Winter aconite is a small bulb native to Europe in the Ranunculaceae family. that is easy to grow with bright yellow flowers that naturalizes easily in woodland or meadow gardens. It prefers full sun to partial shade, in moist well-draining high organic matter soils. During its blooming period, full sun will give you the best blooms. After flowering, some shade will allow this plant to flourish. Although the plant will go dormant after flowering, consistent moisture is needed throughout the year. Under optimum conditions, this plant can self-seed and naturalize to form a colony but it is best to leave them as they do not transplant well. The beautiful yellow cup-shaped flowers appear in late winter and the leaves will emerge after flowering has completed. They look beautiful planted along walkways, in rock gardens, or in the front of borders of woodland or meadow gardens. Grow near a window so the flowers can be enjoyed in the winter. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No significant problems.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
High Organic Matter
Soil pH
Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
Available space
Less than 12 inches
NC region
Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 0 ft. 4 in. - 0 ft. 6 in. | Width: 0 ft. 4 in. - 0 ft. 6 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
5 - Groundcover (<1 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect; Mounding; Rounded
Texture
Medium
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Rosulate
Leaf margin
Lobed
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Basal leaves with lobes often push up through winter snow.
Flower color
Gold/Yellow
Flower value
Showy
Flower form
Head; Solitary
Flower shape
Cup; Star
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Late winter cup-shaped bright yellow flowers with 6 petals that have a collar of leaf-like bracts. Blooms appear even before crocus and resemble buttercup flowers.