St John's wort 'Hidcote'
Hypericum 'Hidcote' ·
A rounded, semi-evergreen shrub covered in large, golden-yellow, saucer-shaped flowers from early summer to autumn.
- Size
- 3½ ft tall, 4 ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late June to mid September
- Pets
- Toxic (moderate)
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around St John's wort 'Hidcote'
The planner designed this bed around St John's wort 'Hidcote' when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why St John's wort 'Hidcote' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 St John's wort 'Hidcote' × 1, yellow
- 2 Cottage pinks × 25, pink
- 3 Verbena 'Homestead Purple' × 5, purple
- 4 Sweet coneflower 'Henry Eilers' × 4, yellow
- 5 Italian bugloss 'Dropmore' × 5, blue
- 6 Bergenia 'Winter Glow' × 3, red
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 4, purple
- 8 Hardy gladiolus × 5, pink
- 9 Easter lily × 5, white
Why this plant
- The bed's only structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down, and it is the only one here.
- The only open bowls. The others are dense clusters, daisies, airy sprays and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- At the back, and only just seen. At 3½ ft it is about the height of Easter lily (3 ft) in front of it.
- A step in the back row. Next to sweet coneflower 'Henry Eilers' (4½ ft) and Italian bugloss 'Dropmore' (4 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for 14 weeks. From late June to mid September.
- Part of the bed's peak. With cottage pinks, verbena 'Homestead Purple', Italian bugloss 'Dropmore' and others in late June: 5 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 6 groups (83%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The bed is tied together by its repeats: three kinds come round again along it, among them cottage pinks and verbena 'Homestead Purple'. The longest in flower is verbena 'Homestead Purple': 21 weeks, from mid May to early October.
The planner's own design check: 10 Excellent, 7 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where St John's wort 'Hidcote' goes in a border
At 3½ ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
A long season of clear yellow, which looks best with blue and purple neighbours. Cut it back hard in spring if winter has damaged it; it flowers on new growth.
- Months of yellow flowers
- Low, informal hedges
- Dry, sunny banks
What to plant with St John's wort 'Hidcote'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Catmint 'Walker's Low': in flower together for 13 weeks, from late June; spires rising out of its mound; low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it.
- Salvia 'May Night': purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for four weeks; spires rising out of its mound; low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it.
- English lavender 'Hidcote': purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for six weeks; spires rising out of its mound; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about St John's wort 'Hidcote'
Does St John's wort 'Hidcote' need sun or shade?
St John's wort 'Hidcote' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled.
What zones does St John's wort 'Hidcote' 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 St John's wort 'Hidcote' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to mid September. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 5 | Late June to mid September |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Late June to mid September |
| Zone 7 | Mid June to mid September |
| Zone 8 | Mid June to mid September |
| Zone 9 | Early June to mid September |
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 St John's wort 'Hidcote' be planted?
3½ ft (100 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 4 ft (120 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3½ ft (100 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many St John's wort 'Hidcote' plants do I need?
At 3½ ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 1 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 4 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 3 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one, planted singly: it is the bed's structure, and everything else is arranged around it.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is St John's wort 'Hidcote' poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: moderate toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. All parts are poisonous if eaten, and can make the skin of animals blister in sunlight.
Rated from the ASPCA. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Is there a pet-safe plant like St John's wort 'Hidcote'?
These come closest to doing what St John's wort 'Hidcote' does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- English rose: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 8 in taller, medium leaves, not fine.
- Shrubby cinquefoil: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; belongs in the middle, not at the back, 4 in narrower.
- Glossy abelia: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 20 in taller, 8 in wider.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after St John's wort 'Hidcote'?
St John's wort 'Hidcote' is over by mid September. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Blue wood aster: from mid September to mid October, 3 ft tall.
- Montauk daisy: from mid September to late October, 3 ft tall.
What does St John's wort 'Hidcote' look like in winter?
St John's wort 'Hidcote' 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 Hypericum
- Aaron's beard Hypericum calycinum
- Golden St John's wort 'Sunburst' Hypericum frondosum 'Sunburst'
- Kalm's St John's wort Hypericum kalmianum
In these guides
- Garden plants toxic to cats
- Garden plants toxic to dogs
- Shrubs under 4 feet for small gardens
- Long-flowering plants: 12 weeks or more
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 3½ ft (100 cm) tall, 4 ft (120 cm) wide
- Plant
- 3½ ft (100 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late June to mid September; open bowls; yellow
- Leaves
- Fine texture, semi-evergreen; dark green
- Shape
- Rounded, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
Checked against ASPCA poison lists. 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.