Plant of the Week:Shrubby Saint John's Wort (Hypericum frondosum)

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Imagine an easy to grow shrub that in the wild can reach 6' tall or more but in the home landscape there are cultivars like 'sunburst' that get 3' tall at most and 3' wide.It has somewhat flat linear almost bluish leaves that are bright green and up to 3" long.  This plant likes full sun to partial shade and rich sandy loam soils but does well in landscape plantings.  It bears flowers on new wood and thus it should be brimmed back, and the roots mulched, in late fall. While the entire bush can be covered with these beautiful 2" wide flowers, the reddish fruits are also quite attractive in late summer and fall. This is a drought tolerant species and prefers limestone, but will do okay in other soil types.  It is somewhat susceptible to wilt and root rot.  The genus.Hypericum has long been noted for its medicinal properties and H. frondosum has been reported to heal conditions ranging from muscle pain and skin burns to depression, ADHD and Parkinson's disease.