Ornamental · Papaveraceae
Bloodroot
Sanguinaria canadensis
A short-lived white spring ephemeral for shady spots, with a red rhizome you'll want to handle in gloves.
Partial shade
Every 3–7 days
USDA 3–8
6–10 in · 15–25 cm
Overview
Bloodroot is one of the very first wildflowers to show up in the eastern woodland spring. A single curled leaf pushes up wrapped snugly around the flower bud, then opens to reveal a clean white bloom with a gold center sitting above the leaf litter. The flower only lasts a few days, and honestly that's part of why it's so special.
So where does the name come from? It's the red-orange sap that bleeds out of the rhizome whenever you cut it. That same sap carries sanguinarine and related alkaloids, so this is a plant you'll want to enjoy with your eyes and handle with care. Native peoples once used it as a dye, and the color still stains skin and tools the moment they touch it.
Give it forest-floor conditions and it asks for next to nothing. It grows slow but steady, spreading into a low colony over the years, then disappearing underground by midsummer to wait out the heat. Pair it up with ferns and it'll never leave a bare patch behind.
Care
The short version: pop it into part to full shade in rich, moist, humusy woodland soil, keep the ground evenly moist all through spring, then let it go dormant and dry out in summer without disturbing the rhizome.
Light
Bloodroot is happiest in part to full shade, the kind of dappled light you get under a deciduous woodland. It'll take a little spring sun before the trees leaf out, but a hot, exposed spot dries the soil and cuts the whole show short.
Water
Keep the soil evenly moist through the spring growing season, watering every few days when things get dry. Once it goes dormant in summer it shrugs off dry conditions, so you can ease off completely after the leaves fade.
Soil
Plant it in moist, humusy, well-drained soil packed with organic matter, the sort that builds up under fallen leaves. A pH between 6.8 and 7.2 works nicely, close to neutral, and a yearly topping of leaf mold keeps it content.
Temperature
Bloodroot is cold-hardy and comfortable from roughly 23°F to 75°F (-5°C to 24°C), covering USDA zones 3 through 8. It actually welcomes the chill of a real winter, since it needs that cold to flower well.
Humidity
Average outdoor humidity is plenty, so there's no number to fuss over here. Steady soil moisture in spring matters far more to this plant than anything happening in the air.
Feeding
It mostly feeds itself in good woodland soil and rarely asks for more. A light spring topdressing of leaf mold or compost is all it wants, with a balanced organic fertilizer thrown in only if the ground is thin.
Pruning
There's nothing to prune here at all. Just let the foliage yellow and die back on its own as the plant goes dormant, then lay a thin blanket of deciduous leaf mulch over winter to feed the soil.
Repotting
Bloodroot is rarely repotted and really doesn't like being disturbed. In a container, watch for fading vigor or crowded rhizomes shouldering their way to the surface, and only then lift and divide it in fall or early spring.
Size & spacing
This one's a low groundcover, topping out at just 6 to 10 inches (15 to 25 cm) tall. Each clump spreads 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) wide and slowly knits into a colony, so set your plants about that far apart.
When to plant
Bloodroot keeps time with the woods. Set out rhizomes in fall or early spring, keep an eye out for the white flowers in March and April, and expect the foliage to fade by midsummer as the plant drifts into dormancy.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: Fall or early spring
- Harvest: March to April
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 3–8
Temperature: down to -40°C
Troubleshooting
Bloodroot rarely runs into pests or disease, so most worries actually trace back to its own seasonal habits or the wrong spot. Match what you're seeing to the cases below before you assume something's wrong. More often than not, the plant is simply doing what woodland ephemerals do.
Plants sit and stubbornly won't spread
Bloodroot really wants the shady, damp floor of a woodland, so it tends to stall out in too much sun or dry, hungry soil. The other usual culprit? Seed that dried out before it ever reached the ground. Shift the planting into rich, moist shade, and only ever propagate with fresh seed or fall divisions.
Fix:
- Move or establish plants in part to full shade with rich, moist, well-drained soil
- Sow only fresh seed that has not dried out; divide rhizomes in fall or early spring
Leaves go yellow and vanish by midsummer
Don't panic, because this is just summer dormancy, the everyday habit of a spring ephemeral rather than any kind of disease. After it blooms and tucks away energy, the foliage fades and the rhizome settles in underground until spring rolls around again. Just leave it alone, and toss down a layer of leaf litter so the soil doesn't bake bone dry.
Fix:
- Allow the plant to go dormant; do not dig or discard the rhizome
- Keep soil from baking completely dry by mulching with leaf litter
Toxicity
Treat the whole plant as poisonous, plain and simple. Every part holds sanguinarine and related alkaloids, packed most heavily into the red sap of the rhizome, and they're toxic to people and animals alike. The sap also burns skin on contact, so wear gloves whenever you dig or divide, and keep cut pieces well away from pets and children.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Toxic
If a cat chews the rhizome or foliage, expect drooling, vomiting, and a sudden lack of interest in food. The sap is rough on the mouth and gut, so keep any cut pieces well out of paw's reach.
Dogs Toxic
A dog that bites into a dug rhizome will usually drool and get an upset stomach, sometimes throwing up too. That bright sap stings on contact, so wash off a curious nose or paw if it ends up smeared.
Horses Toxic
Grazing on the plant can leave a horse with colicky belly pain and a dull, off-feed mood. The same alkaloids that bother human skin aren't any gentler on a horse's gut.
Rabbits Toxic
A rabbit's small body copes badly with these alkaloids, so even one nibble can leave it drooling and off its food. Best to treat the whole plant as completely off-limits.
Livestock Toxic
Cattle, goats, and sheep mostly walk past the bitter foliage, but any animal that does take a bite can end up with real digestive upset from the sanguinarine.
Birds Caution
That irritant sap makes this a poor pick around pet birds, and the rhizome is best kept far away from them. Wild birds, on the other hand, just ignore it.
People Caution
No part of bloodroot is food, and swallowing it can bring burning, nausea, and vomiting. The red sap is an escharotic that damages skin, so glove up and keep it away from kids.
Wear gloves when cutting or dividing; the red-orange sap stains and irritates skin and eyes, so avoid skin and eye contact and wash after handling.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Bloodroot is grown mostly as the plain wild species, but there's one named form that pops up in shade gardens.
Sanguinaria canadensis f. multiplex (Plena)
Here's a double-flowered form crammed with extra petals, and its sterile blooms stick around far longer than the few days a wild plant gets.
Companions
Bloodroot thrives among the other plants of the shaded woodland floor, especially ones that take over the space once it goes dormant.
Plant near
Trillium: Shares the same moist, humus-rich, shaded woodland conditions and blooms in the same spring window.
Ferns: Provide shade and cover after bloodroot goes summer dormant, filling the gap left by its dieback.
How to propagate
There are two ways to make more bloodroot, and they sit at opposite ends of the patience scale: quick division of the rhizome, or a slow wait from fresh seed.
DivisionModerate
Fall or early spring · 1 to 2 seasons
Want more plants? Dividing the rhizome is your surest bet. In fall or early spring, lift a clump and slice the red rhizome into pieces, making sure each one keeps a growth bud, then replant them sideways just below the surface. A fresh division needs a season or two to settle in before it starts spreading.
SeedDemanding
Sow fresh immediately after collection in late spring/early summer · Several years to flowering
Going the seed route takes real patience. The seed can't be allowed to dry out, so get it in the ground the moment you collect it in late spring or early summer. Each seed comes with a fleshy elaiosome that ants carry off and plant for you in the wild, and even when everything goes right, a seedling needs several years before its first bloom.
Myths
You can safely dab bloodroot sap on your skin as a natural remedy to remove moles or growths.
Sanguinarine is an escharotic, meaning it burns through and kills living tissue. Folks who've tried it on their skin have ended up with deep wounds and lasting scars. The sap is a corrosive irritant, not a home remedy.