How and When to Cut Back Hellebore Leaves

Hellebores bloom before most other perennials! Their winter and spring blooms add color to still, lifeless gardens during the cold months. Cutting back hellebore foliage is optional, though it has incredible benefits for your plants. Longtime grower Jerad Bryant shares when and how to cut the leaves for peak performance.

The cut back Hellebore plant features slender, pale green-pink stems topped with nodding, delicate flowers with purple-pink petals and pale yellow stamens, blooming gracefully in the garden.

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Hellebores hail from Europe and Asia, growing underneath dense tree canopies in forested areas. Their dark green foliage captures filtered sunlight throughout the year. As autumn finishes, these leaves reach the end of their road! They lose life and vigor, turning yellow and brown before wilting fully. 

You may leave them to die naturally, though this creates an unsightly appearance. New, bright green new growth will emerge right as the old foliage dies. The brown and yellow colors may distract onlookers, pulling attention away from the prize-winning blossoms!

Cutting the old foliage off also helps battle diseases like leaf spot. You’ll prevent them from infecting new emerging leaflets, ensuring your specimen stays happy, healthy, and vigorous for the rest of the year. 

So, let’s dive in! We’ll learn how and when to prune your hellebores so they look their best. Read to the end for a bonus tip on how to cut hellebore blossoms and keep them in bouquets. 

When to Cut Back Hellebore Leaves

Late fall, winter, and early spring are the best times to cut off old hellebore foliage, though it’s not best for all species. First, identify what type of hellebore you have so you know how to prune it properly.

It Depends on the Variety

Soft пурпурные and white blossoms bloom on tall, slender stems with glossy, deep green leaves at the base.
Prune hybrid types to promote healthy growth and flowers.

Three main types of hellebores exist for ornamental gardeners. There are hardy evergreen types with foliage that persists longer than a year. There are also semi-evergreen and deciduous hellebores that lose their leaves after a year. Nowadays, plant breeders combine the two to form a third category—hybrids!

The hybrids are the easiest to cultivate in garden settings and are the types you want to prune. You may also prune semi-evergreen and deciduous types, although you want to leave evergreen ones alone. Evergreen species like the Corsican hellebore form flower buds on last year’s stems, and pruning them will remove these blossoms!

Most hellebores sold at retailers and garden centers are hybrids. Evergreen types flower off last year’s stems, while deciduous, semi-evergreen, and hybrid species push new flowering buds out from underneath the soil in late winter. Watch your specimen this year to see how it grows so you can determine what type you have. 

Wait for Winter

Close-up of a plant with thin stems and bell-shaped flowers in a burgundy-purple hue covered with a layer of snow in the garden.
Snip old foliage when it loses its vitality.

Hellebores, like most other plants, use their green leaves to photosynthesize and gather energy from the sun. Cut them off too early, and you’ll deprive your plants of energy! As summer and autumn fade into winter, thesy slowly die as the plant no longer needs them. 

It’s best to snip off the old leaves and stems once the plant no longer needs them. You’ll notice them start to droop and turn yellow as they lose their vigor.

Evergreen Hellebores

Helleborus x sternii ‘Variegata’ features variegated foliage with dark green and creamy white leaves, and small buds with pale pink petals beginning to emerge.
Prune in late spring after the blossoms have finished.

Remember, evergreen hellebores bloom on last year’s stems. Leave them until after they finish flowering, then prune off the spent stems in late spring and early summer. Avoid slicing them in winter or early spring, as you may cut off the blossoms before they open.

Some common evergreen hellebore species to prune in spring and summer include:

  • Stinking Hellebore, Helleborus foetidus
  • Corsican Hellebore, Helleborus lividus subsp. corsicus
  • Stern’s Hybrid Hellebore, Helleborus x sternii

While pruning evergreen types, you may notice small stems emerging from the ground. These are next year’s flowering stems. Avoid pruning or damaging them while you remove last year’s growth to keep your future flowers safe

How to Cut Back Hellebore Leaves

Cutting off spent stems and leaves is a simple task with the right tools. Gather herbal snips or pruners and a bucket to collect the old foliage. Let’s start snipping!

Remove Old Stems and Leaves

The cut dark green, leathery leaves with a glossy texture and deeply lobed edges rest on damp soil, attached to thin pale green stems in the garden.
Snip spent ones at their base for a fresh start.

Start by finding the old leaves from last year. They’ll typically drape downwards in their old age, and some may fall flat on the floor. Gardeners with winter snow will find the leaves lying flat on the ground underneath snow banks. 

Remove the spent leaves by snipping them off at their base. Locate the thick stem, then prune it off as low to the ground as possible. The new flowering buds and leaves emerge from the center of the plant, offering a rejuvenated structure for your ornamental garden.

The treatment is similar for pruning evergreen types. In spring and summer, locate last year’s stems with spent flowers. Prune them off by snipping them as close to the ground as possible

Leave Flower Buds

Two flower buds are encircled by small, overlapping dark green leaf collars with finely serrated edges on thin stems.
Prune carefully around buds, shielding them with a container.

Hellebore flower buds emerge from underneath the soil. Small leaves form collars underneath the buds, creating a gorgeous spectacle in the shady garden. Take care while pruning to avoid harming these sensitive buds. They’re fleshy and tender—a sharp blade easily cuts through them. 

One way to protect the buds is to cover them while you prune. Place a container or basket on the emerging stems, then continue your pruning regimen. After pruning, remove the container and watch the buds grow as they elongate, nod over, and open up.

Bonus Tip: How to Cut Flowers

In a glass vase, a bouquet of vibrant, speckled, bell-shaped flowers with wide double petals rises from strong stems.
Enjoy long-lasting arrangements with fresh water and alcohol solution.

Hellebores are prize-winning perennials because of their gorgeous, nodding flowers! Making floral arrangements out of the blooms is an excellent way to enjoy them indoors. Although they nod over, there are some tricks you can use to make them visible in bouquets.

One way to present the blossoms is with a water bowl. Remove the flowers where they attach to the main stems. Then, turn them upside down in a bowl with water. You’ll see inside their petals while they drink from the moisture beneath them. 

Traditional bouquets are another excellent way to present these blooming beauties. Cut the flowers by pruning the stems after the blossoms form seed pods, from early spring through summer. Place the cut stems in a vase with a solution of one quart of water with two tablespoons of 95% ethyl alcohol. Change the water weekly to keep your bouquet perky, fresh, and colorful. 

Key Takeaways

  • When to prune your hellebores depends on what type they are. Evergreen species that bloom on last year’s stems need pruning after they flower, while semi-evergreen, deciduous, and hybrid hellebores need their old leaves cut off in winter and spring.
  • When pruning, take care to avoid hurting emerging shoots. Hellebores push out new growth earlier than most other perennials, starting in December in mild winter regions.
  • Cutting off spent hellebore blooms encourages bigger, bolder flowers next year. Prune them off, make a bouquet with them, and watch as your plants thrive for the rest of the season.
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Close-up of white Helleborus flowers with five smooth petals, a pale yellow-green center, and fine stamens.

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