I don't know about Hepatica, but I do know that my Peonies didn't bloom well the first year because I planted them just a little too deep. It's so natural to feel that you should cover up the lower part of the plant in order to protect and nourish it, but some need to sit partly on the surface. It used to make me shudder to see the way the German Iris rhizomes moved themselves gradually right onto the surface of the soil on my hot hill, but they thrived.