Plant Type

Shrub

 

Height Range

1-3', 3-6'

 

Flower Color

Yellow

 

Flower Season

Summer

 

Leaf Color

Blue Green

 

Bark Color

Red

 

Fruit Color

Red

 

Fruit Season

Summer, Fall

Sun

Full, Half

 

Water

Low

 

Growth Rate

Moderate, Slow

 

Soil Type

Sandy, Clay, Loam

 

Soil Condition

Average, Rich, Well-drained

 

Soil pH

Neutral, Basic

 

Adverse Factors

n/a

Design Styles

English Cottage, Formal, Mediterranean, Ranch, Spanish, Woodland

 

Accenting Features

Showy Flowers

 

Seasonal Interest

Summer, Fall

 

Location Uses

Shrub Border, Foundation, Walls / Fences

 

Special Uses

Hedge, Small Spaces

 

Attracts Wildlife

n/a

Shrubby St. John's wort is a small, dense, upright, mounded deciduous shrub that is noted for its large showy golden yellow flowers and attractive blue-green foliage. It grows to 3 to 4 feet tall and wide. Bright yellow flowers with bushy yellow stamens bloom June and July. Flowers give way to reddish-brown narrow ovoid fruit capsules that ripen in September and persist well into winter. Attractive exfoliating reddish-brown to purplish bark develops on mature stems. A nice mid-season bloom to add to the shrub or foundation border.

Grow in average, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Prefers rich, sandy loams. Tolerant of some drought. Apply mulch around root zone to aid in over-wintering. Plants may suffer tip dieback or die entirely to the ground in harsh winters. When plants die to the ground in winter, the roots often survive and send up new shoots in spring. Flowers bloom on new wood, so winter damage will not adversely affect flowering.