Didier Descouens · CC BY-SA 4.0
St John's wort
Plant·Hypericum perforatum
Full sun
Sun
Low
Water
Well-drained soil
Drainage
Zones 3–9
Hardiness
St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) is a plant. It grows best in full sun and has low water needs.
Through the year
DormantFloweringFruitingDying back
Works well with
from wiki dataNo companions recorded.
WHAT IT NEEDS
Wants full sun
Needs little water
Needs well-drained soil
Prefers soil pH 5.5–7
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Prefers sandy, loamy, clay soil
Tolerates some soil compaction
Draws up potassium, calcium, magnesium from deep in the soil
Adds a moderate amount of organic matter to the soil
Partners with mycorrhizal fungi to boost nutrient uptake
WHAT IT GIVES
Gives mulch biomass (medium)
Gives nectar (attracts pollinators)
Provides potassium
Provides calcium
Provides magnesium
Attracts pollinators
HOW IT GROWS
SIZE & SPACING
Herbaceous
Height30–90 cm
Spacing45 cm (min 30 cm)
Root depthMedium
Width30–60 cm
Width figures are rough estimates, the most variable measurement in our data.
AI estimate · accuracy improves as growers contribute corrections.
HOW TO PROPAGATE
Propagate by seed, division
Difficulty
Establishes in about 1 yr
Self-seeds readily on its own
Where this comes from
Parsed11 Sept 2026
ConfidenceNot recorded
Photograph Didier Descouens · CC BY-SA 4.0