Some help with Helleborus , please

[Muddy fingernails]

Good morning,
It is cold and rainy, so not much gardening will get done today. Somebody gave me a pot of Hellebores last week. I know they are wonderful plants and should be planted under bushes/trees and will bloom very early in the year. Here are my questions: I have a juniper bush on the west side of the garden with low arching branches. I am growing coleus there. When it dies, can I plant the hellebore there? Do I need any special fertilizer, mulch, etc?

With regards,
Antje is Muddy fingernails

[insam]

Hello Antje,

There really isn't much to know about hellebores that is different than most other plants in terms of cultivation requirements. They are among the easiest and most resilient perennials and thrive in many garden conditions. The one thing that I would suggest is to give your hellebores plenty of sun during spring and summer if you want them to grow quickly and bloom profusely (most of mine get full sun from around noon-5pm and my latitude is much lower than yours). Anyway, if the coleus does well there, chances are the hellebores will do just fine too. There are no special feritlizer or mulch requirements, just treat them as any mainstream perennial. You could easily grow them in full sun in your climate, but the juniper will certainly not hurt them. Hopefully they will bloom for you and you can share photos here with us in early spring. Do you know what kind of hellebores you have?

Joseph

[Muddy fingernails]

Hi Joseph,
No clue about which kind I have. Can you tell by the leaves? I'll post a picture of the plants in the pot. Will have to ask the previous owner about the variety. The full sun may be a problem there underneath the juniper. I may have to rethink the location. There is afternoon sun,though.

Regards,
Antje is Muddy fingernails.

[Muddy fingernails]

I planted the hellebores. They are lenten rose. I did chose the spot under the shrub because the coleus grew very well there.
Antje