Barrenwort 'Amber Queen'
Epimedium 'Amber Queen' · Berberidaceae
Long sprays of spidery, amber-yellow flowers flushed with orange, by the hundred, over spiny-edged leaves mottled red when young.
- Size
- 18 in tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 5 to 8
- Light
- Part shade to shade
- Flowers
- Late April to mid June
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around barrenwort 'Amber Queen'
The planner designed this bed around barrenwort 'Amber Queen' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, part shade. It chose the other plants from the 513 that suit those conditions, and says below why barrenwort 'Amber Queen' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Barrenwort 'Amber Queen' × 3, yellow
- 2 Leadwort × 18, blue
- 3 Dwarf goat's beard × 8, cream
- 4 Solomon's seal × 3, white
- 5 Log fern × 3, dark green leaves
- 6 White bleeding heart × 1, white
- 7 Fawn lily 'White Beauty' × 7, white
- 8 Yellow trout lily × 12, yellow
Why this plant
- The only airy sprays. The others are dense clusters, plumes and bells. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- At the back. At 18 in it is the step between leadwort (10 in) in front and Solomon's seal (3 ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- A step in the back row. Next to Solomon's seal (3 ft) and white bleeding heart (2½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for 8 weeks. From late April to mid June.
- Part of the bed's peak. With Solomon's seal, white bleeding heart, fawn lily 'White Beauty' and others in early May: 5 kinds at once. No week has more.
- The only leaves in winter. From November to March it is what there is to look at.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 6 groups (83%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The flowers run from mid April to early October, but stop for 5 weeks from late June. Solomon's seal and log fern anchor the back corners of the bed: the tallest plants on the plan stand there.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 5 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where barrenwort 'Amber Queen' goes in a border
At 18 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is short (12 to 18 in).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
One of the new Chinese hybrids: larger, later and far longer in flower than the old barrenworts, often for two months. It makes a handsome evergreen mound.
- A long spring season in shade
- Evergreen foliage
- Woodland gardens
What to plant with barrenwort 'Amber Queen'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Hosta 'June': its variegated leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its medium ones; spires rising out of its mound.
- Japanese forest grass: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; happy in the same moist soil.
- Foamflower: in flower together for six weeks, from late April; spires rising out of its mound; low enough (10 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about barrenwort 'Amber Queen'
Does barrenwort 'Amber Queen' need sun or shade?
Barrenwort 'Amber Queen' grows in part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning) and shade (less than 2 hours of direct sun, or bright dappled light).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does barrenwort 'Amber Queen' grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 8. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does barrenwort 'Amber Queen' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late April to mid June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 5 | Late April to mid June |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Mid April to mid June |
| Zone 7 | Mid April to early June |
| Zone 8 | Early April to early June |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should barrenwort 'Amber Queen' be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 18 in (45 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many barrenwort 'Amber Queen' plants do I need?
At 18 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 5 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 17 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is there a native plant like barrenwort 'Amber Queen'?
Barrenwort 'Amber Queen' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Celandine poppy: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 6 in narrower, not evergreen.
- Wild geranium 'Espresso': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; pink, not yellow, not evergreen.
- Marsh marigold: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers mid April to early May, not evergreen.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after barrenwort 'Amber Queen'?
Barrenwort 'Amber Queen' is over by mid June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Astilbe: from late June to mid July, 24 in tall.
- Cranesbill 'Rozanne': from early June to early October, 18 in tall.
- Foxglove: from early June to mid July, 4 ft tall.
What does barrenwort 'Amber Queen' look like in winter?
Barrenwort 'Amber Queen' keeps its green and red leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
More Epimedium
- Barrenwort 'Frohnleiten' Epimedium x perralchicum 'Frohnleiten'
- Barrenwort 'Lilafee' Epimedium grandiflorum 'Lilafee'
- Orange barrenwort Epimedium x warleyense
- Red barrenwort Epimedium x rubrum
- White barrenwort 'Niveum' Epimedium x youngianum 'Niveum'
- Yellow barrenwort 'Sulphureum' Epimedium x versicolor 'Sulphureum'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 18 in (45 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Short (12 to 18 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late April to mid June; airy sprays; yellow, orange
- Leaves
- Medium texture, evergreen; green, red
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 8
- Light
- Part shade, shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Berberidaceae
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.