores. Ferns, coral bells , astilbe and bleeding hearts also like shady spots and will do well sharing a garden spot with helleborus.

Other choices are foxgloves , crocus. Caladium , and elephant ears are good choices, as well. Hellebores will over winter in zone For winters that are quite harsh, mulching with hay or straw prior to winter will protect it from the cold temperatures and strong wind of the winter months. Shop for Hellebores is in February and March because the selection is largest and the plants are in flower so you can see what the color will be.

Be sure to check out my list of other cold hardy perennial plants here. All parts of Hellebores have poisonous characteristics. The plant is toxic if eaten in large quantities. Hellebores are rounded to mounded plants. Therefore, their companion plants need to feature contrasting forms in order to add gravitas to the ensemble. There is a wide range of companion plants that will bring out the best qualities of your Hellebores and share their space with a serene balance. Make sure you select any ornamental grasses, perennials, annuals or shrubs that have the same growing requirements as your Hellebores.

Eranthis hyemalis Winter Aconite is a charming tuberous perennial that bursts from the ground in late winter before crocuses with cup-shaped, upward-facing, bright yellow flowers 1 in.

The foliage of rich green leaves, divided into several lobes, emerges after the flowers. Winter Aconites go dormant by late spring. Galanthus nivalis Snowdrop is one of the earliest and loveliest spring flowering bulbs, adding several weeks of color and beauty to the garden in late winter - early spring. Slightly fragrant, this small bulbous perennial features dainty, nodding white flowers with a green spot at the apex of each petal atop 2 narrow, grayish-green leaves. The foliage emerges before the flowers, develops during and after bloom, and neatly fades away in spring.

Showy and long-lasting, Hellebore Winter Jewels 'Amethyst Gem' Helleborus features double, cup-shaped, deep amethyst-rose blossoms delicately margined in opal. Blooming for weeks from late winter to early spring, these nodding beauties rise on sturdy, thick stems above the leathery, glossy, evergreen foliage.

Exquisitely beautiful! Unjustly named Stinking Hellebore, award-winning Helleborus foetidus provides gardeners with some of the greatest pleasures in winter. This evergreen perennial features large, open and long-lasting clusters of cheerful chartreuse, bell-shaped flowers, 1 in.

Blooming heavily for weeks from late winter to mid spring, these nodding beauties rise on sturdy, erect stems above a handsome foliage of leathery, narrow, fan-like palmately divided , dark green leaves.

Resembling long, feathery Ostrich plumes, Matteuccia struthiopteris Ostrich Fern is an elegant, upright to arching, deciduous fern with showy, finely dissected, fresh green sterile fronds. Emerging at the base of the plant in spring, they gracefully unfurl until they depreciate over summer and lose their leaflets later in the fall, as the plant goes dormant for the winter. They surround shorter, brownish fertile fronds which will persist into winter. Low maintenance, pest and disease free, Ostrich Fern is a great asset for the bog garden!

Native to California, Trillium chloropetalum var. Poking from the soil in winter, large buds send up stout stems topped with three broadly ovate, lightly marbled leaves. Resting in their center in early to mid-spring is a large three-petaled, lustrous purple-brown flower, in. Long-lived, spreading slowly and taking several years to form a significant clump, trilliums are worth the wait!

Fabulous as groundcover, this Giant Wake Robin is ranked by many as the most impressive species within the Trillium genus. Incredibly hardy and eye-catching, Bergenia 'Bressingham Ruby' is a compact clump-forming evergreen perennial noted for its outstanding foliage and bright magenta flowers.

Borne on short stems in early spring, erect clusters of rosy-red, bell-shaped flowers rise above a most interesting foliage of leathery, shiny, rounded leaves. Deep green in summer, the large leaves change to rich maroon-red in winter, providing year round interest. Low maintenance, Bergenia 'Bressingham Ruby' looks stunning in mass plantings or as an edging plant along paths and walkways.

A New Zealand native, Chionochloa rubra Red Tussock Grass is a graceful evergreen perennial grass which forms a dense tussock of elegantly arching, red-tinted to coppery-red, slender leaves.

In summer, its lightly weeping stems bear attractive, lax panicles of small, awned spikelets which remain for many weeks. In winter the leaves turn to beige at their tips, with coppery tones at their bases, adding bristling color to the dull winter landscape. Gorgeous, tough as nails, Chionochloa rubra is a very easy perennial to grow.

Noted for its stunning bright coral red stems in winter, award-winning Cornus alba 'Sibirica' Tatarian Dogwood is a medium-sized ornamental shrub with great appeal. Rapidly-growing, it features spectacular decorative features: stunning fall color, attractive berries and showy red stems.

As they mature, the blooms turn rose pink in cool weather, and pale green in warm temperatures. Unlike most hellebores, the flowers face outward attracting interest. They are borne on short, dark stems and rise above the evergreen foliage of leathery, dark green, serrated leaves.

A very early bloomer, with blooms appearing as early as November, 'HGC Jacob' flowers the first year. Perfect to brighten the shade garden!

This is a lovely fall-flowering bulb with delicate flowers, in shade of white or rosy-pink, 1 in. The cheerful blooms, slightly honey-scented, generally last for several weeks. They rise elegantly above the decorative foliage which consists of broad, heart-shaped, mid green leaves adorned with pretty silver patterns, that usually remain attractive all winter.

Hellebore Winter Jewels 'Rose Quartz' Helleborus features incredibly showy, fully double, cup-shaped, sparkling white blossoms adorned with a charming rose-pink picotee around the edges.

Blooming heavily for weeks from early to late spring, these nodding beauties rise on sturdy, thick stems above bushy mounds of leathery, evergreen, dark green leaves. A gem in the spring garden! Erica carnea 'Myretoun Ruby' Winter Heath is one of the darkest red Heath with masses of small, urn-shaped flowers that open heliotrope and deepen through magenta to rich, ruby-red over the season.

Blooming heavily for weeks from mid winter to late spring Jan-May , they beautifully smother the needle-like, dark green foliage. Great at providing winter color, this low-growing, evergreen shrub creates an excellent groundcover for sunny locations while requiring little care. Grows in an attractive mound, up to in. Spreading along the ground by procumbent stems, this perennial will form a dense groundcover over time.

Helleborus x hybridus 'Double Ellen White Spotted' is a beautiful double-flowered Hellebore with pendant or outward-facing, cup-shaped, white, frilled flowers adorned with rose-pink flecks. Blooming heavily for weeks from late winter to early spring, these charming beauties rise on sturdy stems and contrast well with the dark green, glossy, evergreen foliage. Showy and long-lasting, this Lenten Rose provides year round interest and is ideal to brighten areas of dappled shade under deciduous trees and shrubs!

Native to southern Russia, Scilla siberica is a bulbous perennial boasting intense blue, bell-shaped, nodding flowers per stem in early to mid spring. Each bulb produces 3 to 4 flower stems above a grassy foliage of narrow strap-shaped leaves. Easy to grow, this is one of the most winter hardy of the scillas and can be found in hardiness zone 2. A great naturalizer, it multiplies and comes back year after year, turning the landscape into a sea of blue.

Looks best when planted in large drifts. Dramatic nodding flowers are best seen when planted on a hillside or steep slope so that they can be viewed from below.

Fritz finds the bright-yellow color "cheerful, like daffodils ; they stand out on a cloudy day. Introduced by Dan Hinkley, this is regarded as one of the best yellow forms. Deep burgundy flecking towards the center of the flowers makes this a striking companion to 'Kingston Cardinal'. For landscape craftsman Jerry Fritz, Helleborus x hybridus hybrid Lenten rose are staples in the landscapes he designs for his clients.

Advances in propagation through division, tissue culture, and hand-pollination have resulted in more diverse flower colors, forms, patterns, increased plant vigor, and larger blooms. Fritz—a well-known speaker, author, and industry expert who has been featured in many national publications and appeared on the Martha Stewart Show —trials the newest hellebore cultivars at Linden Hill Gardens, his destination plant nursery in Ottsville, Pennsylvania.

For me, hellebores are an indispensable plant for any serious gardener. Do hellebores spread? Yes, hellebores will self-sow. However, allowing them to do so may result in unexpected hybrids if you grow multiple types in close proximity. Thin out any new seedlings that are too close to mature plants.