Epimedium is a perennial grown for its yellow blooms, which open in summer and return year after year. It's hardy across USDA zones 5 through 8, shrugs off deer, shrugs off dry spells, and grows just as well in a container as in the ground. Its summer flowers are a modest draw for native bees.
Epimedium — the short answer
Epimedium: grown in zones 5–8, shade, pH 5–7.
- USDA zones
- 5–8
- Manual horticultural correction (source not retained); NC State Extension and Missouri Botanical Garden, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation
- Soil pH
- 5–7
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Sun
- Shade
- Growable Ground Plant Database
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — each tile names its own row's source, because per-field provenance varies.
Score Epimedium on your exact land.
Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether epimedium actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score epimedium against your land's real conditions.
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What Epimedium is
Epimedium grows as a perennial and reaches around a foot at maturity. It blooms yellow in summer. It's also deer-resistant and well suited to containers.
How to grow Epimedium
Epimedium grows in USDA zones 5 through 8. Epimedium does best in shade — at least 2 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 5 to 7, on well-drained ground.
USDA Zones
5-8
USDA PHZM 2023
Soil pH
5 - 7
Growable Ground Plant Database
Sun
Shade
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
well (dry spells)
Growable Ground plant catalog
Mature Height
1 ft
Growable Ground plant catalog
Start the season right
Plant epimedium in shade with at least 2 hours of direct sun. It grows in the cool halves of the year, so sow it in spring or late summer rather than waiting for midsummer heat.
Match the soil
Epimedium prefers pH 5 to 7 (Growable Ground Plant Database). A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band.
Water steadily
Keep the root zone evenly moist through establishment. A 2–3 inch mulch layer holds moisture without waterlogging.
Harvest at its peak
Cut epimedium blooms in the cool of the morning, just as they open, for the longest display.
Where Epimedium thrives
Epimedium is hardy across USDA zones 5 through 8. Zone is only the starting point, though: the soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific land decide how well it actually does.
A USDA zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme winter minimum, so zones 5–8 spans average winter lows from -20°F to 20°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers 19 outright and splits 31 more down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.
Zones 5–8·Where Epimedium growsOpen map →
This map is derived from the USDA ARS / PRISM Plant Hardiness Zone Map (2023) and is not the official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.
Where Epimedium stands, state by state
Epimedium is rated for zones 5–8 — a cold floor USDA puts at -20 to -10°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 19 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 31 more, and 1 sits outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
Fully inside zones 5–8
19 states
3 of 19 shown
The line runs through
31 states
3 of 31 shown
Epimedium’s band covers part of each of these states — which side of the line your county sits on changes the answer, and each state page draws it.
Outside zones 5–8
1 state
- North Dakota · zones 3b-4b
Winter cold is the limit here — the same plant often works in a container that comes under cover. Each link is that state’s own growing hub.
State zone extents: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so a state that splits the band contains the boundary — its own page draws the county line, and a parcel report resolves which side your land sits on.
What grows around Epimedium
Growing guides for epimedium
In rotation planning, epimedium counts as a Other — beds recover best when other crops don’t follow each other in the same spot year over year. (Growable Ground derivation — crop-rotation group from botanical family)
Related plants in perennial flower
Good to know
Good news for pet owners — epimedium isn't known to be toxic to dogs or cats. (Source: ASPCA.)
Epimedium offers low value to bees and other pollinators.
Your land is one point inside Epimedium's range
This page resolves to the species. Your state page draws the county line, and a report reads the parcel — the soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost dates on your exact ground, which no species average can see.
See if Epimedium will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether epimedium actually takes — we score it against the real conditions at your address.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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How we know this about Epimedium
The figures above are cited per row, not per site: the pH band names this plant’s own source column, the three temperature figures each carry their own, and days-to-maturity cites the publication that actually lists it. All of it comes from the Growable Ground Plant Database — a compilation over FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources, published openly with per-field provenance.
Grounded inUSDA PLANTS Database•USDA PHZM•ASPCA
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow Epimedium in my zone?
Epimedium grows in USDA hardiness zones 5 through 8 (USDA PHZM 2023). Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.
When should you plant Epimedium?
Epimedium is a cool-season crop, so it goes in during the cool halves of the year — early spring, and again in late summer for a fall planting — rather than at the height of summer heat. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.
How much sun does Epimedium need?
Epimedium is shade-tolerant — it gets by on as little as 2 hours of direct sun, so it earns a place most vegetables can't use. A north-facing strip or the ground under a leafy canopy is right where it belongs. A Growable Ground report shows which corners of your land stay shaded through the day, turning those dim spots into planting spots.
What soil does Epimedium need?
Epimedium prefers soil pH 5 to 7, on well-drained ground (Growable Ground Plant Database). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Epimedium attract pollinators?
Yes — epimedium's flowers are a modest nectar source for native bees.
Is Epimedium safe for pets?
Epimedium is not known to be toxic to dogs or cats based on available data. Always supervise pets around new plantings. (Source: ASPCA.)
Keep exploring Epimedium
Epimedium state by state
Every state epimedium's zone reaches — 1 link straight to that state's epimedium growing page; the rest open the state's full growing guide.