All your normal purchased plants are(hellebore hybridus) Acaulescent(stemless), the flowers and leaves come straight from the crown. Stemmed species(caulescent) are the H. foetidus, H. argutifolius types. The fact is that the stemmed varieties are pretty quick to flower from seed but really resent disturbance once established. If you buy these as plants, buy as small as you can and plant them out in situ. H. argutifolius used to be called the Corsican Hellebore, (H. corsicus) and is a plant for full sun. The flower buds on the stemmed varieties develop on the previous years new stems and so are not particularly suitable for very cold environments where the foliage will be damaged in zone 4-6 conditions...(the foliage is still pretty good without the flowers). Back to your question. Hellebores in pots. Yes, the nurseries keep all their stock plants in large pots, that way it's easier to put a plant on the bench and do the hand pollination etc. We're talking big DEEP buckets here, I keep 2 year old plants in 8" deep pots moving up to 10" then 12" for 3 and 4 year olds. The depth is what they need, Hellebores grow their roots down not out. However, why not plant them out, they'll be Ok lifted after flowering, provided you don't let the roots dry out, how soon are you moving, if this year then yes keep them in pots, but if longer, they will grow better in the open ground. Other point noted, you say for your new shade garden, hellebores like sun part of the day at least. They are ideal under high deciduous cover, woodland edge where they get full light in winter/spring and light shade for the peak of the day in summer. In heavy shade they will be drawn and fail to flower well. Cheers Greenmanplants

The pic isn't too clear but it might be a bloodroot. They both grow in the shade. It has a thick orangy rhizhome and looks like a cut off finger when it's broken! Ugh! Other than that it would get white flowers in the spring and is considered a spring ephemeral but mine last most of the summer and into the fall sometimes. The plant not the flower! Try looking it up on Hortiplex for a better look.

Xarrah, I have young hellebores that bloom in summer too...I don't know if it's coincidental or not but this is also a cool summer, mild winter climate. Several oriental hybrids began blooming for the first time in June last year; plants I had grown from seed with only a couple of weak fertilizer applications while they were still containerized - no additional fertilizer after planting in the ground. More plants from that same group of seedlings bloomed in winter, more the timing I had expected. I did notice when deadheading spent bloom stalks from the plants that bloomed in winter just a week ago (waited to harvest the seed and the seed is slow to mature here), that two of the plants I was deadheading are again sending up new flower stalks. Year round flowering? I suppose as long as they seem so healthy, they can bloom on their own timing :)

Welcome to the wonderful world of hellbores, donn! You'll find they are just as addicting as your passion for ornamental grasses. For information on growing and propagating as well as an excellent overview of the genus as a whole, you'd have to look hard to find a better source than the website developed by one of our regular posters to this forum, Joseph Woodard. It is a superb presentation and should provide you with all the info you need to develop your habit rapidly :-) Here is a link that might be useful: jgwoodard's hellebore website