Hellebores are a winter interest plant that can grow well into spring. With evergreen, attractive foliage and graceful flowers in the colder months, the sight of Hellebores in the garden is most certainly a cheerful one. Most commonly, Hellebores are available in shades of red, pink, white or yellow/green flowers and are also commonly referred to as the ‘christmas rose’.
Generally, Hellebores don’t need much maintenance but there are things you can do in the summer months to encourage healthy growth. During the summer months, Hellebores go dormant meaning that they stop growing to conserve energy for their next growing season when the right weather for them returns.
As the plants will be dormant, there may not be a need for you to water your plants during the summer, however it’s a good idea to keep up with the pruning despite their main growth occurring in winter and spring. While other care tips can be optional, we’ll run through what you can do with your hellebores in summer to get the best from them when their peak season arrives.
Pruning Hellebores in Summer
When fresh growth appears, cut back and compost old leaves. During summertime, if your plant needs pruning back, simply trim back some of the stems so you have a nicely pruned plant but try not to disturb it too much.
After your Hellebore has flowered and the flowers are starting to go over, seed pods may develop in the darkened centre of each flower. Now is a good time to consider deadheading them. Leaving the seed pods may produce lower quality flowers so removing them will improve the quality of the remaining plant and refocus its energy into those.
When should Hellebores be cut back?
The ideal time for pruning Hellebores is as soon as new growth begins to appear. This is likely to be late winter or early spring. Once new shoots appear, the old existing leaves may look tired or damaged. Clip back the old leaves by trimming them directly at the base. If your older leaves are still in good condition, you don’t have to remove them. However, doing so will make more room for the plant’s new leaves to grow and reduce the chances of the plant tangling itself up.
Watering Hellebores in Summer
It’s best not to over water Hellebores during their dormant period in summer. If you overwater your plants, you may find that they struggle to bounce back in winter. Additionally, there’s no need to feed Hellebores during this time as they are inactive and conserving energy within the plant and its roots.
Light Conditions for Hellebores in Summer
Moderate amounts of shade during the summer months will benefit your Hellebore plants best. You should avoid exposing them to too much sunlight as this may cause the leaves to dry out and wilt.
Other than the tasks mentioned above, we recommend leaving your Hellebores to lie dormant over summer with little disturbance so they can prepare themselves for their peak season and utilise that stored energy over summer for stronger growth during winter.