Family: Hypericaceae
Name: Hypericum prolificum
Bloom Time: June-August
Flower: Yellow
Soil Condition: Dry to moist
Light: Sun
Height/Width: 1-5 feet by 1-4 feet
Native Range: Central and Eastern North America including Long Island
Zone: 3-8
Photos (KMS Native Plants): habit, flower, and a very happy bumble bee
This is one of my favorite native shrubs. Its rounded habit blends in well with other shrubs and is also at home mixed with perennials in a border or meadow. Shrubby St. John's wort also works well as a low hedge. Although not a nectar source, it is visited by bumble bees, syrphid flies, Halictid bees, and several leaf beetles.
Maintenance: blooms on new wood, prune in early spring once new growth begins but it is not necessary
Benefits: pollinators, the birds eat the seeds, it tolerates clay soil, host plant for Gray Hairstreak butterflies and several moths
Fun facts: the leaves contain a phototoxic chemical hypericin. This can irritate the digestive tract or cause rashes on skin exposed to the sun. This also may deter herbivores from browsing the plant.
Companion Plants: Aster oblongifolius (Aromatic Aster), Hibiscus moscheutos (Swamp Mallow), and Monarda fistulosa (Wild Bergamot)
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References: 1. http://www.newmoonnursery.com/plant/Hypericum-prolificum
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