Home


Blooming Artichoke Herbary

We’re are all about our plants! Find information about growing and using herbs and perennials for your kitchen, your home, and your health.

News

Winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis)

C. Gondolfi

By early spring, if you are like me, you start to get a little desperate for signs of new life in the garden.  Nothing.  Bare, drifts of fallen leaves, maybe snow.  But wait!  Is that a little flash of yellow?  Winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) brings golden color to the garden just when we need it most.    

A member of the Ranunculaceae (buttercup) family, there are several species of this bulb, which are native to Europe and Asia, along with many cultivars.  Bright yellow flowers with a leafy ruff, this plant really dresses up for their spring debut in February to April.  They are a great plant to naturalize and drifts of their golden flowers, possibly blended with crocus and snowdrops, is a sight to behold.  A wonderful addition to rock gardens and beds.

Winter aconite grows in USDA zones 3-7.  They are approximately 6” tall with a similar spread.  Pick a location that gets sun during their bloom time and then mostly shade the rest of the year.  After blooming they go dormant.  Plant in rich, organic soil that is kept evenly moist (not boggy).  Plant bulbs in late summer 3 inches deep and about 4 inches apart.  They can then be divided after flowering in the spring and immediately planted out, but do not make this a frequent occurrence.  It can take a year or more for them to reestablish.  Once established they can self-seed, furthering their spread.  Like other members of the buttercup family, the leaves and roots are believed to be poisonous.

References:

BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine.  8.14.20. How to grow winter aconites.  https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-grow-winter-aconites/

Edinger, Philip, Lang, Susan. Sanchez, Janet H. Webster, Vicki. White, Hazel. Editors of Sunset Books.  365 Days of Garden Color: Keeping Your Garden in Bloom.  2009.  Sunset Books, Menlo Park.

Eranthis hyemalis.  Missouri Botanical Garden.  http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=a446

North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox.  Eranthis hyemalis. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/eranthis-hyemalis/