Bear's Foot Hellebore
Helleborus foetidus
Dark, deeply fingered evergreen leaves on upright stems make a bold winter clump, crowned from late winter by sprays of lime-green bells edged in maroon, and it copes with dry shade where little else grows. It lives only a few years but seeds itself about; mulch it where winters are cold.
- Mature size
- 1.5 × 1.5 ft
- 0.5 × 0.4 m, tall × wide
- Hardiness
- Zones 5a–9b
- USDA
- Sun
- Part sun to full shade
- Water
- Medium to moist
- Blooms
- Feb–Apr
Bear's Foot Hellebore at its mature size
A mature Bear's Foot Hellebore grows to about 1.5 ft tall and 1.5 ft wide.
Drawn to scale beside a 5 ft 9 in person. With VeraScape, you see it at this size in your own yard.
Typical mature size, unpruned. Sources: NC State Extension, Perennials.com, Plant Delights Nursery.
Through the year
What Bear's Foot Hellebore looks like month by month in a typical zone 6–7 garden.
In leaf · May–Jan
The evergreen leafy clump, no flowers.
In flower · Feb–Apr
The same upright clump topped with sprays of nodding lime-green bells edged in maroon.
Growing Bear's Foot Hellebore
- Grows well in
- The Northeast, the Southeast, and the Pacific Northwest.
- Growth rate
- Medium
- Good for
- Shade garden, deer resistant, and winter interest
- Leaves
- Evergreen
- Native to
- Western Europe, Southern Europe, and Morocco
Spacing
VeraScape spaces plants so their grown canopies just touch. For Bear's Foot Hellebore, that’s about 1.5 ft apart, center to center.
Place a row in your own yard and VeraScape spaces them at their mature width, so you can see whether they’ll crowd the walk.
See Bear's Foot Hellebore in your yard before you dig
Visualize it at its true size, alongside the rest of your design.
Other hellebores
Pink Frost HelleboreBear's Foot Hellebore
Lenten Rose
Corsican HelleboreAll drawn to the same scale.