Japanese name: キンシバイ（金糸梅） Scientific name:Hypericum patulum
[Overview]
An evergreen shrub 30–150 cm tall.
The branches are tinged with purple, well branched, and drooping at the tips.
Young stems have 4 ridges.
Leaves are simple and opposite, oblong to lanceolate, 1.5–6 cm long and 0.5–3 cm wide, and thick.
The leaf margins are entire.
There is a very short leaf stalk.
Young leaves are tinged with red.
The flowers are borne 1–3 in cymes at the branch tips; they are yellow with 5 petals, 2.5–4 cm across, with many yellow stamens.
The flowers open in a cup shape.
The fruit is a capsule.
[Uses]
The whole plant is used medicinally.
[Cultivation]
Propagate by cuttings or division.
It prefers a sunny place with good drainage and good water retention, and dislikes dryness.
Direct summer sun and dryness can cause leaf scorch, so it may also be grown in partial shade.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient unless summer brings a long spell of sunny weather and severe dryness.
Apply slow-release fertilizer placed on the soil in spring and autumn.
If pruning, do it in March–April.
There are no particular pests or diseases.
