A good friend of mine lives in Va. Beach, Va., is an experienced gardener but has just gotten her first Hellebores ever. She's a little concerned. She says she knows they like cold weather & they were outside at the nursery where she bought them but they are looking peaked today. She made sure they were watered (they're in pots) & she covered them last night but it was so windy the covers blew off. I know nothing about Hellebores except they need shade & like water which are contrary to Florida. So I thought I would ask you guys what you think.

I have some in gallon pots that sit all winter and they are fine. How cold did it get?

She says it was in the teens & there was a good deal of wind --- wind chill around 8. They are in pots on the patio & she moved them up next to the wall of the house. She has no shed or barn to move them into & she thought moving them into the heated house was probably not a good idea.
See, she's moved from a house & yard in N.C. to a townhome in Va. Beach, Va. & the only gardening space she now has is the patio which gets only shade.

These plants are tough but that is cold. You could bring them in but, when moving them out you need to harden them of again to the colder temps. Will it warm fast there after this cold spell? I wonder if these were in a greenhouse environment when she bought them? If so they need to come inside for sure.

She said they were outdoors at the nursery where she bought them. I'll ask her about how fast it will warm up there after this cold spell. What would you say is about the min. temp. or wind chill they should be out in?

And thank you so much!

I don't have any potted Ann, but they take below zero F in ground, with no snow cover, without batting an eye.

My guess they are in gallon pots? I had mine out in 18 - 19 degrees but not the wind chill that you describe. I had them covered with frost cloth and moved up by the house and they were fine. But that only lasted for a few days. The hardy zone is 5-9 or 6-9 depending on the type. I'm sure that is in the ground so in a pot they would be more tender.

Thanks Evan. I'm sort of wondering if there may be an issue going on with hers that is salt related. She's on the coast there. How do these plants take salt air?

springcolor said:My guess they are in gallon pots? I had mine out in 18 - 19 degrees but not the wind chill that you describe. I had them covered with frost cloth and moved up by the house and they were fine. But that only lasted for a few days. The hardy zone is 5-9 or 6-9 depending on the type. I'm sure that is in the ground so in a pot they would be more tender.

I'll ask her what size pots. I know it can get pretty darn cold there where she is. I'm wondering if it might be a good idea for her to put the pot they're planted in, inside another pot even if the exterior pot had soil in it as an insulator as if they were growing in ground??????

http://www.plantdelights.com/S...
This is interesting about the salt. If you look at some of the different hellebore hybrids some are more tender than others. Check one with the marbled leaves only good to 7a - 9.

Thank you Julia! I will send her this link.

Don't worry about the windchill. It only means the pots will cool down just a bit faster.
At 15F with a winchill of zero, the pot will never go below 15F.

I think the easiest thing to do is put the pots in a closed cooler outside. If you get exceptionally cold nights, bring the whole cooler inside, but don't open it, AT ALL. Return it to outside the next day.

Oh, thanks Rick! That cooler makes a lot of sense. I'll tell my friend to do that.

Mine have just gone through 6°F for about a week, with up and down temps since. They are sending up blooms now. They are both cold and drought tolerant for me.

Lynn. I'll tell her. She's actually in zone 8. Maybe hers just need to get adjusted.

I'm glad you posed these questions Ann. Up until now I've purchased Hellebores without giving any thought to hardiness. I've been lucky but will pay attention in future.

A fortunate happenstance then Evan. And on my friend's behalf as well as my own, I want to thank everyone who has responded. It's been an education!

I love these plants.

flaflwrgirl/Ann...

I'm just below the Va state line and Hellebores here do perfectly fine in super cold temps. However, like someone above mentioned I would wonder if the nursery had the plants in a wind-protected area; they may have been temperature hardy but not necessarily wind hardy.

I'd also recommend the plants be kept moist. A dry root ball will freeze and zap --- there go the feeder roots if not more. Best to keep the roots moist, especially in nursery pots 'cause there is no insulation. Those black nursery pots only hold the plant in place, not protect it like an in-ground planting.

Hope your Va friend has success. If not maybe she/he can come dig up some of mine!

Shoe (affected by wind chill all day! Brrr, and this was our warmest day in a week!)

Thanks Shoe. She has hers in 2 gal. pots & they are not the pots they came in but the wind could have been a factor drying the leaves. That old wind can sure take moisture out of things!