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, Aug 138 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Aug 148 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Aug 158 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.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle complementary species for an instant habitat. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
Short on Space Package
For gardeners who have an abundance of passion but are short on space, this package features tidy, upright, clump-forming natives that behave and function well in small spaces.
Shade Bed Package
Ferns, sedges, and woodland natives that thrive under existing trees.
Birder’s Paradise Package
For the avid bird watchers and budding ornithologists in our community, the Birder’s Paradise Package consists of species that Hill House Nursery staff and longtime native plant advocates such as Doug Tallamy consider ‘premier bird garden plants’.