Hellebores

mirandaw

I bought a variety of different Helleborus and planted them in containers/pots. But the other day I saw a video on Youtube about Hellebores and they said they don't last long in containers/pots, only about a year and then they wouldn't grow well anymore. And also they said that Hellebores don't like it when their roots get very warm.

So now my question is: does anyone have experiece with Hellebores in pots/containers, and is it true that they don't do well in pots/containers after a while?

And my other question is: we have a gardening facing south so it can get very hot. We don't have much shade, so is it true that Hellebores don't like warm roots and how can I prevent them from getting too warm in Summer?

Thanks for your help, Miranda

chicky

Hi Miranda

I have hellebores in pots and they are thriving - eventually they will go in the ground, but they have been in the pots for 3 years now, whilst waiting for me to “get round to it” ☺️  

Dovefromabove

I agree with @chicky ... I find hellebores do fine in pots of good compost (I use JI no 3 with added leafmold or homemade compost ... MPC isn’t suitable) and I keep them in the shade at the foot of a northeast facing wall They do just fine there. I repot every other year in the autumn or after flowering. 

 I treat my ferns exactly the same ... they like similar conditions. 

Fairygirl

I've got some in pots too, without any problem. Some, like @chicky's, are awaiting final positions. 
They do prefer cooler conditions, but you can create a shadier spot for yours with surrounding planting. I have some in a raised bed which faces west. They're fine, but it possibly doesn't get as warm here as it might in other areas, and they have other planting around them.
You could always move them to the shadiest part of the garden after flowering - a south facing garden still has areas which face north 

Valley Gardener

My garden gets sun pretty much all day,and the Hellebores I planted last spring have increased by twice as many,and are now flowering.

mirandaw

Thanks for all replies.

I used a universal potting soil. We don't have many kinds of potting soil here in Holland unfortunately.... They seem to be doing well, all are upright and none seem to be struggling. Also there were a lot of flower buds in every one of them, and they have started to flower as well, so I think they are OK. 

I have a garage and that has an overhang that gives shade so maybe I can put them there when it gets very hot next year. They are now all under a veranda, that also gives shade, but gives less shade in the summer because of the different position of the sun in the summer. But we'll see what happens. 

Beautiful plants, so I enjoy them very much !

Cambridgerose12

One solution is to have deciduous, taller shrubs (if you can manage large pots) to the sunny side of them which will provide shade when the leaves are on. I have one in a pot which has been there for three years and it is doing fine. I have several in the ground in heavy clay, but in the last two years the mice have eaten every flower bud! And I have two that I haven't managed to plant out, but they are looking healthy too--I put them under my table over the summer and watered frequently, and they are regrowing. They're quite robust plants but they do like a heavier soil, like shrubs. So if you can get a soil-based compost...

Ante1

I have beautiful white hellebore which flowered in early December this year. Usually he bloom in late winter but we had a warm and rainy autumn and I must say, it's a real gem in the garden.

A week ago



Yesterday

Ante1

Sorry philippa, there wasn't name on the pot, it was only written hellebores. I like his pure white colour with green center.

Cambridgerose12

It's probably a form of H. niger, the Christmas rose.

Dovefromabove

It looks very like the one we have by our front porch ... Helleborus x nigercors ‘Snow Love’. Very reliable, floriferous and long lasting. 

We love it smiling at us through the grey winter weather.