Picking appropriate companion plants to place adjacent to your hellebores can be beneficial and improve the overall quality and appearance of your garden. It is also helpful to know which plants serve as companions to hellebore plants in the wilderness.
There are dozens and dozens of common companion plants for hellebores, and we are going to be taking a look at several of them in this guide.
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What Plants Grow Well With Hellebores?
Hellebore companion plants are plants and flowers that grow well with hellebores. Plants such as Grecian Windflower, European Wild Ginger, Begonia, and Impatiens. It is best to plant companions adjacent to each other and to avoid invasive plants that may harm them.
Understanding a hellebore’s companion plants can be helpful for a lot of different reasons. Most importantly, it will help you understand which plants are suitable to be placed next to your hellebores.
It is generally mutually beneficial for companion plants to be placed next to each other. In many cases, placing two compatible plants close to each other will aid both plants in overall growth.
Especially since it is well known that companion plants won’t harm the other plant’s growth patterns. Companion plants can also be useful for other reasons, such as pest control. With that being said, let’s start taking a closer look at the most common companion plants for hellebores.
Best Companion Plants for Hellebores
Now that we’re ready to review the best companion plants that are pairable with hellebores, let’s remember what our companion plants are going to need concerning the hellebore plants.
They will need well-drained soil and a lot of sunlight exposure per day. They also need to appreciate and thrive in the same temperatures, usually between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit, during the daytime. The companion plants listed below are generally tolerable to these conditions and could be great choices for your garden alongside your hellebores.
Quick list of hellebore companion plants:
- Grecian Windflower
- European Wild Ginger
- Begonia
- Impatiens
- Cross-leaved heath
- Witch hazel
- Blue creeping juniper
- Daffodils
- Crocuses
- Tulips
These are just a few of the plants that grow well with Hellebores. Now that you know a few of these, let’s take a closer look at my top four favorites in detail.
Grecian Windflower
The Grecian Windflower is a suitable companion plant for hellebores because it serves as a colorful and vibrant plant that compliments many different varieties of hellebores. Just like most hellebores, they prefer a lot of sunlight and need a well-drained soil composition.
Due to the similar characteristics and maintenance requirements, there’s no doubt that the Grecian Windflower is an excellent companion choice. In addition to the shared characteristics between hellebores and these windflowers, you’ll also take notice that the vibrant colors oftentimes complement the appearance of many hellebore varieties when planted adjacent to each other in a garden.
European Wild Ginger
A lot of people might pass up on the opportunity to partner European Wild Ginger plants with certain hellebores. The reasoning for this is because these plants really appreciate moderate shade, while hellebores usually prefer more sunlight instead.
Even with the slight difference in sunlight preference, you might be surprised to hear that European Wild Ginger can be an excellent selection as a companion plant for hellebores because they can thrive in well-drained soils that have moist compositions, just like a majority of the common hellebore varieties.
They are generally low in maintenance and will gracefully grow their well-known dark green leaves to compliment your population of hellebores. These plants are generally considered groundcover.
Begonia
You might be interested in planting begonias next to your hellebores to compliment them because hellebores and begonias both prefer rich, well-drained soils.
Begonias require a little less sunlight per day than your average hellebore, but this won’t be a problem because they are tolerable to more sunlight. They are also capable of tolerating full shade, but you wouldn’t want to plant your hellebores in a location with begonias that only experiences full shade.
Hellebores need at least some sunlight per day to thrive and full shade would create a lot of complications.
Even if you don’t want to pair up your hellebores with begonias, there are a lot of amazing reasons to consider adding some begonias into your garden.
Impatiens
Hellebores and Impatiens are well-known for preferring similar climate conditions and soils. Rich soil composition with moist properties is important for both of these plants, especially since they may struggle to grow without adhering to these preferences.
It’s recommended to plant Impatiens around hellebores because they have vibrant colors that include red, pink, white, and purple. Impatiens may be one of the best companion plants for hellebores because they love growing in similar conditions and they have the potential to look stunning as they grow alongside each other.
The other companion plants above are also great companions for Impatiens, just as much as they are positive for hellebores. Even if you choose to only plant a few companions around your hellebores, you might notice a significant difference that truly has a positive impact on your garden and your hellebore plants.
Hellebore also makes a great companion to other plants! The plant is great for accenting colors in gardens and deterring deer, who do not like it. Source.
See our article for Christmas Rose (Helleborus Niger)
Frequently Asked Questions
Choosing the right selection of companion plants can improve the growth of all of the adjacent companion plants nearby. This is mainly because your garden will require much less maintenance and naturally grow more efficiently due to similar watering and lighting requirements.
If you have a garden with a variety of hellebores, you’re probably wondering if you have to select companion plants. While it is not a requirement, it is highly recommended and can benefit your local ecosystem and improve growth for all plants, especially when done properly.
The Lenten Rose is a variety of hellebore that grows very well with some other companion plants such as brunnera, Hostas, Lungwort, barrenwort, wood anemone, ferns, and Heuchera.
