How to Grow Hellebores

Hellebores are available in a variety of colours - particularly in cool tones - in shades of white, black, red, apricot, yellow, green, and purple.

Choose a spot in the garden with semi-shade to full shade and protection from the harsh afternoon sun. Hellebores can grow in a full sun position if given enough moisture. Hellebores grow 30-60 cm tall and around 50 cm wide.

Dig the planting hole twice as wide and to the same depth as the root-ball.

Improving the soil before planting will help give the Hellebore a great start. Soil improvement is as simple as mixing Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser into the soil dug from the planting hole.

Remove the Hellebore from the container and gently tease out the roots.

Position the Hellebore in the hole and backfill with enriched soil, gently firming down. Form a raised or doughnut-shaped ring of soil around the outer edge of the plant's root zone. This helps keep water where it's needed.  Always water in well after planting to settle the soil around the roots.

Keep the soil moist for several weeks while the new plant establishes. Apply mulch, such as bark chips, sugarcane or pea straw, around the root zone, keeping it away from the trunk. Mulch helps keep the soil moist and the roots protected.

Water Hellebores deeply, two to three times a week, depending on weather conditions.

From spring until the end of flowering, feed Hellebores every 8 weeks with Yates Thrive Natural Roses & Flowers Organic Based Pelletised Plant Food. This will encourage healthy green leaf growth, strong root development and lots of beautiful flowers.

Choose a well-drained pot at least 30 cm in diameter. Position in semi-shade to full sun.

Part fill the pot with a premium potting mix like Yates Premium Potting Mix with Dynamic Lifter. Remove the plant from the existing container and gently tease the outer roots.

Place the root ball on the potting mix and backfill around the roots with the fresh potting mix. The final level of mix should be at the same as the level as currently around the plant.

Keep the potting mix moist for several weeks while the new plant establishes. Apply mulch, such as bark chips, sugarcane or pea straw, around the root zone, keeping it away from the trunk. Mulch helps keep the potting mix moist and the roots protected.

Water potted Hellebores thoroughly, two to three times a week, depending on weather conditions.

From spring until the end of flowering, feed Hellebores every 1-2 weeks with Yates Thrive Natural Roses & Flowers Concentrate. This will encourage healthy green leaf growth, strong root development and lots of beautiful flowers.

Potted Hellebores can be brought indoors for a few days at a time to show off their stunning flowers.

Trim off spent flower stems to help keep plants looking tidy and promote further flowers.

Hellebore flowers can be picked for a vase. Pick mature blooms (very young blooms can droop quickly) early in the morning and place them immediately into cool water.

Hellebores can be grown from seed and will often self-seed in your garden bed. 

To grow Hellebores from seed, mix the seeds with some moist peat moss and leave in the freezer for a few weeks before sowing into pots of Yates Seed Raising Mix. This process is called stratifying and imitates the cold winter the seeds would experience in their natural habitat. 

Hellebores are great for planting under trees as they can handle the competition for nutrients and moisture. 

After flowering has finished, any dead or dying stems can be cut back to ground level.

All parts of the Hellebore plant are poisonous or may cause skin irritation. Take extra precautions if children or pets are in the garden around this plant.

Snails and Slugs are the biggest problems when it comes to chewing holes in the leaves of Hellebores.

Sprinkle Yates Snail & Slug Bait.

Hellebores are also prone to Aphids. These small pests can be found at the tips or leaves and flowers, as well as on the underside of leaves.

Spray with Yates Nature's Way Vegie & Herb Spray.

Powdery Mildew is a fungal disease that coats the leaves, stems, and flowers of plants, including Hellebores.

To prevent Powdery Mildew, and other fungal diseases, avoid overhead watering, only water in the morning, and improve the availability of air and light.

To treat,  spray with Yates Lime Sulfur or Yates Fungus Gun.