I have three silver ones---in the shade mostly------------terra nova has a bunch of awesome lookin ones on their site and they should tend to look similar to your neighbor if you get the same genus.

I have two that I bought for $4. a piece at a local plant sale about 4 years ago. They were very small and took two years to bloom. They are very pretty now that they are blooming. Very dependable and easy care. I went back and bought more of the small seedlings again and they haven't started blooming yet. I just added four hybrids this year and again, they were very inexpensive, but small and will be waiting awhile for those to bloom. I am sold on these plants.

While it's true that you can't see inside the blooms (and some blooms are calicoed inside), you certainly can see the blooms. The white ones show up from a distance, the darker varieties not so much, but they're stunning up close. The upright ones are quite new and quite expensive.

Another species worth having for its January chartreuse blooms is H. foetidus. Leaves are different too.

Thank you all very much.

I am going to call some nurseries in my area tomorrow to see if they have any available now. I would love to see them in bloom.

Do you grow any in pots, or strictly in your garden? I have an area beside my back patio/porch that gets morning sun that I think would be a great place for them, and I would see them everytime I go out the back door.

Jane

I think I may have the H. foetidus variety. It hasn't bloomed yet, but the leaves are different, thinner than the other hellebores. Yes, the blooms face down and I wish I had an elevated area, like along a stone set of stairs that you could plant them at an edge and see the inside as you were going up, but we are very level here. I did buy the new double variety this year and I think some of those are supposed to be more up facing. We'll see. Just the same, I do like them even when I can't see the inside. The pinks are especially eye catching. But so is the white. I guess I just like all of them. lol

I don't grow them in pots. I don't think they would do well over the winter in a pot and I would rather not be moving them back and forth.

Jane, I have them near my back door too and see them every time I go in and out. The blooms last and last on the plants and look good for a couple of months.

Don't look for them in bloom now! Even with the tendency of some like 'Ivory Prince' to have a very long bloom season, it is far too early in the season for them to be in flower. In my garden, H. foetidus is one of the earliest to bloom but that's not typically until early December. Same with H. niger. You will most likely find them in bloom in late winter in your area......probably March but maybe as early as February.

Jane, I'm glad you asked this question because I have a bunch planted in my garden and never really paid attention to the names. I generally search local nurseries for Hellebore to buy them while in bloom. I buy them because I like the colors, but have never paid close attention to the tags. I went out this morning to check the tags on my 2 favorites and found they must be from the same series. One was 'Metallic Blue Lady' and the other was 'Red Lady'. They get huge blooms that last a long time and the blooms don't droop down. The red one is a dark, cherry red and the blue is more of a dark purple/chocolate color. I would highly recommend this series of Hellebore based on the color/performance I've seen.

Thank you all very much. Your replies give me more names to search, and I especially like to hear the blooms last a long time.

Jane

You know jane, it's funny but i personally value the hellebores(orientalis and niger) most for their foliage, which I so appreciate! Large,thick, shiny, and rich dark green, with such a handsome shape. And no pests!! Today, 10/26/09, I was feeling so pleased that they are happy in so many parts of our gardens, because all over they provide a wonderful handsome green anchor for all the brilliant orange and gold and red foliage around them. And while the rest of the garden plants slowly but surely succumb to brown dessication and death, the hellebores march on in glory!!
best,
mindy

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R to L: hellebore orientalis, variegated bamboo, flowering persicaria Lance Corporal

I recently posted this picture in the Shade combo thread. I think the foliage of these hellebores looks good even without bloom. The foliage also holds well from spring to late fall - this area still looks just as fresh as the picture right now in late October. The Corsican Hellebore is iffy in my zone but does well in this sheltered location against the house wall. The leaves in the upper left are from a burning bush.

Upper right and bottom right, fine deep green foliage is H. foetidus (Stinking Hellebore), it has upright limey yellow green colored blooms, like a stalk sticking straight up. Middle is H. argutifolia (Corsican Hellebore). It has serrated shiny green foliage with a somewhat yellow caste to it compared to the others and small lime green flowers above the foliage that show well. It grows much larger and taller than the other two. H. orientalis (Lenten Rose) has dark matte green foliage and flowers like the others in very early spring here after the foliage has taken a pretty bad beating from our winter. As a result the flowers are more prominent that you might think. I also cut out some of the bad looking foliage to show off the flowers. The foliage promptly grows back and looks good until snowed over.

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Closeup of angustifolius

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Closeup of flower on unnamed Lenten Rose in early spring

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kt and deb mentioned on the 'stupidest garden mistake' thread,the very helpful info about new hellebore leaves. So it seems that shearing the whole plant back in early spring IS the best course of action with them. I have also read to apply 1/2 c.epsom salts(magnesium sulfate,dissolved in water) combined w/ some iron, to them when you do shear them back. Apparently that same treatment is good for most plants when you cut them back (during the growing season, not in autumn.)
best,
mindy

Mindy, it is tough to make generalizations like that with hellebores :-) Cutting back the old foliage on certain types of hellebores in late winter or very early spring, just as the flower buds emerge is a good idea, but you don't want to do that with ALL hellebores. You should limit this practice to only those types that produce flowers on separate, leafless stems (acaulescent), like H. x hybridus or orientalis and similar species. All the rest are considered caulescent or flowering at the end of leafy stems (like H. foetidus, lividus or argutifolius) or indeterminate between the two types (like H. niger and most other hybrids that have one or more of these as parents) and you only want to cut back the stems that bear flowers and only after the flowers go over. So late spring or early summer on those!

And btw, hellebores DO have pests. In fact, they have their very own species of aphid (Macrosiphum hellebori) and you should consider yourself lucky if you've never encountered them. They are potentially one of the vectoring agents of a fatal hellebore virus ominously referred to as "black death", so it is good to be aware of them and nip any infestations in the bud (no pun intended!). They most often show up in late spring just as the flowers are going over to seed.

Oh great, Gardengal! Now I know I'll get that nasty aphid since you mentioned it! LOL! That's what happened when I heard about the dreaded lily beetle. I had lilies for years with no problem then someone told me about this "nasty, red beetle". The next year the plants were loaded with beetles. I'll be sure to keep an eye out for those aphids next year! :O)

In all seriousness, this is why I like gardenweb so much. I had no idea about this pest so thanks for bringing it to our attention.

More great photos. They really show the difference in foliage.

Thanks everyone. Jane

PS: Sorry to hear about the aphids, but better to be prepared, not surprised.

Please be aware that there are some hellebores that are tender. A friend of mine asked me to pickup a hellbore from a well known hybridzer in Oregon as a gift. While there I purchased one with spotted foliage. When I presented it to him I was told that I had picked one of the most temperature sensative ones and it would not live outside of a greenhouse.

The place had some hellebores with very different foliage including one seedling that had fern like foliage.

ooh gg, mea culpa, mea culpa! thanks so much for correcting me.
best,
mindy