I picked up 'Cinnamon Snow' from Santa Rosa Gardens in 2011 and planted it as soon as it arrived (sometime in late summer) so I can't directly address your winter storage question. My best guess would be to pot it up and set it close to your house foundation, preferably in a sheltered spot & lay it on its side until the worst of the winter weather is behind us. I've had success doing that with a few other Z6 nursery-grown perennials.

JMO - I don't think I'd try to overwinter the plant indoors given its cold-hardy nature. Did you ask at Trader Joe's what they recommend?

Whatever you decide, best of luck--it's a lovely hellebore that I'm glad to have added to the others I'm growing.

Thanks, garden weed. Glad to hear that you've had success with 'Cinnamon Snow' --- it really is a lovely plant. Hellebores take more sun than most think. I'm curious about where you planted it. I have some other varieties that get morning sun and are thriving.

As for the folks at Trader Joe's, no, I never asked. In fact, their whole display was sold out within days. I did send a note to the grower but haven't had a response yet.

In any case, I'll do some more research on winter heaving in of this plant.
Molie

Molie - Congratulations on snagging such a nice plant.

Is your ground frozen? If not, I'd plan on planting it in the ground. I'd ease it into the cooler weather, starting with an enclosed porch or garage without supplemental heat, and then I'd plant it in a sheltered spot. I don't have any experience with winter-purshased hellebores, but they don't mind cold weather, and IME in general, most hardy perennials don't like being kept indoors in winter.

Thanks, Barb, I love this plant, too! Sadly, I have some negative factors here.

Our ground is frozen and even the river is beginning to freeze over. We don't have an enclosed porch or a garage, and our basement is heated and finished. In fact, I ran many of these negatives (briefly) through my mind as I held 'Cinnamon Snow' at Trader Joe's. Of course, by then, having picked it up, it was already MINE!

We're getting a snowstorm in a few days, then warmer weather and rain, then very cold again. Drats, our NE weather is crazy! I knew I should have dug it into the ground right away but was so busy with holiday preparations that I put it aside.

So I'm kind of stymied and not sure how to tackle this situation. I'm considering keeping it in a spare bedroom where I can turn off the heat? Then if it should get a bit warmer, heeling it into the ground in a sheltered spot against the house? Keep it in its original pot for sure and keeping it cool is my goal. I don't want to lose this great plant. If I could then get it to a time when the ground thaws, I'll plant it outside.

Brainstorming - heel it into a compost pile? pack it into a window well? put it under the deck in a big box? make a shelter of cardboard boxes inside boxes inside boxes like a matryoshka Russian stacking doll? keep it in the car with a few warming packets (and warm up the car every day)?

and then plant it outside as soon as the ground thaws a bit.

Claire

Hellebores don't go fully dormant in winter, so I don't think they'd be happy laid on their sides in their pots, the way some other perennials can be treated. You could leave them in their pots, upright, but you'd need to mulch the bases well and keep an eye on them to make sure they don't dry out too much.

I saw some nice ones at our local Mahoney's, but I was concerned about keeping them over the winter, so I passed on them.

These are incredibly tough plants, though - if they seem to have died off in early spring, plant them anyway. I've had them come back from the dead more than once.

molie: "I'm curious about where you planted it."

All my Lenten roses are planted at the northeast corner of my house where they get morning and some mid-day sun. I have a total of six varieties and a few have been growing & thriving where they are for 5+ years.

Thanks, all, for your suggestions, support and information. I was hoping to pick the brains of the enormously gifted gardeners on the NE forum. I think that folks who garden with extreme weather variations, and also like to push the envelope of what is âÂÂnormalâÂÂ, come up with unique techniques. So, as usual, I learned many new tips from reading your posts. The fact that hellebores should be placed upright and not on their sides when I put the pot out was a real âÂÂsaveâÂÂâÂÂ. Thanks, DtD! Yes, I know, I know---- I should have walked on by like you did at MahoneyâÂÂs, but the price and the look of âÂÂCinnamon Snowâ just drew me in.

Winter in New England should be a time of planning, not planting! This sure is a pickle I created for myself. I knew it would be a challenge to take this beautiful plant home and I'm guessing that many of the others who also snatched it up from TJ or WF may have done so because they thought it was an indoor plant.

So ---- considering all of my limitations --- no garage or enclosed porch, no compost pile, huge winds off the water in the back that also affect our exposed deck on that side, IâÂÂve narrowed my options. IâÂÂll keep it in the least warm area of our house and then plant it along the east side of the house when the ground thaws a bit.

Here are some shots of 'Cinnamon Snow' as she resides now in a cold back bedroom ---

Happy New Year and hereâÂÂs hoping that the first storm of 2014 treats you all kindly!

I see why you couldn't resist! That's a beauty. I bet it will be fine, too... and, who knows, I may just get back to Mahoney's, if the snow holds off long enough.

Very pretty and a pretty room!

Thanks, DtD and PM2. The funny thing about this plant is that its "drinking habits" remind me of my Spathiphyllum's --- in both the stems and flower stalks droop when they need water. Each time I've found Cinnamon like this, I'd water her in the sink, wonder if she was a goner, but in a while the stems would standing and the flowers perky again.

I'm hoping to keep her going inside until late winter when I'm able put her on the deck for a bit each day to acclimate her to the big world. With the temperature swings we're having so far, I'm afraid putting the plant in the ground, even during a warmish spell, would be too stressful. We'll see!

One more idea. Probably what I would do is find a large pot, fill it with soil and "heel" your pot with the hellebore into that larger pot. I am not sure how I would acclimate to outside conditions. Wait until temperatures are back in the high 30s and put it in my car for a week or so and then outside in a sheltered location?

Great idea, Asarum, about heeling it into a larger pot --- I was leery about putting Cinnamon outside at this point in the winter, especially since the tag shows that it was greenhouse grown. That's also a good suggestion to wait until we're back in the high 30s and then keep it in the car for a while before planting.

DtD is right that these are tough plants. I have some Pine Knot strains that get little care and keep going and growing.