Tips for growing shade-tolerant hydrangeas, hellebores and heucheras

The second week of April means there is still time to add bare-root shrubs, fruit trees, roses, berries and flowering shrubs such as lilac and hydrangeas to your landscape.

Some hellebores will still be in beautiful bloom, and heucheras with their dark purple, lime green or copper foliage can be found for sale at local nurseries now.

If you have a partially shaded area in the garden and you wish to design a display with year-round color, consider using these three plants that I call “The Heavenly ‘H’ Plants: Hydrangeas, Hellebores and Heucheras.”

Here are some secrets to growing this trio of plants that love our Western Washington climate and offer so much color to the landscape.

Hellebore growing tips

Hellebores are winter-blooming perennials that now come in shades that range from deep purple to lime green with many tints of pink and white. Some varieties even have pink marbled leaves or attractive foliage with creamy markings.

When planting hellebores, dig a deep and wide hole and loosen the soil all around the root zone. Hellebores have thick and fleshy roots and do not like to be transplanted or divided.

Hellebores are not heavy feeders and prefer a light mulch of leaf mold or compost instead of a liquid plant food.

Clip the old foliage from your hellebore plants in late winter. This not only allows you to see the blooms but also prevents leaf fungus in the form of dark spots from spreading onto the flowers.

Hydrangea growing tips

Hydrangeas are summer-flowering shrubs that lose their leaves in the winter. This makes them great companions for hellebores that need some shade from the summer sun.

There are new hydrangeas that can handle more sun and cold than the traditional mop-head or big-leaf hydrangeas that your grandmother grew.

The Mountain Hydrangeas (Hydrangea serrata) such as the Tuff Stuff series from Proven Winners come in dwarf and red forms and these are outstanding reblooming hydrangeas.

For spectacular hedging and specimen plants, the sun-tolerant Smooth Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) such as “Incrediball” will sprout enormous white flowers all summer long on sturdy stems that won’t flop over. Other hydrangeas for hedging include “Limelight” and “Limelight Prime.”

Hydrangeas do not like hot, dry soil so using mulch on top of the roots and watering during summer droughts keeps them happy.

Heuchera growing tips

Heucheras are low-growing perennials that add dramatic color year round with their richly colored leaves. They will sprout spikes of thin blooms in the summer but these can be snipped off to encourage more foliage.

Just like their bedmates the hydrangeas and hellebores, heucheras like protection from the afternoon sun in a semi-shaded spot.

Heucheras do have the habit of going ‘Vegas Showgirl’ and getting all tall and leggy after a few years. The solution is to snap the stem off at ground level, then remove all the old leaves from the bottom half of the plant and insert the bare stem back into the ground. You can multiply heucheras any time of the year using this break, strip and poke method of reproduction.

Marianne Binetti has a degree in horticulture from Washington State University and is the author of several books. Reach her at binettigarden.com.

This story was originally published April 9, 2022 at 5:00 AM.