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St Johns Wort

15 years ago

I am planning a landscape makeover for the entrance to a local park next to my house. I am hoping to use mostly natice plants to central Maryland, along with a few things that are already there. The area is only 10.5' wide but over 80' long. I am looking for smaller shrubs, as there is a 4' chainlink fence on one side. The current landscaping is completely overgrown b/c it's never been trimmed.

I am considering using St Johns Wortand possibly virginia sweetspire and/or clethra. I've never used any of those before and want to know a little about them. Are any of them maintenance free (as can be)? Since this area is not in my yard, I want something that won't need to be prunned annually.

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Comments (3)

fatamorgana2121
15 years ago
Do you mean St Johns wort as in Hypericum perforatum or one of the other Hypericums, since the common name is sometimes applied to other species? Hypericum perforatum is not native to North America and often is listed as a invasive species or noxious weed. Invasive Species listing for H. perforatum

Check out the link below for Maryland native plants....

FataMorgana

Here is a link that might be useful: Native Plants of Maryland
theresa2
15 years ago
Kalm's St John's Wort is native to the Midwest. I absolutely love this plant, but unfortunately it is not native to your neck of the woods. K-SJW is completely maintenance free and has beautiful yellow mid-summer flowers which the bees love. It is a small dense shrub with a nice tight globe form, maturing to about 3 feet tall and wide. It looks especially nice when massed.

New Jersey Tea is also nice. NJT grows to about 2.5 feet tall and wide. It gets interesting white flowers in early summer. It is a favorite for browsing by rabbit and deer so just keep that in mind with placement. No maintenance other than to trim out winter dieback which may not be an issue where you live.

Blue False Indigo, a herbaceous perennial, is very shrub-like in appearance. Annual cutting back of dead stems in spring would be all that's required

Consider planting Prairie Dropseed, a native grass to your area. Plant PDS 24 inches on center in rows or massed. It's a beautiful native with excellent form. It's not likely to reseed and is a well-behaved clump former. PDS has a soft fine texture and a fun popcorn aroma when in flower. No maintenance except removal of last year's growth in spring.
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St. Johns Wort (Hypericum perforatum) is a weed here in the Pacific NW (I am constantly pulling it here in my Portland garden). You should be able to find it easily if you just take a walk. The defining quality of the plant is the leaves that when held up to light look as though someone has put pinholes in them (perforated them). The stems this time of year are reddish and there may still be some blooms showing. Be aware that this plant can become invasive.
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Thank you NHBabs--you have sparked an idea for me. I have candytuft and perennial geraniums "St. Ola" and some purple variety growing on the opposite side of the walkway from the lavender and both seem to do well, so that is an option that might really work and would require minimal pruning as I only deadhead the candytuft if we are really droughty and it gets a lot of brown tips at once. I also have boxwoods, as do most of the houses around here, so I guess I was thinking of these as a backup in case I can't find something else--something with flowers or that will take less shearing/pruning. I love caryopteris and saw a lovely hedge-like planting of them at Longwood Gardens in PA, but both of the ones I planted here died in 3-4 years. Additionally, they were so incredibly late to leaf out in spring that I always had to spend a month wondering whether they had actually survived winter. I think that'll put me back to the same problem I have with the lavender--too much time spent looking bleh for the front walk, although I hope to have them again someday out back.
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Zone 7, east Tennessee. Mild winter, wet spring. Here's what I've found so far. 1. Dead plant pulled out very easily. Large roots were broken about 1-1 1/2 inches below soil line, however the thicker roots did extend past the drip line. Finer roots were present on the plant. Soil was damp but not swamp-like (We had an inch of rain of few days ago). No visible nematodes or other varmints present except for skink eggs. I know the eggs were recently laid because mama skink came back to cover the eggs. Soil: 2. New photo of problem plant Note the two-three stems/trunks in the ground. The foreground trunk has all dying leaves. The background two(?) trunks are mixed between healthy and dying leaves. Same plant from SW side: The flowers are growing off one stem/trunk. Photo of clippings Photoshopped for color. The black strip is electrical tape for color reference, white background. Right side is the dead/dying clipping and the left side is a clipping from the apparently healthy shrub. Should I attempt to remove the dead/dying parts at the roots? Thanks, and let me know if this helps.
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What is for sure is that the prior two comments are made by people who DON'T buy seeds on Ebay! I have bought so many over the years and literally have had no problem at all. Whatever weird plant I want, it's there. Now, I have bought plants that were OVERPRICED there, but that's the worst of it. St. John's wort is not going to be anything rare. One could probably find some certified seed distributor that will sell the seed, and by the time shipping is paid it will cost $20. Or one can pay $4 on Ebay and take a chance. And throw it away if it turns out to be some ghastly horror story. (And still get their money back!) But I doubt that would happen. Also, while there are mom-and-pop seed vendors on Ebay, there are also professional, full-time seed distributors who are simply expanding their exposure. It's a very active seed selling market.
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Iris GW
15 years ago
It would help to know if the area is sunny, shady or part way in between. If it is sunny, is it sunny in the afternoon or just morning?

Hypericum - and there are several great native ones in cultivation - need mostly sun. Virginia sweetspire (Itea) would like protection from hot afternoon sun. Clethra can take almost anything, but likes a little moisture if possible. Unless you get 'Hummingbird', expect Clethra to get big.

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