Orange barrenwort
Epimedium x warleyense · Berberidaceae
Coppery-orange and yellow flowers, an unusual colour for spring shade, on wiry stems above light green, heart-shaped leaves.
- Size
- 14 in tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 5 to 9
- Light
- Part shade to shade
- Flowers
- Mid April to mid May
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around orange barrenwort
The planner designed this bed around orange barrenwort 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 orange barrenwort stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Orange barrenwort × 3, orange
- 2 Leadwort × 16, blue
- 3 Christmas rose × 10, white
- 4 Foxglove × 3, purple
- 5 Blue wood aster × 3, lavender
- 6 Dwarf English boxwood × 1, dark green leaves
- 7 Grecian windflower × 12, pink
- 8 Glory-of-the-snow × 8, blue
Why this plant
- The only airy sprays. The others are dense clusters, open bowls, spires and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only orange. The one hot colour: every other flower here is cool or neutral.
Why here
- Under the taller plants. It runs back between them as living mulch: there its job is to cover the soil, not to be looked at.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for five weeks. From mid April to mid May.
- Fills a gap. For two 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. Leadwort repeats along the bed to tie it together. Cool colours (blue, purple, lavender and pink) with orange as the warm note, and white to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 6 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where orange barrenwort goes in a border
At 14 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: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.
Raised in Ellen Willmott's garden at Warley Place. It makes an open, running carpet, and its orange looks well with the blue of brunnera and the new bronze growth of ferns.
- Orange for spring shade
- Groundcover under shrubs
- Dry shade
What to plant with orange barrenwort
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Siberian bugloss: blue against orange, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for four weeks; bold leaves against its medium ones.
- Autumn fern: its dark green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after.
- Lungwort: blue against orange, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for four weeks.
Questions about orange barrenwort
Does orange barrenwort need sun or shade?
Orange barrenwort 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 ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled.
What zones does orange barrenwort grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 9. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does orange barrenwort 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 5 | Mid April to mid May |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Mid April to early May |
| Zone 7 | Early April to early May |
| Zone 8 | Late March to late April |
| Zone 9 | Late March to mid April |
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 orange barrenwort 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 14 in (35 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many orange barrenwort 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 threes and fives, along the front and just behind it.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is there a native plant like orange barrenwort?
Orange barrenwort is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Creeping woodland phlox: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 6 in shorter, 6 in narrower.
- Allegheny spurge: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 4 in shorter, 6 in narrower.
- Creeping mahonia: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; yellow, not orange, keeps its leaves in winter.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after orange barrenwort?
Orange barrenwort is over by mid May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Sweet woodruff: from early May to early June, 8 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.
- Columbine: from early May to mid June, 24 in tall.
What does orange barrenwort look like in winter?
Orange barrenwort 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.
More Epimedium
- Barrenwort 'Amber Queen' Epimedium 'Amber Queen'
- Barrenwort 'Frohnleiten' Epimedium x perralchicum 'Frohnleiten'
- Barrenwort 'Lilafee' Epimedium grandiflorum 'Lilafee'
- 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 (groundcover)
- Size
- 14 in (35 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
- Mid April to mid May; airy sprays; orange
- Leaves
- Medium texture, semi-evergreen; green
- Shape
- Mat-forming, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 9
- Light
- Part shade, shade
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- 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.