The Ultimate Guide to Hellebores
Growing, Hybridizing, and Caring for These
Winter Blooming Perennials
There is a plethora of colorful hellebore blooms!
My Hellebore Journey: 35+ Years of Growing and Learning
I've been growing hellebores for over 35 years and still cherish the offspring of the very first plant I bought. When we started building our home in North Bend in 1999, we brought that first plant with us and kept collecting hellebores. Today, our garden includes over 300 hellebores. We use them as a groundcover and eagerly anticipate their beautiful winter into early spring blooms each year. Recently, I heard a talk by the renowned *Dr. Ross Bayton, which inspired me to share some of the fascinating insights I learned from him, along with my own experiences growing hellebores in the Snoqualmie Valley.
A Lockdown Discovery: The Bathtub Full of Hellebores
On the first day of the COVID lockdown, I found myself feeling a bit lost, unsure of how to fill my time. With nearly 10 acres of land—much of it unexplored woods—I decided to take my dog on an adventure. We wandered for hours, discovering new corners of our woods. As we returned to the more developed part of the property, I was struck by the sheer beauty of the hellebores in bloom.
On a whim, I decided to pick one flower from each blooming plant. As I gathered more and more, I realized just how many hellebores we had—far too many for just a few bowls. So, I filled the bathtub instead! That moment became a cherished memory, captured in a photo I’ve shared before. For those who have seen it multiple times, I hope you don’t mind one more look—it’s a reminder of the simple joys these flowers bring.
The Ultimate Guide to Hellebores
Hellebores are a must-have for any garden, bringing vibrant color to late winter and early spring landscapes. This guide covers everything you need to know about these hardy perennials, including their different types, how to grow them successfully in the Snoqualmie Valley, pest and disease management, pruning tips and why so many clones originate from China.
The Hellebore Family: Types and Characteristics
Hellebores belong to the Ranunculaceae (buttercup) family and include several species, hybrids, and cultivars. They are often categorized based on their foliage and flowering structure:
Caulescent Hellebores: These have leafy stems and produce flowers on the same stems as the leaves. Example: Helleborus foetidus.
Acaulescent Hellebores: These lack true stems, with flowers emerging directly from the base. Example: Helleborus x hybridus.
How and Where to Grow Hellebores in the Snoqualmie Valley
Hellebores thrive in well-draining soil rich in organic matter. The best growing conditions include:
Light: Partial to full shade is what the books say. Dr. Bayton suggests that hellebores in the pacific northwest can take a lot more sun. ~ Many of mine are in full sun and do very well.
Soil: Moist but well-drained, with a preference for slightly alkaline to neutral pH.
Climate: Snoqualmie Valley’s cool, damp winters and mild summers suit hellebores perfectly.
Spacing: Space plants at least 12–18 inches apart to allow air circulation and prevent disease.
Propagation Methods: How to Grow More Hellebores
Hellebores can be propagated through:
Division: Best done in early fall. Dig up mature plants and carefully separate sections, ensuring each has roots.
Seeds: Takes longer but allows for hybridization. Sow seeds fresh in summer, as they need stratification (cold exposure).
Tissue Culture: Common in commercial production, particularly for uniform clones.
Why Are So Many Clones Coming from China?
China has become a major supplier of hellebore clones due to:
Mass tissue culture production: Enables rapid multiplication of sought-after hybrids.
Lower labor costs: Affordable production increases global availability.
Export demand: Rising interest in unique, reliable, and disease-resistant varieties.
My Thoughts on Cloned Hellebores: I have purchased many of these clones, and my overall feeling is that they don’t have the same vigor—especially over more than a few years—as the seed-started hybrids do.
Pests and Diseases & How to Manage Them
Hellebores are relatively disease-resistant but can suffer from:
Black Death (Hellebore Black Death): Viral disease causing black streaks. No cure—remove infected plants.
Botrytis (Gray Mold): Causes fuzzy gray mold on leaves and flowers. Improve air circulation and avoid overhead watering.
Aphids & Slugs: Handpick slugs, and use insecticidal soap for aphids if necessary.
Pruning Hellebores: When & How
Pruning depends on whether your hellebores are caulescent or acaulescent:
Acaulescent Hellebores (Helleborus x hybridus, etc.): How to identify: the flower stems: one flower per stem, each stem coming out of the ground. See the pink plant photo below.
Cut back old foliage in late winter before new growth appears to reduce disease risk.
Caulescent Hellebores (Helleborus foetidus, Helleborus argutifolius, etc.): How to identify: the flower stems: multiple flowers per stem, coming out of the ground. See the white plant photo below.
Remove spent flower stalks after blooming, but leave green leaves intact for continued growth.
This just begins to scratch the surface of all the fun facts to know about hellebores.
Helpful Hint from Heronswood Garden
If you want to prevent accidentally stepping on your hellebores after pruning off all the leaves, leave one leaf intact to mark their location until new growth emerges.
FUN FACT: A very popular German name for hellebore is "Nieswurz", meaning "sneezewort" in English. The name comes from the fact that any part of the Helleborus plant induces sneezing if ground to a fine powder. The mucosal irritation is caused by the protoanemonine that is contained in Helleborus. In earlier times, this phenomenon was used to sneeze off evil spirits and diseases. Helleborus was also used in snuff tobacco blends. Since the leaves and roots are toxic, we explicitly and strongly discourage using hellebore plants or any of their parts for any other purpose than decoration or decorative gardening!
Another Fun Fact: In earlier times, hellebores were used to forecast the weather for the following year, which is why they were called Oracle Roses. Mainly in the countryside, there was a tradition of putting twelve hellebore flower buds in a glass of water before Christmas, each of them representing one month of the following year. If a bud opened to a flower by Christmas Eve, the weather was predicted to be good for that particular month. If it did not open, poor weather was to be expected.
* Dr. Ross Bayton is a London-born botanist and gardener Dr. Ross Bayton gained his PhD at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, studying the classification of tropical palms. He’s the author of several books on horticulture including New Trees: Introductions to Cultivation (with John Grimshaw), Plant Families: A Guide for Gardeners and Botanists (with Simon Maugham), and most recently The Gardener’s Botanical: An Encyclopedia of Latin Plant Names, as featured in the New York Times. Formerly the Gardening Editor of the UK’s best-selling gardening periodical, BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine, he is now the Director of the world-renowned Heronswood Garden in Kingston, Wa., and is developing a 5-acre garden at home in nearby Bremerton.