# Lloyd's St. John's-wort (Hypericum lloydii) > A low, spreading shrub of sandhills and granite outcrops, with fragrant, needle-like leaves and golden flowers from June into September. Also called sandhill St. John's-wort. Category: Native Shrubs. Grown from seed by Blue Whale Trees. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/lloyd-st-johns-wort/ ![Lloyd's St. John's-wort (Hypericum lloydii) golden flowers among needle-like leaves on a sandhill](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/lloyd-st-johns-wort-h1610-800.jpg) *Photo: Mason Brock, Public domain ยท [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AHypericum_lloydii.jpg)* ## Facts - Type: Shrub - Mature height: 1 to 2 ft - USDA hardiness zones: 6 to 9 - Grows wild in: Sandy barrens, rocky ground and dry uplands - Native range: Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia - Sun: Full - Soil moisture: Dry, Average - Growth rate: Slow - Traits: Showy flowers, Wildlife value - Sold as: Saplings, Seed Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them. ## Availability Not yet priced online. Ask at captain@bluewhaletrees.com or leave an email on the web page to be told when it is listed. ## Notes Lloyd's St. John's-wort is a low, spreading shrub of dry pine woods, sandhills, granite outcrops and road banks in the Piedmont and inner Coastal Plain, from the Carolinas to Georgia and Alabama. Its fragrant, needle-like leaves turn bronze in winter. In full bloom a colony along a woodland edge is covered in small golden flowers. NatureServe ranks it critically imperiled in Alabama, and it has not been seen in Virginia for many years. Use it at the front of a sunny pollinator border or on a dry bank, where it can spread into a low mat. ## Size, growth and what to expect Lloyd's St. John's-wort grows slowly, about a foot a year in our growth estimator. It makes a low mat or rounded clump, mostly 6 to 8 inches tall and up to about 20 inches, and 1 to 3 feet across. Its needle-like leaves are half an inch to an inch long. Small clusters of golden yellow flowers, a third to half an inch across, open at the branch tips from June into September. Each has about 100 stamens. Tiny capsules follow from June into October. It grows wild in the Piedmont and inner Coastal Plain of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, with a few sites in Alabama, and it once grew in Virginia. Its home is dry pine woods, sandhills, granite outcrops, the edges of flat rocks and road banks. ## How to grow Lloyd's St. John's-wort Lloyd's St. John's-wort needs full sun, at least six hours a day for the most bloom, and a well-drained sandy or loamy soil. It does best on dry ground. Set plants 2 feet apart and 2 feet from a wall. At its size it can go within 15 feet of overhead wires. Saplings ship bare-root or potted. Plant them in a hole wider than the roots and no deeper. Set the crown at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and keep mulch off the stems. Many St. John's-worts need light to sprout, so press the fine seed onto damp, sandy soil in spring without covering it. Water through the first summer only when rain is short, since it prefers dry ground. It spreads by runners and rooting stems into a low colony. It needs no pruning. Each flower carries both male and female parts, so there are no male and female plants to pair. Bees work the flowers, and songbirds visit. No significant pest or disease troubles it. ## Sources - [Flora of North America, vol. 6: Hypericum lloydii (Norman K. B. Robson)](http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=250100847) - [NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Hypericum lloydii](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/hypericum-lloydii/) - [NatureServe Explorer: Hypericum lloydii, Lloyd's St. John's-wort](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.148567/Hypericum_lloydii) - [Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation: Natural Heritage Resources of Virginia, Rare Plants, 2026](https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/document/plantlist-current.pdf) - [Alabama Natural Heritage Program: 2023 tracking list](https://cosam.auburn.edu/biology/alnhp/_assets/2023_trackinglist.pdf) - [NatureServe Explorer, genus statement for Hypericum, from the Hypericum lissophloeus record](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.136635/Hypericum_lissophloeus) - [USDA NRCS PLANTS Database: Hypericum lloydii, HYLL](https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/HYLL) ## Read before planting - [Ten planting mistakes that quietly kill trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/ten-planting-mistakes/index.html.md) - [Transplanting young trees: timing, water and protection](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/transplanting-young-trees/index.html.md) - [Protecting young trees from voles, rabbits, deer and squirrels](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/protecting-trees-from-animals/index.html.md) - [The habitat around a tree is part of the tree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/habitat-around-a-tree/index.html.md) - [Invasive vines and shrubs are what is killing your woods](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/invasive-vines-and-shrubs/index.html.md) - [Native trees and shrubs for birds: caterpillars, fruit, mast, nests and winter cover, month by month](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-birds/index.html.md) ## Related - [Planting-site check](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md): for a thrive, struggle or fail verdict on Lloyd's St. John's-wort, add ?species=lloyd-st-johns-wort with zone (2 to 10), sun (full, part, shade) and moisture (dry, average, wet) to that address, for example ?species=lloyd-st-johns-wort&zone=6&sun=part&moisture=average. - [Companion species for Lloyd's St. John's-wort](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=lloyd-st-johns-wort): the natives that share its ground and the plants that pair with it in a yard. - [Growth estimator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md): how the height and trunk projections are made; the estimate itself runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/#species=lloyd-st-johns-wort - [Seed sowing planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md): how Lloyd's St. John's-wort is sown, in the chart for every species (treatment, cold days, depth, timing); the dated plan runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/#species=lloyd-st-johns-wort - [Pollination planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md): what Lloyd's St. John's-wort needs for a crop and how many to plant, in the table for every species; the planner runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/#plants=lloyd-st-johns-wort:1 - [Bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md): the months Lloyd's St. John's-wort flowers and fruits, in the grid for every species.