Can't answer your question, but I feel your pain. I wish people would get it through their heads that topping trees is a BAD idea! It looks HORRIBLE and the trees are never the same again. Hope things work out for you. : /

Hallo Solange,
they grow in the sun - but my trees were cut in winter.
Maybe they burn this year and get better next year!
Karin

Solange,
Most hellebores will accept full sun with little trouble. The situation may require more moisture due to evaporation, etc... but I have never noticed any "burn" or anything on the leaves. Wilting maybe, particularly the first year of a transplant.
Are you in the mountains there or piedmont? Probably fine either way. I have some plants that are new transplants and now getting full late-afternoon sun. They seem ok.

Thanks for the advice & commiseration! I am in the mountains. They have been exposed for more than a week & they seem OK. I doused them earlier. Fortunately the house blocks the late-afternoon sun from most of them.

Hi! I love hellebores and my gardening friend and I have both found out that our plants do much better in the sun! I live in Illinois and the summers are really hot and sunny. They don't suffer at all and flower much better than the ones I have in the shade. Transplanted ones do need to be watered well, but after the first summer they're fine. Good luck, they'll be fine. Char Rube

I think the reason they call Hellebores shade plants is that they do very well in shade/ not mentioning the fact that they also do well in sun. They will be fine..I have no full sun but I have seen them around here in full sun and in full shade and both do fine.

My guess is that hellebores object to CHANGES in light because plants cannot change their leaf structure. You may find they burn badly until the leaves drop and it sprouts new ones which are adapted to the new light. The key is to protect it so it doesn't die in the process. Try to provide some sort of shelter, like large annuals (castor beans, etc.?)

I'm in zone 6 also, and one of my favorite hellebores (orientalis hybrid)gets blasted with afternoon sun all year around and couldn't look healthier. It is a mass of blooms in spring.

I have over 100 1-2 year old seedlings, mostly orientalis, that are in what is mostly full sun and they are doing great.

Where do most of you buy your plants. I got 3 couple years ago at a cheap price. I love them but when looking at some sites $30+ for one plant is way too steep for me ,especailly with the extra shipping charges and then they could die.