perennial
Barrenwort 'Sulphureum'
Epimedium × versicolor 'Sulphureum'
Preview: plant data is awaiting horticulturist review. A professional horticulturist hasn't reviewed our plant table yet. Lists still follow fixed rules for zone, sun, pets, deer and invasive status.
Epimedium × versicolor 'Sulphureum' is a slow-growing semi-evergreen perennial for gardens in zones 5–8. It grows 0.75–1 ft tall and 1–1.5 ft wide, so plant it 1.25 ft apart. Give it part shade to shade and little water once established. It flowers yellow in April to May. In a FloraVista list it usually plays the edge role: a low plant that finishes the front edge. Deer usually leave it alone, and it is toxic to dogs and cats. Our rules leave it out of lists in Florida and the Gulf, Texas and the South-Central states and the Desert Southwest, where summer heat, humidity or mild winters hold it back even inside its zone range.
Facts from our plant table
- Botanical name
- Epimedium × versicolor 'Sulphureum'
- Plant type
- Perennial, semi evergreen
- Hardiness zones
- 5 to 8
- Sun
- Part shade (2–4 hours); Shade (under 2 hours)
- Water
- Low
- Soil
- Tolerates dry shade and tree roots once established.
- Mature size
- 0.75–1 ft tall × 1–1.5 ft wide
- Spacing
- 1.25 ft apart (centre to centre)
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Bloom
- Apr–May · yellow
- Roles in a bed
- Edge, Filler
- Styles
- classic, cottage, low water, modern
- Deer resistance
- High: deer rarely eat it
- Pets
- Toxic to dogs and cats. No ASPCA entry found for Epimedium; marked toxic until a reviewer confirms.
- Native to
- Not native to the US (or a garden hybrid)
- Pot size and price
- 1-gallon pot, typically $14–$22 (sometimes stocked)
- Plant in
- Spring or Fall
- First-year watering
- Water deeply once or twice a week for the first 6-8 weeks, then every 10-14 days in dry spells through the first summer; after that only in long droughts.
- Pruning
- Cut old leaves to the ground in late winter so flowers show.
Sources: Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder; state extension service fact sheets; ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant list; Rutgers NJAES deer resistance ratings; state extension service; Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States; state noxious weed and invasive plant lists; US garden-centre and home-improvement retail listings (general knowledge, 2026 estimate). Not yet reviewed by a horticulturist.
Good companions
The plants our list engine most often puts in the same bed as Barrenwort 'Sulphureum', across the sun, zone, pet, deer and style combinations it fits.
- Pennsylvania sedgeCarex pensylvanicaornamental grass · zones 3–8
- Bigroot geraniumGeranium macrorrhizumperennial · zones 3–8
- White wood asterEurybia divaricataperennial · zones 3–8
- Northern bush honeysuckleDiervilla lonicerashrub · zones 3–7
- Dwarf yaupon holly 'Nana'Ilex vomitoria 'Nana'shrub · zones 7–10
- Cast iron plantAspidistra elatiorperennial · zones 7–11
If you can't find it
Substitutes our engine offers for Barrenwort 'Sulphureum': same role in the bed, passing the same rules.
- European wild gingerAsarum europaeumzones 4–8 · flagged toxic to pets
- Cranesbill 'Biokovo'Geranium × cantabrigiense 'Biokovo'zones 5–8 · flagged toxic to pets
- Black mondo grass 'Nigrescens'Ophiopogon planiscapus 'Nigrescens'zones 6–9 · not flagged toxic to pets
- FoamflowerTiarella cordifoliazones 3–8 · not flagged toxic to pets
How this page was made
This page was generated from this plant's record in FloraVista's plant table by fixed rules. The companions and substitutes come from the lists our rules engine composes. No named expert has reviewed this page.
Data status: the plant table is awaiting review by a horticulturist. Check each plant with a local nursery or extension office before you buy.
Sources
- Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, state extension services and the USDA PLANTS database (zones, size, sun, water, bloom, native range)
- ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists (dog and cat toxicity)
- Rutgers NJAES and regional extension deer-resistance ratings
- State noxious-weed and invasive-plant lists and the Invasive Plant Atlas of the US
- Typical US garden-centre listings (pot size and price band)
Generated . How FloraVista chooses plants