White barrenwort 'Niveum'
Epimedium x youngianum 'Niveum' ·
A small, clump-forming barrenwort with pure white flowers above delicate, bronze-tinted new leaves in spring. It wants more moisture than its tougher relatives.
- Size
- 8 in tall, 12 in wide
- Zones
- 5 to 8
- Light
- Part shade to shade
- Flowers
- Late April to mid May
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Edging
A bed built around white barrenwort 'Niveum'
The planner designed this bed around white barrenwort 'Niveum' 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 white barrenwort 'Niveum' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 White barrenwort 'Niveum' × 8, white
- 2 Blue star creeper × 19, blue
- 3 Turtlehead 'Hot Lips' × 5, pink
- 4 Tall astilbe 'Superba' × 3, purple
- 5 Inkberry 'Gem Box' × 1, dark green leaves
- 6 Snowdrop × 12, white
- 7 Grecian windflower × 5, blue
Why this plant
- The only airy sprays. The others are spires, plumes, bells and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- On the front edge. At 8 in it frames the bed without hiding it, and it is in leaf all season. It finishes 47% 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 four weeks. From late 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: 5 of the 5 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Turtlehead 'Hot Lips' and tall astilbe 'Superba' anchor the back corners of the bed: the tallest plants on the plan stand there. Blue star creeper repeats along the bed to tie it together.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 4 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 white barrenwort 'Niveum' goes in a border
At 8 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: edging. A low, neat plant used in short runs of three or five along the front to finish the edge (or, in a formal bed, in one even row).
Dainty rather than tough: this one is for close viewing at the front of a moist, shady bed, not for covering ground under trees.
- Edging a shady path
- Small woodland gardens
- Detail beside ferns and small hostas
What to plant with white barrenwort 'Niveum'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Hosta 'Blue Mouse Ears': its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; spires rising out of its mound; happy in the same moist soil.
- Japanese painted fern: its silver leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; tall enough (18 in) to stand behind it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Dwarf goat's beard: takes over when it finishes, flowering from late May; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about white barrenwort 'Niveum'
Does white barrenwort 'Niveum' need sun or shade?
White barrenwort 'Niveum' 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, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does white barrenwort 'Niveum' 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 white barrenwort 'Niveum' 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 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 white barrenwort 'Niveum' be planted?
10 in (25 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 12 in (30 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 8 in (20 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many white barrenwort 'Niveum' plants do I need?
At 10 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 17 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 13 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 55 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as runs of three or five along the front (or one even row, in a formal bed).
In the bed above, the planner used eight in two groups.
Is white barrenwort 'Niveum' 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 white barrenwort 'Niveum'?
White barrenwort 'Niveum' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Foamflower: the same size, the same flowering time and the same colour; a carpet, not an edging.
- Woodland phlox: the same flowering time and the same colour; a drift, not an edging, 4 in taller.
- Squirrel corn: the same size, the same flowering time and the same colour; a drift, not an edging, fine leaves, not medium.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after white barrenwort 'Niveum'?
White barrenwort 'Niveum' is over by mid May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Dwarf goat's beard: from late May to late June, 12 in tall (a recorded partner).
- Sweet woodruff: from early May to early June, 8 in tall.
- Lady's mantle: from late May to early July, 18 in tall.
What does white barrenwort 'Niveum' look like in winter?
White barrenwort 'Niveum' dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Epimedium
- Barrenwort 'Amber Queen' Epimedium 'Amber Queen'
- Barrenwort 'Frohnleiten' Epimedium x perralchicum 'Frohnleiten'
- Barrenwort 'Lilafee' Epimedium grandiflorum 'Lilafee'
- Orange barrenwort Epimedium x warleyense
- Red barrenwort Epimedium x rubrum
- Yellow barrenwort 'Sulphureum' Epimedium x versicolor 'Sulphureum'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 8 in (20 cm) tall, 12 in (30 cm) wide
- Plant
- 10 in (25 cm) apart
- Height class
- Low (6 to 12 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late April to mid May; airy sprays; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 8
- Light
- Part shade, shade
- Soil
- Average, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
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.