It won't hurt but probably not necessary. Colston Burrell, in his treatise on growing hellebores, suggests mulching only upto the crown of the plant with a loose textured mulch like shredded leaves, compost or straw or pine straw. Avoid piling it over the plants, as that can lead to crown rot. He favors straw as a winter mulch applied after the soil has frozen because it is fluffy and knots together to prevent it from washing away with rains but I'd guess pine straw (needles) would work equally as well.

I've only just used whatever mulch I was applying elsewhere, generally compost, but in a rather light layer. And I do tend to let any fallen leaves remain in place in any planting beds. However, winter cold and freeze/thaw cycles are not an issue in my climate.

Thanks gardengal. On another forum, someone said the same thing about not mulching over the crown of the plants. I am trying to picture that - just kind of always throw the mulch on the whole bed. But these are evergreen so will go lightly.

I just cannot believe it when someone says they have no winter cold or freeze/thaw - that is SO appealing to someone who has lived with... it seems like forever.

Oh, it can get cold here - there was spell last winter when some locations here dropped into the single digits for most of a week - but it is not a regular occurrence. Generally, midwinter temperatures hover around freezing, sometimes slightly warmer, sometimes slightly lower. But the soil never freezes to any significant degree so the freeze/thaw/heaving issue is just not a factor.

Oh and thanks, I will google Colston Burrell so I can research hellebores further.

If you want to learn more about hellebores, you can't go wrong with the website I have linked for you. It was developed by a GW member who used to post on this forum frequently and has some of the best and most complete hellebore info you will encounter online.

Here is a link that might be useful: excellent hellebore website

Thanks for the link, gardengal48. Lots of interesting and useful information.