Red barrenwort
Epimedium x rubrum · Berberidaceae
Heart-shaped leaves, edged and flushed red in spring and autumn, on wiry stems, with sprays of small crimson and cream flowers in April. It thrives in dry shade.
- Size
- 12 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Part shade to shade
- Flowers
- Late April to mid May
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around red barrenwort
The planner designed this bed around red 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 red barrenwort stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Red barrenwort × 8, red
- 2 Blue star creeper × 8, blue
- 3 Turtlehead 'Hot Lips' × 5, pink
- 4 Japanese meadowsweet × 3, pink
- 5 Pieris 'Little Heath' × 1, variegated leaves
- 6 White trillium × 5, white
- 7 Hardy cyclamen × 7, pink
- 8 Grecian windflower × 12, blue
Why this plant
- The only airy sprays. The others are spires, plumes, open bowls and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- A classic partner for hardy cyclamen. Both are on this plan. A pairing gardeners have proved outranks a general rule.
- The only red. The one hot colour: every other flower here is cool or neutral.
Why here
- On the front edge. At 12 in it frames the bed without hiding it, and it is in leaf all season. It finishes 44% of the edge.
- 8 plants in 2 runs (5 and 3). Runs of different lengths make the edge a frame, not a ruled line.
- Beside hardy cyclamen. A recognised partner: the planner puts such plants together where it can.
Why now
- In flower for four weeks. From late April to mid May.
- Part of the bed's peak. With white trillium and Grecian windflower in late April: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 6 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Grecian windflower is the first into flower, in early April, and hardy cyclamen the last to finish, in mid October. Pink is the colour seen most, on 3 of the 7 kinds grown for their flowers.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 4 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where red barrenwort goes in a border
At 12 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 standard answer to dry shade among tree roots, where little else will grow. Cut the old leaves to the ground in late winter, so the flowers and the new red foliage can be seen.
- Groundcover for dry shade under trees
- Edging a woodland path
- Foliage that colours in spring and autumn
What to plant with red barrenwort
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Lenten rose: in flower together for three weeks, from late April; bold leaves against its medium ones.
- Christmas fern: its dark green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; tall enough (20 in) to stand behind it.
- Hosta: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its medium ones; spires rising out of its mound.
Questions about red barrenwort
Does red barrenwort need sun or shade?
Red 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 a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does red barrenwort grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °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 red barrenwort flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late 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 4 | Early May to late May |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late April to mid May |
| Zone 6 | Mid April to early May |
| Zone 7 | Mid April to early May |
| Zone 8 | Early April to late 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 red barrenwort 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 12 in (30 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many red barrenwort 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 red barrenwort 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 red barrenwort?
Red barrenwort is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Foamflower: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; white, not red, wants moist soil.
- Creeping woodland phlox: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 4 in shorter, blue, pink or lavender, not red.
- Allegheny spurge: the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers early April to early May, white, not red.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after red barrenwort?
Red 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 red barrenwort look like in winter?
Red 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'
- Orange barrenwort Epimedium x warleyense
- White barrenwort 'Niveum' Epimedium x youngianum 'Niveum'
- Yellow barrenwort 'Sulphureum' Epimedium x versicolor 'Sulphureum'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 12 in (30 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
- Late April to mid May; airy sprays; red
- Leaves
- Medium texture, semi-evergreen; green
- Shape
- Mounding, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Part shade, shade
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Berberidaceae
Checked against NC State Extension. 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.