Golden Groundsel
Packera aureus
Intense yellow April bloom over a dense, weed-suppressing groundcover that thrives in wet shade where little else will. Early food for bees.
Typically 1 pint–1 gal · $9–$30 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Sep 248 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Sep 258 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Sep 268 AM – 2 PM
The most reliable native groundcover for wet, shaded sites. intense yellow early spring blooms, vigorous spreading habit, and evergreen foliage through winter.
Golden Groundsel is one of the great spring workhorses of the native garden: it blooms intensely yellow in April when color is scarce, spreads by rhizomes to form a dense weed-suppressing groundcover, and tolerates wet, shaded conditions that would challenge almost any other native. The golden daisy-like flowers rise above the rounded, heart-shaped basal leaves for several weeks, giving early bees and flies a reliable food source before much else has opened. Use it to carpet a shaded rain garden, stabilize a streamside bank, or fill in a low, wet corner where nothing else will thrive. It naturalizes quickly and looks intentional within a season. The evergreen foliage holds through most winters and keeps the ground covered while taller companions are dormant. This is one of the plants we recommend most consistently for difficult shaded sites.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown golden groundsel propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
Plant golden groundsel instead of Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna). Same job in the garden, without the spread.
- Sun
- Part sun
- Water
- Moist
- Mature size
- 1–2 ft · 12–18 in wide
- Bloom time
- April–May
- USDA zones
- 3–8
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Native range
- Eastern North America. moist woods, floodplains, and stream banks from Nova Scotia to Wisconsin south to Georgia and Arkansas
Care notes for golden groundsel.
Plant in partial to full shade in moist to wet, humus-rich soil. Golden Groundsel tolerates standing water temporarily and is one of the few natives that thrives in consistently soggy conditions. Allow rhizome spread to naturalize a colony. it will fill in quickly. Trim spent flowers to keep the planting tidy. The evergreen rosette should be left in place through winter. Extremely low maintenance once established.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside golden groundsel.
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