Mine was such a mess after this winter, I cut all the old stuff off including the flowers, I have a lovely crop of new leaves already up and looking good. I drove a sturdy stake in behind my plant and I'm going to tie it up when It gets tall enough, I'm tired of seeing it lying flattened on the ground each spring.

A......

thanks aftermidnight: its as if you read my mind about the flowers lying on the ground and on my walkway.I was thinking to tie it up also.I do like the flowers now and did not want to cut them, I guess I will get new ones..thanks again

The correct name is Helleborus argutifolius (corsicus is the old name) and the old stalks should be cut back to the base yearly when the flowers fade. Once flowered, a stem will never reflower - that is just the nature of hellebores. They are very similar to hardy euphorbias in that regard.

This species is native to Sardinia and Corsica and typically appreciates being grown in full sun or very nearly so. Contrary to common belief, hellebores are NOT shade lovers but merely shade tolerant and several species and associated hybrids will thrive and perform best in mostly sun. Too shady a location is likely why yours are so floppy - it will be a much more upright and erect plant in a sunny location.

I also wouldn't leave the old flower stems intact too long - hellebores have their own species of aphids (lucky them!) that will appear regularly as the flowers age. Removing old flower stems promptly will dispense with the aphids also.

This year is the first time I have cut back these hellebores so early. I usually let the flowers fade (and seed) before pruning, but they were all flattened by snow this winter. They grow in full sun and sandy soil, and usually never fall over (some years we don't even cut them back at all).

thanks gardengal148 and silver creek.Good info here.Most helpful .

Each spring, after the melting snow reveals clusters of new buds, I wonder whether I should leave unpruned the good looking green leaves of the previous year. Seems to me they contain lots of chlorophyl, useful for feeding the new crop of flowers. I have no trouble cutting away the unsightful brown leaves, but can't decide about the green ones. Removing all of them gives visual advantage to the lovely new buds, so it's tempting to cut them all away. But I do wonder.

I really like these hellebores.

Mine do extremely well in dry shade under a deciduous magnolia. They are lovely, elegant, low care plants. I have mine semi-permanently staked with short (inconspicous) rebar stakes and wire. This support is surrounded by foliage and nearly invisisble. I cut the old flowers back every year when the flowers turn green (April or May) and tuck the new shoots inside the wire loop.

I do not like how they look when they have flopped and I am often surprised to see them like that in otherwise well-tended gardens.

If you do let them go to seed, you may get a crop of seedlings. I have given many away to friends and plants sales.

They ususally have a few aphids in June or so, but I have not had problems controlling them by spraying them off with hose water.

karchita, if these were in more sun, it is unlikely you would need to support them :-) Of all the hellebores, Helleborus argutifolius is perhaps the most sun loving - makes sense since its origins are in Corsica and Sardinia, where it grows wild out in the open. A sunnier position usually results in a more erect, upright plant with less flopping or need to staking.

I'm not at all sure how hellebores got such a reputation for being shade lovers - if you look at photos of them growing wild in the areas they are native to, most grow in very open, exposed positions and receive only minimal shade. At best, they are shade tolerant rather than shade loving and often produce some of their best displays in full sun.

Obviously, many plants that are grown in more sun tend to be more compact. You seem to have missed my point.

They thrive in shade, which is probably how they got their reputation for doing so. Gardeners are often looking for plants which do well in dry shade especially, so they are valuable to fill that purpose. Sure, grow them in the sun if you like, but don't limit yourself to thinking that they can only be grown in either sun or shade. They give an excellent, full display of flowers in shade so I wouldn't call them lacking in that regard at all.

My other point was that my method of staking them is hardly a task. I set it up once, about ten years ago and it takes seconds to tuck them inside the wire hoop every year since.

Whatever. You seem to have missed my point as well. For those who haven't grown this plant before and think - erroneously - that hellebores are necessarily shade plants, I simply wanted to dispel that myth.

From Graham Rice:
"The Corsican hellebore is not a fussy plant. It is probably at its best in full sun in a rich, but well drained, slightly limy soil where it will not grow too tall and will retain its foliage low down on the stems. Full sun or partial shade will help prevent the growth of long weak stems for in shade the stems tend to become drawn and prone to collapse.

This species is ideal when set amongst other Mediterraneans and it looks especially good with Euphorbia characias in any of its forms but especially perhaps in the grey-blue leaved 'Blue Hills' and also the red tinted E. x martinii. Wild purple stocks, blue rue and some of the larger cistus also make suitable neighbours and it looks stunning with wild Anemone coronaria."

I think that is pretty well known. Most books list them as shade or part shade. A lot of shade plants tolerate quite a bit of sun in our cool climate.

You can tell by the gray leaf color that this one wants a different aspect than the kinds with green leaves.

And "most books" are incorrect in that suggestion. Look at any of the better hellebore websites or monographs on the genus. They all recommend a sunnier versus a shadier aspect, especially with this species and H. foetidus. They even go to the point of extending this location to include most of the other hellebore species and hybrids with the additional caution of some protection from intense afternoon in warmer climates. Like most plants native to meadows, scrub and woodland verges, part shade at most is appropriate. In our climate, virtually any hellebore species or hybrid can be grown very happily in nearly full sun.

It seems that Helleborus argutifolius acts a bit differently in a California situation. I rarely prune out older blossomed stems on this plant, and leave it to act more like a shrub. Maybe after 3 to 4 years the older stems might start to decline, and get pruned back to the ground, but the plant generally acts like a shrub here. Only regular pruning involved is to remove spent blossoms when they lose their green color. Does well in sun or shade here, but not in dense shade. I love this plant, which along with the chartreuse flowers of Euphorbia characias wulfenii, which is also in bloom here at the same time, usually starting as early as December here.

Under California conditions, most of the other Hellebore species which are not perennially evergreen/shrubby do best here with morning sun or dappled shade; full sun tends to cook them.

I get the impression the flowers of the orientalis types and related species can get cooked during early sunny days here, if not given some relief.

Moisture seems to me to be more important to hellebores than whether you plant them in sun or shade. All of them do great for me in either, but they definitely suffer performance-wise in deep shade. Argutifolius, coming from a warm climate, will take as much sun as you want to give it but does fine with a little shade if you don't mind it sprawling a bit. There are many strains of this plant in cultivation, the taller ones being more likely to need support. Anyway, this is the Pacific Northwest-- most plants recommended for shade will do well here in sun.

Mine do very, very well in dappled shade, and that is why I think most books and other sources of information recommend them for that setting. They are flexible plants that thrive in a variety of conditions. They are valuable in the landscape in that they do well in dry shade which can often be a hard spot for gardeners to know what to plant there. Usually the members of the public that I deal with don't need suggestions for what to grow in full sun. It is ill-advised to overlook this plant and insist it can only be grown in full sun.

I also prefer the look of this plant in shade/part shade, where it grows tall and is quite elegant. In full sun, it is short and squat and top-heavy and much less attractive. YMMV.

Hello! I am in the Hudson Valley NY, starting to cut back and mulch gardens. Got a bit carried away and completely cut back a few hellebores in the process - down to the ground, gone, everything :-(. Will they come back in the spring?

Very likely :-) These are pretty tough plants that can survive considerable abuse and neglect. Typically the old foliage on Helleborus x hybridus (the so-called oriental hybrids) is cut back to the ground each winter anyway........you've just done it a bit early!

btw, there is a forum dedicated to hellebores here on GW should you have additional questions. Not very active now but picks up in season.

Picks up or blooms?

Many thanks for the reply and information. Fingers crossed!