Sounds like a rather normal condition for Helleborus X hybridus. At this time of the year, the old foliage begins to die and new foliage will begin to emerge. Some folks cut off the old leaves, for aesthetics, but I never do, since they lie flat on the ground, the flower stems are above them and as long as they remain green, they are producing chlorphyll.
One Hellebore is not enough! I grow hundreds of them, in many colors and am always looking for another unique one.
They are fairly drought tolerant and require good drainage.
They perform best when grown in a sunny location, but in the South, they need protection from the intense summer sunlight. Dappled shade is nearly ideal.
Enjoy the winter flowers!
RB

Thank you! So often, it seems, the best answer is to do nothing!

Kaky,
check out whether there are black spots on the foliage or the flowers. The only problem I've found with Helleborus x hybridus is the black-spot-disease. It is one of the reasons why many people cut the old leaves in winter as a preventive measure. Also the flowers are looking better (I think) when not covered with leaves.

It certainly doesn't hurt and most often helps the plant to remove the old foliage. By this time of year it looks particularly ratty and frequently will harbor fungal spores that can lead to leaf spot or other problems. And it allows the flowers to take center stage. Most commercial growers follow this method. Fresh, new foliage will emerge as the flowers are fully developed.

Cutting back old foilage sounds like a winner to me, some of my plants leaves are laying on the ground and some look ratty too......I wasn't sure if cutting them off would ruin future growth,If some of you do it and there are no ill effects by gosh, out I go with pruners in hand!

We had a really warm December and January and all of my Helebores came up and were it full bloom (including foetidus)....then we had a terrible freeze in February (the entire month). Now alot (not all) of the blooms are limp and a rotted mess on the ground..I have had to cut them off and don't know what will happen now. This has never happened before..sometimes they will be very close to the ground blooming and are okay when a freeze comes but this time they were too far in bloom. Maybe this is what happened to yours? Otherwise I would jsut wait and see...and yes I cut the old foliage off.

I have been reading the Hellebore forum for information on Hellebores,because I have just bought my first one. It is March here in N.C. and what I am reading is they only bloom in winter. I that correct? My plant looks good,but no blooms. I purchased at a nursery. Will I have to wait until next winter for blooms?
Thanks Wells

Wells...
There is a possibility that you could see blooms on your plant. I have had some young one's flower very late in the season (May). I purchased some recently and they are only now beginning to produce flower stems. They have no foliage, as the vendor cut those off before shipping (standard practice, unless you request they be left on and I forgot to specify).
Here's hoping!
RB

make sure you sterilize your clippers in rubbing alcohol after working on each plant. I got that nasty blackspot disease on my hellebores on one side of the house and I'm sure its because I went from plant to plant without cleaning my clippers. I've had to get fanatic about that.

Yes, I went out and got rid of the dusk before the dawn! You'll be happy to know hellebores self-sow very freely, with much better germination than from seed companies, even the finest seed cos. Bad news is it's a few years to flower maturity from seed.

I have a similar question: one of my H x hybridus has turned totally brown and fallen to the ground. There is some green around the crown, but no other signs of life. Of these, my first two, this one looks sad and dead, but the other looks fine - still has green leaves, etc. Is the brown one dead or is this normal after a couple of weeks of subzero weather? (I had same conditions as shadeyplace.) It was thriving, but totally flopped in winter!

(btw, lurker for a while, my first post here! Hello all!)

Wells, I'm in zone 9 in the Los Angeles area. My hellebores are just in bloom now.