Shade Gardening: Hellebore Help!, 2 by dicentra63

dicentra63 wrote:
Last fall I bought a wonderful Helleborus "Winter Jewels™ Apricot Blush" and planted it in a barrel on the north-west side of my house (first image). During the winter the barrels (six in all) were covered in snow. Being west of this year's polar vortex (Salt Lake City, zone 6b), we never had the scary cold that the rest of the country had. Furthermore, the neighbor's fence to the west is fairly close to my house, so the barrels are sheltered from sun, wind, and freeze-thaw cycles. (Some pansies in the barrels survived the winter with their blooms intact.)

About a month ago, we had our first significant thaw and the snow melted off the whole ground. Then it warmed up and did not rain or snow. During this time, I cut away two dead leaves from the Hellebore (leaving a third) and it sent up a hopeful little shoot. About a week later, I realized that the barrels were drying out, so I began to manually water the Hellebore and other peakèd looking plants.

Three days after nice soaking rains, the Hellebore still looks unhappy (second image). My snow crocuses and miniature irises are blooming on the south side of the house, and most other bulbs already have their noses up.

Shouldn't the Hellebore be more lively at this point? It's my first Hellebore so I don't know what to expect. What do they usually bloom with: snow crocuses, later crocuses, daffs, or tulips?