The common name for them is Lenten rose.

My first hellebores were a gift from my friend, Randy. His patch was getting out of hand and he asked if I wanted the ones he was about to take out of the path they were creeping in to. I was delighted to have something that likes shade.

The patch has spread nicely and they are among the first to bloom in early February. The rest of the year, they have low, evergreen foliage. (It’s not really “evergreen.” It just never goes dormant and makes new foliage All. The. Time.

They cross pollinate like crazy and spread consistently. I originally thought Randy was a little nuts to buy new ones. But, it gets new genes into the mix. I have bought one that was mostly white with a little pink edging for that very reason. The originals were purple and yellow.

There’s a debate about whether to cut them back or not. And, if you do, when. The flowers are obvious as you walk by an untrimmed patch. But, not highly visible from a distance. In part, because they are the same height as the older leaves and not brightly colored.

I have been experimenting. (Duh.) If you cut the green back, it’s easier to see the flowers. If you don’t, you let them feed themselves more. (Also, duh.) So…when is best?

After several years of leaving them to their own devices, in February of 2024, as they started to bloom, I cut back all the leaves, letting me see the flowers better. And the greenery came back, fully, for the rest of the year. I trimmed it all back again in November. I think the flowers are less full this Spring.

I think I’ll trying cutting them again on a nice day in January of ’26, leaving the leaves (ha!) until the last minute.