Don't cut them back. Water them thoroughly before digging and take as large a rootball as possible. And replant immediately.....they will be far better off in the ground than trying to maintain them in a container. Give them a location with plenty of afternoon shade. Keep the soil moist but not wet......and make sure it is well draining.

And hope for the best :-) Absolutely the wrong time to do this but I understand that needs must.

ETA: hellebores are NOT supposed to be moved in fall. They are best transplanted or divided immediately after their bloom season, which would be early spring.

ok.. i read the rest.. lol ....you already thought up my plan .. good.. do it ...

a big plant is the same as the little plant.. but for weight and size ... dont get all wrapped up in that ..

also .... in fall .. you might seperate out some tiny side babes ... the best way to protect an old plant.. is to make some new ones .... increasing the odds of long term success ...

in fact.. when you are digging them up.. if you can do the same.. all the better.. the small ones might survive easier ...

i would let the process stresses make it ugly.. and then cut off the ugly parts ... rather than cutting off stored energy in advance ....

also.. leaves are food making machines.. so i dont cut them off ...

they are also water users.. while the roots are stressed .. but again ... they are storing water.. and if they need be sacrificed for the good of the whole... better to have them there..

dont freak out if they get real ugly ... as long as you water properly.. and get the roots working .... you should win ... it really is no different from someone who had the hail storm from hell this time of year... the ugly plants will return ... all other things properly done ...

and do not love them to death ... water when they need water .. not every few hours because you are worried.... and then rot the roots off ...

ken

Excellent idea about watering them deeply for the next several weeks before taking them, Ken. I definitely had NOT given those additional deep watering sessions a thought. It makes perfect sense, but I failed to think of it on my own. I was mainly thinking about making that clay more welcoming to my shovel so I could get as much of their root systems as possible, instead of making them stronger plants that would better be equipped to deal with the stress. Good one, Ken! Clumps of thanks! Lisa

Oops! The only comment I saw was Ken’s first comment before I responded back. I’m a little slow in that department (posting).

So.......I still love the idea of “beefing them up with water” in the few weeks prior to digging. The stronger they start off, the better off they’ll be.

Thanks, Gardengal! I noticed that my aunt hadn’t even cut off the dry blooms from January. That’s lucky for me, otherwise I wouldn’t know which ones were singles, doubles, purple, white, or lime green. I’ll be sure to attach a tag with a bloom description to each plant. After I tag them by color and other characteristics, is it ok to cut only the dry blooms off? I can’t think of any reason to leave the old blooms on the plants, unless they would help protect the rest of the foliage from the sun. If I plant them directly into the ground, they WILL get some direct morning sun. There’s not much I could do about that morning sun, if I plant directly into the ground. The only reason I was considering potting them into containers first, is because they could stay in the shade all day in containers. Maybe I could do a mixture of both. If I see any tiny baby plants, they could be potted up and kept in containers in the shade until late November? If I find lots of small ones, I’d be more likely to give both ways a shot.

Thank you both very much for your quick replies. I’m going to ask my aunt to start giving them some good soakings, starting now. I’m really glad you two told me not to cut them back. Cutting them back would have happened to some degree without your input, for sure. Thanks for telling me. What about removing those dry blooms? I saw loads of them left on the plants just the other day. Thanks, Lisa

PS. I don’t mind if the process makes them ugly for a while. It’s the final plant, a year or two from now that I care about. Plenty of other “ugly things” going on in my garden, especially spring annuals that are taking forever to ripen their seeds! We had such a cool spring and early summer that I still have some Sweet Peas blooming. They are new(to me) varieties so I want those seeds to ripen. Boy, they can make things ugly with their tan, papery leaves and vines all over other plants, while I’m waiting for those pods to ripen. Ugly leaves will be nothing new. Lol Lisa

You can remove the old flowers any time. But try to keep as much of the foliage intact during the move as possible.

If they've been in the ground as long as you say, I think you have a hard time killing them just by transplanting them. As others said, they will mope and be ugly for awhile, weeks, perhaps months.

I transplanted several established hellebores over the last two years. I don't think you can imagine how dense and big the root system can be. On YouTube there's a show on 'transplanting hellebores" ,part of a series, filmed outdoors. . this older gent gives a good demo on how far you'll have to dig from the plant's center to get out the entire root system.

Put a tarp down so you can plop it there while you try to find big enough pots.

You'll really enjoy your advance inheritance. I hope you don't have to wait too long for them to bloom. If you can remember, keep us updated. I'd love to see the real things.