Perennial
How to grow hellebores
Helleborus × hybridus / H. niger
Hellebores want light shade under deciduous shrubs or trees and a deep, humus-rich soil that is neutral to alkaline and never waterlogged. Plant them between September and March, ideally in flower so you can choose the colour, and then leave them alone: they dislike being moved or divided. Cut all the old leaves off Helleborus × hybridus in December or January, before the flowers rise, and mulch with leaf mould every autumn.
- Hardiness
- Fully hardy
- Position
- Light to part shade
- Soil
- Rich, moisture-retentive, free-draining; neutral to alkaline
- Ideal pH
- 6.5 to 7.5
- Water
- Moderate in summer while buds form
- Feeding
- Moderate feeder
Sowing and planting hellebores
WhenPlant Sep to Mar; flowers Dec to Apr; remove old leaves Dec to Jan
Starting off
Plant pot-grown plants Sep to Mar, ideally in flower so you see the colour. Divide only reluctantly, in Sep, into pieces with 3 or more buds; plants sulk for a year. Fresh seed sown Jun to Jul outdoors germinates after winter and flowers in 3 years; self-sown seedlings moved in Apr are easier.
Spacing and planting
Plant 45 cm apart under shrubs; dig a hole 30 cm wide with leaf mould and set the crown at soil level. Fine in a 30 cm pot of loam-based compost for H. niger by the door, planted out after 2 years.
Varieties worth growing
- H. × hybridus Harvington hybrids
- British-bred seed strains sold by colour and form, singles and doubles, from white and yellow to slate black; strong plants that flower February to April.
- H. niger
- The Christmas rose: pure white, outward-facing flowers from December or January. Fussier than the hybrids, needing sharp drainage and lime.
- 'Anna's Red'
- Rich red, outward-facing flowers on red stems over marbled leaves; flowers for months and is sterile, so no seedlings.
- H. argutifolius
- Corsican hellebore: a 90 cm evergreen with spiny grey-green leaves and apple-green flowers; takes more sun and drier soil than the rest.
- H. foetidus
- The native stinking hellebore: finely cut dark leaves and green bells edged maroon from January; seeds about in dry shade on chalk.
Hellebores month by month
Timings are for central England. Allow two weeks later in the north and on cold, heavy soil.
- January
Cut off old leaves of H. × hybridus if not done. H. niger in flower; cloche it to keep the flowers clean.
- February
Main flowering. Buy plants in flower. Rub off aphids.
- March
Flowering continues. Last month for planting.
- April
Deadhead unless you want seedlings. Move self-sown seedlings. Light feed on thin soils.
- May
Cut the flowered stems of H. argutifolius and H. foetidus to the base as new shoots come up.
- June
Sow fresh ripe seed outdoors in pots as soon as the pods split.
- July
Sow seed. Water in drought; next winter's buds are forming.
- August
Water in a dry spell, especially under trees.
- September
Planting season opens. Divide now if you must. Feed.
- October
Feed if not done, then mulch with leaf mould. Plant.
- November
Plant. Clear fallen tree leaves off the crowns.
- December
Cut all old leaves of H. × hybridus to the base as flower buds show at soil level, and bin them.
Feeding hellebores
A moderate feeder that responds more to leaf mould than to fertiliser. One balanced feed in autumn, when the roots are active and the flower buds are set, and a mulch on top.
Moderate, a balanced feed and leaf-mould mulch in autumn for the winter flowers.
Feeding plan
September to October
About 100 g/m², the label rate. A plant at 45 cm spacing covers 0.2 m², so 20 g scattered round each crown, not on it.
October, after feeding
Leaf mould or garden compost
A 5 cm mulch round the plant, kept off the crown itself.
April, after flowering, thin soils or under trees only
50 g/m², half the label rate: 10 g per plant. Skip it in a good border.
Late winter, only if a pH test reads below 6.0
Garden Lime (calcium carbonate)
About 0.5 kg/m² (100 g for the 0.2 m² round one plant), once, then retest the following year.
September, pots
2 g per litre of compost on the surface, watered in: about 24 g for a 30 cm pot holding 12 litres.
Signs to watch
Leaves yellow between the veins on acid soil
Low pH, as it wants neutral to alkaline
Lime to pH 7 in autumn
Weak flowering on a dry site under a tree
Root competition
Leaf mould mulch and water in a dry Aug while buds form
Pests, diseases and problems
Round brown or black blotches on leaves and stems, dead patches falling out, flower stalks collapsing
Hellebore leaf spot, a fungus that overwinters on the old leaves
Cut every old leaf off at the base in December or January and bin them rather than composting. Pick off any spotted leaves through the year and mulch to bury spores.
Black streaks along the veins, new leaves stunted and puckered, flowers marked black
Hellebore black death, a virus thought to be carried by aphids
There is no cure. Dig the plant up promptly, roots and all, and bin or burn it. Control aphids on the plants that remain.
Pale green-white insects crowded inside the flowers and under leaves, with sticky honeydew and sooty mould
Hellebore aphid
Rub them off with finger and thumb or wash them off as soon as you see them in late winter. Removing the old leaves takes many colonies with it.
Brown-black winding blotches inside the leaves of H. foetidus
Hellebore leaf miner
Pick off and bin mined leaves before spring. The plant flowers normally; the damage is cosmetic.
Petals and seedlings eaten, holes in new leaves
Slugs and snails
Clear old leaves and debris from round the crown in winter so there is nowhere to hide, and pick off by torchlight.
A mat of seedlings round the parent, later flowering in muddy colours
Self-seeding; hybrids do not come true
Deadhead in April before the pods split, or lift the seedlings you want in April and weed out the rest.
Pruning
Pruning and care
Cut all old leaves of H. × hybridus to the base in winter as the flower buds show, and bin them. Deadhead in Apr unless you want seedlings, which crowd out the parents. No staking; cover H. niger flowers with a cloche in Jan to keep them clean. Mulch with leaf mould in autumn and leave undivided for decades.
Good to knowLong-lived woodland plant.
Growing hellebores in pots
Hellebores have deep roots and are not long-term pot plants, but H. niger and the compact hybrids make a good winter pot by the door for a couple of years. Use a deep 30 cm pot of loam-based compost with a fifth grit and a little leaf mould, keep it in light shade, and never let it stand in a saucer of water in winter. Water through summer, when it is easy to forget a plant that is doing nothing visible. After two years plant it out in the garden in autumn and start again with a new one.
Hellebores: common questions
When should I cut back hellebore leaves?
Cut all the old leaves of Helleborus × hybridus to the ground in December or January, as the flower buds appear at soil level. It shows off the flowers and removes the leaf spot spores that would infect them. Do not do this to stemmed species such as H. argutifolius and H. foetidus: cut out their flowered stems in late spring instead.
Why are my hellebore leaves turning black?
Round dark blotches are hellebore leaf spot, a fungal disease controlled by removing and binning affected leaves. Black streaks following the veins on stunted, distorted growth are hellebore black death, a virus with no cure: dig up and destroy that plant.
Can I divide or move a hellebore?
You can, but it resents it and may not flower for a year. If you must, do it in September, lifting with as large a root ball as possible and splitting only into pieces with three or more buds. Moving young self-sown seedlings in April is far easier.
Sources
Growing information on this page was checked against these references in November 2026. Feeding rates are Dr Forest label rates.
- How to grow helleboresRHS
- How to grow helleboresBBC Gardeners' World Magazine