Hypericum Miracle Night - St. John's wort

Hypericum Miracle Night 'Allmadne', like all the shrubby St. John's worts in the Miracle series®, has a naturally compact habit, large colourful fruits, and its beautiful semi-evergreen foliage is resistant to rust. As its name 'Night' suggests, this variety plays in the dark colour range, both with its quickly turning plum-coloured green foliage and its fruits that turn a brownish-purple colour when ripe. The bush is also covered with lovely golden yellow flowers throughout the summer, particularly highlighted by the contrasting effect. Flowers and fruits mix on the plant throughout the summer, and the fruits, which often persist until early winter, contribute to making the plant attractive for long months. A versatile shrub par excellence, St. John's wort can be planted in full sun or partial shade in flower beds, rockeries, borders, or even in a pot on a terrace.

Miracle Night, introduced in spring 2019, is part of a new generation of compact hybrids resistant to rust disease, which affects many shrubby hypericums in humid climates, especially those derived from the species Hypericum inodorum, native to the island of Madeira. Miracle hypericums produce large berries of various colours, which are always decorative. These small bushes bloom abundantly from the first year in the garden and generously bear fruit regularly. All these plants belong to the Hypericaceae family.

With fast growth, Miracle Night will not exceed 80cm (32in) in all directions. It has a bushy and dense habit, well-branched vegetation, and carries more or less evergreen leaves in winter. They are ovate, leathery, without petioles, dark green in spring, quickly turning purplish-violet in summer. It blooms throughout the summer, from June-July to September, in the form of clusters of small flowers, 2 to 3cm (1in) in diameter. They consist of 5 rounded, golden yellow petals arranged in an open cup. The centre of the flower is occupied by a crown of prominent, quite long stamens. Another asset of this variety is its colourful fruiting. The berries are bright red, turn purplish, and then become chocolate-coloured at the end of the season.

St. John's worts are appreciated for their very long flowering period and their ease of cultivation in all soils and under all climates, even by the seaside and even in the shade. Miracle Night is ideal for a new garden, even for novice gardeners. It excels in low shrub or perennial flower beds, and also planted in a large pot on a terrace or balcony. For example, it can be planted with other purple foliage plants (physocarpus, berberis, bronze fennel) in a fashionable setting, or with grey foliage for a dazzling contrast (artemisia, Senecio greyi, lavenders), or play with complementary colours by choosing the blue of perovskia, caryopteris, nepeta, or perennial geranium. Surround your flower beds with euphorbias and alchemillas, with very flattering foliage. Its yellow summer flowering will not compete with pastel spring blooms. Its long-lasting flowers, as well as its branches laden with brown berries, can be used to create unique bouquets.