How to plant and care for Hellebore (Lenten Rose)

Helleborus × hybridus

🌸 Flower 🔁 Perennial

Nodding, cup-shaped flowers in plum, pink, cream and speckled white from February to April, when little else is out. Evergreen and long-lived in shade.

When to plant and care for it

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Flowers

Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.

Growing Hellebore (Lenten Rose): what it needs

Light: Part shade · 6+ hours a day
Watering: Water well until established, then in dry spells
Soil: Rich, moist but well-drained soil
Spacing: 45 cm
Height: 45 cm
In pots: Grows well in containers
Feeding: A little general feed in spring
Hardiness: USDA zones 5–9

Step by step

On planting day
Plant
Plant at the same depth as it was in its pot, 45 cm apart, and firm in.
0–1 days after “Plant”
Water In Well
Give a full can of water, then keep moist for the first few weeks while roots establish.
7–14 days after “Water In Well”
Mulch Around the Base
Spread 5 cm of compost or bark around the plant, keeping it off the stems.

Every year

January
Cut Off Old Leaves
Cut last year's leaves at the base just before the flowers open — it shows off the blooms and removes leaf-spot disease.
February
In Flower
Hellebores in flower — lift a bloom to see the speckled insides.
April
Spring Mulch
Spread a 5 cm mulch of compost around the plant, keeping it off the stems.