Best St. John's Wort Varieties & Care Tips

Sunny, Uplifting, and Decorative

The effervescent St. John's Wort shrub is sure to provide you and your landscape with three seasons of appeal! You'll find a range of St. John's Wort plants for sale right here at Nature Hills Nursery. These cheerful shrubs bring golden blooms, berries, and year-round beauty to any garden!

All About Hypericum
Fantastic St. John's Worts At Nature Hills!
St. John's Wort Care
- Well-Behaved St. John's Wort Plant Landscaping Ideas
Pollinators & Florists Love Them!
Hardy Hardworking Hypericum!

All About Hypericum

People have used Hypericum flowers as herbal medicine to combat depression and decorate their landscapes for millennia! You can be assured you're getting St. John's Wort varieties that bring a healthy addition to your landscape.

St. John's Wort can be a deciduous shrub during the cold, while others are evergreen to semi-evergreen in mild winters, or they may even die back to the ground in harsh winters.

Mounded to creeping forms, lovely blue-green to silvery-green foliage, fall color, and winter interest, St. John's Worts have so much more than their brilliantly golden-yellow buttercup-like blooms and long-lasting nature! Each radiant blossom has an enchanting spray of the vivid yellow, spark-like stamen that explodes from the center of each flower, only adding to their appeal!

A 'Wort' By Any Other Name

What's a "wort"? A Wort in Old English is an ancient term that translates to medicinal 'plant', but can be traced further back to the Proto-Indo-European entomology of "root".

There are over 500 species of Hypericums, and they range from trees to woody subshrubs to deciduous perennials. It's important to understand that not all St. John's Wort plants are the same, despite having similar characteristics. The sheer diversity of this plant family has allowed it to thrive around the world!

St. John the Baptist is celebrated with a Holy Day on June 24. Blooming European native Hypericum perforatum plants were traditionally hung above door frames to ward off evil spirits on the eve of St. John's Day.

Fantastic St. John's Worts At Nature Hills!

These mounding plants offer green to blue-green foliage and yellow blooms through the summer, without the pain of deadheading!

Attracting tons of beneficial insects with vital nectar and pollen resources, Hypericum also has seed capsules or showy berries or 'hips' for winter décor. Long-blooming, seldom bothered by deer, cold-hardy, and sporting colorful fall fruit, St. John's Worts are cheerful garden additions.

Best Hypericum for Landscape Specimens & Focal Points

Albury Purple - Unique red/purple foliage and red berries, native cultivar
First Editions® Pumpkin - Glowing orange-pink berries
First Editions® Cobalt-n-Gold™ - Fall color and wide-spreading
First Editions® Red Star - Fall color & red-orange berries
Proven Winners® Golden Rule® - Fantastic fall color & spreading nature

Best Hypericum For Groundcover & Erosion Control

St. John's Wort - Native to Southern Europe and Southwestern Asia
Sunburst - Evergreen-semi-evergreen foliage and red-brown berries
Ames - Evergreen to semi-evergreen foliage and shiny brown seed pods
Sunny Boulevard® - Evergreen/semi-evergreen foliage & tight branching

Best Hypericum For Cut Flower Gardens

Beauty™ - Bright green foliage and rosy-salmon berries
Glory™ - Caramel-orange berries in the fall
Green - Green foliage and bright green fall berries
White - Unique creamy white berries in fall

All St. John's Worts are fantastic pollinator plants and space-saving shrubs that exude bright color and fall/winter interest!

Hypericum perforatum (European native): also known as Tipton's Weed, Rosin Rose, Goatweed, and Aaron's Beard
Hypericum frondosum: compact, space-saving shrub varieties
Hypericum x inodorum: hybrids that combine the best traits of different species
Hypericum kalmianum: semi-evergreen foliage in warmer climates
Hypericum calycinum: creeping, mat-forming plant native to Southern Europe and southwestern Asia
Hypericum densiflorum: U.S. native species

Medicinal Qualities

St. John's Wort supplements tout this herb as a curative for anxiety, PMS, and depression. Topically, Hypericum has been used to treat cuts and burns. Recent studies suggest the effectiveness of this herb in treating ailments, including cancer, inflammation, and bacterial and viral diseases, and as an antioxidant and neuroprotective agent!

We don't recommend that you ingest garden-grown Hypericum, though. Discuss St. John's Wort supplements with your physician, especially if you are taking prescription medicine, then visit your local health food store for more advice.

But we like to say it's the cheerful blooms and working outside in your garden that can help boost your mood!

St. John's Wort Care

Here's the quick rundown on caring for these great little shrubs! St. John's Wort thrives in tough conditions and is usually left alone by deer!

Thrives in tough conditions and is usually left alone by deer
Adaptable to many soil types (except marshy or wet soils)
Grows in full sun or partial shade
Needs at least 4 hours of direct sunlight daily for best blooms and color
Prefers rich, sandy loam but will grow in most well-drained soils
Avoid "wet feet". Poor drainage can harm the plant
Add a generous layer of mulch to retain moisture and protect roots
Prune while dormant to control size and shape
Most species bloom on new wood, so pruning in early spring won't reduce flowering
Tolerates periods of drought once established
Generally pest-resistant and grows vigorously with minimal care

Well-Behaved St. John's Wort Plant Landscaping Ideas

Versatile and low-maintenance, St. John's Wort fits beautifully into a wide range of landscape designs, offering color, texture, and reliability wherever it's planted.

Use St. John's Wort as a ribbon of color along shrub borders or front walks
Create a durable hedge that brings long-lasting seasonal interest
Grow successfully in large containers for patios or entryways
Works beautifully as a groundcover or in rock gardens
Creeping varieties spread into attractive mats, perfect under mature evergreen trees
Pairs well with other plants in naturalized landscapes
Adds bright color to formal beds, informal borders, country gardens, and mixed-shrub plantings
A smart choice for low screens and privacy hedges
Ideal for erosion control, steep slopes, and large group plantings
Naturally deer-resistant, making it reliable even in harder-to-maintain areas

Pollinators & Florists Love Them!

They will certainly brighten up the landscape, and you'll love seeing the butterflies and bees gather their nectar. Don't forget to include these flower factories in Pollinator gardens.

Professional florists use the cute, capsular fall fruit in cut flower arrangements, so they're a must-have for Cutting Gardens, too! Your cut flower beds are a natural place for these intriguing plants, and every florist will be familiar with the botanical name 'Hypericum'. If you don't use them in bouquets, the seedpods add incredible winter interest; they also fill out your tablescapes amazingly.

Hardy Hardworking Hypericum!

Count on NatureHills.com to help guide you to safe landscaping plants that perform beautifully in your garden. Check out more info on planting and flowering shrub care in our Garden Blog!

Like planting sunshine in your garden, you won't go wrong with the tough, adaptable, and cold-hardy St. John's Wort flowering shrub!

Happy Planting!

Albury Purple St. Johns Wort

View details

Rating

Type

Shrub

Nature Hills Nursery

Flower Color

Yellow

Growing Zone Range

5-9

Mature Height

2-3 ft

Width

1-2 ft

Price

$57⁹⁸

Frequently Asked Questions

Do deer eat st john's wort?

St. John's Wort is generally deer resistant due to its bitter taste and aromatic compounds that deer find unpalatable. While no plant is completely deer-proof, most Hypericum varieties remain largely untouched even in areas with high deer pressure. For added protection in zones where deer browsing is severe, plant St. John's Wort alongside other deer-resistant shrubs or apply repellent sprays during the first growing season until plants become established.

What is the best st john's wort?

The best St. John's Wort depends on your specific landscape needs. For landscape specimens and focal points, choose upright varieties that create stunning visual anchors, while groundcover types excel for erosion control on slopes and challenging terrain. Cut flower garden varieties offer the longest-lasting blooms for arrangements and provide continuous seasonal interest. Select based on your garden's primary purpose and browse Nature Hills' curated collection to find the perfect Hypericum variety for your growing conditions.

Are hypericum evergreen?

St. John's Wort (Hypericum) can be deciduous, evergreen, or semi-evergreen depending on the variety and your climate zone. In mild winter areas, many varieties retain their foliage year-round, while in harsh winter zones they may die back to the ground completely. Some varieties naturally have a mounded evergreen habit, while others are deciduous shrubs that lose leaves in cold weather. Check the specific variety's cold hardiness rating and evergreen characteristics before purchasing to ensure it matches your zone and landscape needs.

How to grow st john's wort?

St. John's Wort thrives in full sun to partial shade and adapts to most well-draining soil types, making it an excellent low-maintenance choice for zones 3-9 depending on the variety. Plant in spring or fall, spacing shrub forms 3-4 feet apart and groundcover types 2-3 feet apart to allow for mature spread. Water regularly during the first growing season to establish roots, then these drought-tolerant plants require minimal care beyond occasional pruning in late winter. Choose evergreen varieties for year-round interest or deciduous types for areas with harsh winters.

Are they evergreen?

St. John's Wort can be deciduous, evergreen, or semi-evergreen depending on the variety and your climate conditions. In mild winter areas, many varieties remain evergreen to semi-evergreen, while in colder regions they become deciduous or may die back to the ground in harsh winters. The foliage ranges from blue-green to silvery-green and provides winter interest in milder climates. Check the specific variety's cold hardiness rating to determine what growth habit to expect in your zone.

How to care for st john's wort?

St. John's Wort thrives in full sun to partial shade and adapts to most well-draining soils, making it an exceptionally low-maintenance shrub. These hardy plants tolerate drought once established and require minimal pruning, though you can shape them in late winter or early spring before new growth begins. Most varieties are cold hardy to zones 3-9 depending on the species, with some dying back to the ground in harsh winters and returning in spring. Water regularly the first year to establish roots, then reduce watering as these tough shrubs become quite drought tolerant.

How to use st john's wort plant?

St. John's Wort plants serve multiple purposes in the landscape, from specimen plantings and groundcover to cut flower arrangements. These versatile shrubs provide three seasons of interest with their golden-yellow blooms, colorful berries, and attractive blue-green to silvery-green foliage. The flowers have been traditionally used for herbal purposes, though you should consult healthcare professionals before medicinal use. Plant them in sunny locations where their cheerful blooms can brighten borders, control erosion, or create stunning focal points in your garden design.

What are the best St. John's Wort varieties for my garden?

The best St. John's Wort variety depends on your specific garden needs and growing conditions. For landscape specimens and focal points, choose upright varieties that form attractive mounded shrubs with showy golden blooms. For slopes or areas needing erosion control, select creeping groundcover types that spread naturally. Browse our complete selection of hardy Hypericum varieties at Nature Hills to find the perfect match for your zone and garden style.

When is the best time to prune St. John's Wort to encourage more flowers?

The best time to prune St. John's Wort is in late winter to early spring, typically February through March in zones 5-9, just before new growth begins. Light pruning after the first flush of blooms in mid-summer can encourage a second round of flowering later in the season. Remove spent flowers regularly throughout the growing season to promote continuous blooming. For established shrubs, cut back one-third of the oldest stems annually to maintain vigor and maximize flower production.

Why isn't my St. John's Wort flowering well, even though it's healthy and bushy?

St. John's Wort requires full sun (6+ hours of direct sunlight daily) to produce abundant blooms, and insufficient light is the most common cause of poor flowering. Over-fertilizing with nitrogen-rich fertilizers can also promote excessive foliage growth at the expense of flowers. If your plant is healthy but not blooming well, ensure it receives maximum sun exposure and avoid high-nitrogen fertilizers during the growing season.

Best St. John's Wort Varieties and How To Care For Them