Citrinum St. John's Wort
Hypericum olympicum 'Citrinum'
Height: 12 inches
Spread: 12 inches
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: 7
Other Names: Mount Olympus St. John's Wort
Description:
A dwarf, low mounded garden shrub, featuring pale yellow flowers with prominent deeper yellow stamens in mid summer; evergreen in warmer climates; great for groundcover, or a as a garden accent; tolerates dry conditions very well once established
Ornamental Features
Citrinum St. John's Wort features dainty yellow star-shaped flowers with lemon yellow anthers at the ends of the branches from early to late summer. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive tiny oval leaves remain grayish green in color with hints of silvery blue throughout the year.
Landscape Attributes
Citrinum St. John's Wort is a multi-stemmed evergreen perennial with a mounded form. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect.
This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Citrinum St. John's Wort is recommended for the following landscape applications;
- Mass Planting
- Rock/Alpine Gardens
- General Garden Use
- Groundcover
- Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
- Container Planting
Planting & Growing
Citrinum St. John's Wort will grow to be about 12 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 12 inches. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. Although it is technically a woody plant, this slow-growing plant can be expected to behave as a perennial in our climate if planted outdoors over the winter, usually regrowing from its base (crown) the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.
This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to dry locations, and dislikes excessive moisture. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. This plant does not require much in the way of fertilizing once established. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.
Citrinum St. John's Wort is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers and foliage against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden. Be aware that in our climate, this plant may be too tender to survive the winter if left outdoors in a container. Contact our experts for more information on how to protect it over the winter months.
