Stinking hellebore
Helleborus foetidus
Stinking hellebore is a perennial for focal point, structure, suited to full sun to partial shade and clay, loam, chalk or acid soil, flowering Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr.
| Type | Perennial |
|---|---|
| Mature height | 80 cm |
| Spread | 60 cm |
| Aspect | full sun to partial shade |
| Foliage | Evergreen |
| Hardiness | USDA 4a-9a, RHS H6 |
| Pollinator-friendly | Yes |
| Pet-safe | No |
Where to use it in a border
At around 80 cm, it sits best toward the back of a border, or on its own as a focal point with room around it. Give it about 60 cm of room to spread. It is hardy across USDA zones 4a to 9a and rated H6 by the RHS, so check it suits your area before planting.
It appears in our lists of shade, clay soil, chalk soil, acid soil, evergreen plants, pollinator-friendly plants.
Border Builder uses Stinking hellebore's height, spread, soil, bloom months and companions to place it in a full border plan for your own conditions, on iPhone and iPad.
Flowering through the year
Worth knowing
- Evergreen, so it keeps the border furnished through winter.
- It tolerates a shaded, north-facing spot.
- Not recorded as pet-safe; site it away from pets that graze if that matters to you.
- Its flowers are valued by bees and other pollinators.
Good companions
Plants that share its conditions and style, chosen to complement its place in the border:
- Bugleto edge in front
- Glaucous sedgeto edge in front
- Alumroot 'Palace Purple'to edge in front
- Appalachian Sedgeto edge in front
- Barrenwort 'Frohnleiten'to edge in front
- Black mondo grassto edge in front
Garden styles
Formal Native Shade cottage Woodland
Sources
Bloom timing and hardiness drawn from: