Basket-of-gold
Aurinia saxatilis · Brassicaceae
Dense clusters of brilliant yellow flowers cover mounds of grey-green leaves in mid-spring. It needs poor, dry soil and dislikes hot, humid summers.
- Size
- 10 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Mid April to mid May
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around basket-of-gold
The planner designed this bed around basket-of-gold when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why basket-of-gold stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Basket-of-gold × 8, yellow
- 2 Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch' × 11, pink
- 3 Little bluestem 'The Blues' × 5, tan
- 4 False sunflower 'Summer Nights' × 3, yellow
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Sunset hyssop × 3, orange
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 4, purple
- 8 Snow crocus × 12, blue
Why this plant
- The only dense clusters. The others are spires, daisies, globes and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- On the front edge. At 10 in it frames the bed without hiding it, and it is in leaf all season. It finishes 58% of the edge.
- 8 plants in 2 runs (5 and 3). Runs of different lengths make the edge a frame, not a ruled line.
Why now
- In flower for five weeks. From mid April to mid May.
- Fills a gap. For four of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 6 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Early colour comes from bulbs planted between the other plants: snow crocus. Snow crocus is the first into flower, in early March, and little bluestem 'The Blues' the last to finish, in early October.
The planner's own design check: 14 Excellent, 3 Good. 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 basket-of-gold goes in a border
At 10 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is low (6 to 12 in).
Its job: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.
The strongest yellow of spring, so use it in small doses and pair it with purple aubrieta or blue grape hyacinth. Shear it by a third after flowering to keep it compact.
- Spilling over walls and rocks
- Bright spring colour with bulbs
- Dry banks
What to plant with basket-of-gold
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Aubrieta: purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for five weeks; low enough (6 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same dry soil.
- Rock cress: in flower together for four weeks, from mid April; happy in the same dry soil.
- Grape hyacinth: blue against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for four weeks; spires rising out of its mound; low enough (6 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about basket-of-gold
Does basket-of-gold need sun or shade?
Basket-of-gold grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does basket-of-gold grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 7. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Above zone 7 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 basket-of-gold flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid April to mid May. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 3 | Early May to late May |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Late April to late May |
| Zone 5 | Mid April to mid May |
| Zone 6 | Mid April to early May |
| Zone 7 | Early April to early May |
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 basket-of-gold be planted?
12 in (30 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 18 in (45 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 10 in (25 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many basket-of-gold plants do I need?
At 12 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 12 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 11 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 38 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as threes and fives, along the front and just behind it.
In the bed above, the planner used eight in two groups.
Is basket-of-gold poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like basket-of-gold?
Basket-of-gold comes from Central Europe to N. Balkan Peninsula. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Rock cress: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; white or pink, not yellow, fine leaves, not medium.
- Woolly yarrow: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers late May to early July, fine leaves, not medium.
- Robin's plantain 'Lynnhaven Carpet': the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 4 in shorter, lavender, not yellow.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat basket-of-gold?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after basket-of-gold?
Basket-of-gold is over by mid May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Creeping thyme: from early June to mid July, 3 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Lady's mantle: from late May to early July, 18 in tall.
- Catmint 'Walker's Low': from mid May to mid September, 24 in tall.
What does basket-of-gold look like in winter?
Basket-of-gold holds some of its leaves into winter, more in a mild year or a sheltered spot, and they look tired by March. Cut the old ones off as new growth starts.
Is basket-of-gold good for bees and butterflies?
Basket-of-gold is visited by bees.
In these guides
- Deer-resistant perennials for full sun
- Drought-tolerant perennials for full sun
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Plants for bees
- Low plants for the front of a border
- Groundcover plants
- Silver and grey-leaved plants
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 10 in (25 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 12 in (30 cm) apart
- Height class
- Low (6 to 12 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Mid April to mid May; dense clusters; yellow
- Leaves
- Medium texture, semi-evergreen; grey-green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Brassicaceae
- Comes from
- Central Europe to N. Balkan Peninsula
- Attracts
- Bees
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). 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.