Seedlings bloom in two to three years. Fragrant hellebore grows from thickened, slow-creeping rhizomes with thick, fleshy roots. Plants form substantial clumps of foliage up to 2 feet wide. Newly emerging leaves, clothed in silvery silken hairs, expand as the flowers fade. Each silky leaflet is toothed on the upper third of its length.
Plants are evergreen, and the leaves often come through the winter unblemished.
In early spring, cut away the old foliage to make way for the flowers. In the garden, these hellebores are easy to grow in humus-rich, evenly moist, neutral soil. If your soil is extremely acidic, add ground limestone. Though these plants tolerate summer shade, the more sun they receive the more prolifically they'll bloom. They even tolerate full sun where the soil is rich and moist.