Also last years leaves will look rather sad. Once the plant starts sending up blooms I cut the old (last years) leaves off at the ground if they are looking bad.

Hers were blooming & she said the blooms got toasted.

To much sun, they do like shade. And maybe more water in her area. Although mine only get watered when it rains. They are very drought tolerant once the roots are established, but don't appreciate direct sun.

As I understand it, she only gets shade on the patio. That's why she went with Hellebores.

valleylynn said: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.

This is in a pot, Lynn? Its very true that there will be no (or little) damage to blooming hybrid hellebores in the ground at prolonged 6°F. Does your ground even freeze in zone 8b?

Horseshoe said: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.

An opposing view from a more northerly clime: while a plant may look worse from a bit of dehydration, it's quite amazing how well they survive in cold temps. A bit of dehydration concentrates the chemical to water ratio, and lowers the freezing threshold of the plant, making it more tolerant to cold temperature. As for a dry root ball freezing [apparently faster] than a wet one, there are two considerations: 1) water conducts heat faster, so it will also cool faster, and 2) water contains more "heat" energy than air, so it has more stored "heat" energy to lose. How these two phenomena interact, I am not sure. I can only say for here in the north, winter dry (frozen water is considered dry as it is not available to the plant) is better.

Rick, when we get cold temps the ground freezes like a rock.

valleylynn said:Rick, when we get cold temps the ground freezes like a rock.

So being in zone 8b, that would seem to support the "moist soils conduct cold temps" scenario, as (I think) your winters are fairly wet.

Lynn, could you answer the more important question, please?

--- Are your hellebores in pots?

They are all in the ground now. But a few years ago they sat in pots for a couple of years, until I knew where I wanted them to be planted. All seemed to come through in great shape.
I know at our little neighborhood nursery their pots (1 & 2 gallon) sit outside over the winter.

That was the telling answer, Lynn. Thanks. In Minnesota zone 4, and in winters without permanent snow, the ground 6 inches down never gets below 10-15F. In rare winters with very early permanent snow, the ground almost doesn't freeze at all.

We get very little snow here. But lots of rain and then sometimes very cold temperatures. You know what real winter is.

While the cold will ruin the blooms... 7° did for mine... There are hellebore nurseries in Canada... zone 8 isn't going to throw more cold at those plants than they can handle. At my house... I grow them in the dry sand, and when we had that extended drought... they got by on zero extra water.
I have some planted in full sun... they do fine there.

I have seen them suffer in water-logged clay... so... too much water... could be problematic.

Great information stone.

You mentioned that she made sure that they were watered. Next thing to check is that they're not sitting in water.

I bought a bunch (don't tell my accountant how many!) around Christmas. They were in full bloom and looked great. And then the snow and ice came. I didn't expect the blooms to last, but the plants in general were headed downhill. It turns out that the pots I bought them in had liners with no holes. There was at least 2 inches of water sitting around the plant. Once I pulled them out, they started to perk up again.

I live in Maryland, as our temps lately have been hovering between 2 and 19 during the nights. Both the plants in the ground and my new ones still in pots are doing fine.

Hellebores are my new love. We have a large lot that is mostly shade. I've done about all that I can with hosta and am now starting to fill in the holes with hellebore. By the time the ground thaws, I figure I'll have 12-15 varieties. (Again can't let the accountant find out!)

Best of luck to your friend.

Rick M

Rick.

I promise I won't tell your accountant Rick.

That 2 inches of snow that shut Atlanta down... didn't faze the hellebore...

snow covered hellebore


next day...

That's beautiful!

Wow, what a beautiful thing to see. Thank you for the gorgeous photo.