I'd like to hear something too. I just bought a couple of sternii and I am not sure what to do with them. I potted them up and plan to bury the pots somewhere ... maybe in a sheltered shady area where the snow might cover them much of the winter? Or would they prefer some winter sun where the soil might stay warmer?

I'm in zone 8/9 here so you'll have to take what I say at theorectical rather than experienced. Anyone please jump in to correct me, I've been holding off this post in the hope that someone with experience at these temperatures could give some definitive information.

H. X sternii is a mixed plant. H.argutifolius and H.lividus come together to give quite varied offspring. Boughton Beauty is a particular cultivar with a lot of lividus blood in it(giving it the stem colouration and the hint of pink flowers).

Both these parents are reputed to come from very similar genetic backgrounds, point being H. lividus will not survive a Zone8 winter outside let alone Z6. Argutifolius is considerably more hardy, but variable in its hardiness, some clones surviving down to Z4 but more often losing their overwinter(flower bud holding) foliage at around Z6/7.

So with this in mind, in Z6 you are likely to lose at least the foliage (and hence the flowers) over the winter, you can still use the plant as a foliage plant, it's pretty fine in this regard and prefers partial, not heavy, shade.

Your zone6 snowcover may make all the difference here, you have to gauge whether you're going to drop below 10F under the snow. Also building or tree shelter may make a significant difference to the microclimate in particular spots.

There is work going on to select hardier forms of argutifolius for the parenting of sternii. But I would still doubt the ability of anything with much lividus blood getting through to flower in spring in Z7 let alone Z6.

I hope this helps. Personally, I would be inclined to grow them as pot plants, a good deep pot with a rich mix should keep them happy enough. Put them somewhere semi protected over the worst of the winter. Keep them above 10F ie Z8 type temperatures and you should have flowers in Feb/March.

Cheers Greenmanplants

I was thinking that if the sternii died back in the winter that they would still flower. It seems like my other hellebores get frozen in the winter and by the time they flower the leaves are all black - I just cut them off and let the new growth come up. Are the sternii different ... do they have buds that have to overwinter?

I'm starting to think "coldframe".

I was going to purchase these seeds from ET but John advised that they would not do well for me outside. Perhaps you want to e-mail him and ask his advise. Also, it has been a while since Tim Murphy has posted here, but perhaps he or Bruce could help you out. Do a search on propergation from seed in this forum and both names should pop up. From there you could e-mail them.

I'm most appreciative to each of you for sharing your thoughts. Looks like I need to pot these babies up and protect them from the worst of our winters. Greenman, thanks for the 10 degree limit so I know when to bring them in.

The reading that I was doing was inconclusive. The plant was created, or so I understood, for beauty and increased hardiness. However, the degree of hardiness was not stated as it seems to be sporadic from plant to plant. (?)

Since I have 3, I could leave one out in a shelter microclimate as an experiment. IF I'm willing to take a 1/3 loss (!) of my plants.

Well then, I'm off to shop for pretty containers to put them in. Nice deep ones.

Thanks again!

x sternii is a caulescent type hellebore - flowers appear at the end of leafy stems. If these act as a herbaceous perennial in your climate with full winter dieback to the ground, you will not see benefit of the flowers in late winter or very early spring.

Most of the x sternii clones/cultivars are not considered reliably hardy in zones less than 7, however Boughton Beauty is considered to be of exceptional hardiness so you may have the best luck with this particular strain. I'd agree with John, though, that container culture may be the best route to go.

Of all the hellebores, x sternii is by far my favorite. I have several different strains and the foliage on all is unsurpassed among the hellebores with heavy texture and rich patterning and color. That it flowers too for an extended period is just a bonus. Grow it if you can - while most folks grow hellebores for their very early season flowers, this is an outstanding foliage plant.

My seedlings did not make it outside the first winter and I had a lot of them.

Thank you Loretta! I've potted up the two I have left and intend to shelter them over the worst of the winter.

mine (from the same source as yours) had no trouble enduring the first winter outside. some of them even remained in pots. i suspect that a variety of conditions, including microclimate, humidity, soil conditions etc.... should be considered. anyway, if you have plenty, you can experiment... if only a few, protection is maybe the safer route. here, even H. argutifolius gets damaged and doesn't flower profusely most years. i presume that as the plants age, they are more prone to frost damage because the foliage is a greater distance from the earth and therefore less insulated.

Thanks for your input jg. I have only 2 seedlings left and have potted them up and bring them inside whenever the temps drop below the teens. So far so good and only 10 weeks to keep doing this.....(!)