They are very vigorous. You could plant it upside down and it would right itself and move on. Don't worry, it will be fine no matter what angle you plant it.

Can you tell us which species of Hypericum it is with the red leaf backs?

Sure, it's Hypericum inodorum 'Magical Midnight Glow'. Very pretty bluish green leaves. I'll throw another picture up tomorrow (in daylight, this one was at night).

Thanks for the info., headmotty. It’s a very new cultivar and doesn’t appear to be available in the U.K. It’s not really been around long enough for people to have much experience with it. It was developed in the Netherlands, so how it will behave for you is a bit of an unknown. The upright growth is one of the features mentioned in the plant patent. The patent.

btw, giving the full botanical name in questions will always get you more accurate responses than just the using common name. There are loads of St Johns Worts varying from tiny alpines to huge shrubs.

The Magical series of hypericums have been for sale in my area for several (5?) years. There are a bunch of them, each producing a different colored 'berry' in colors ranging from pure white, green, yellow, orange, chocolate and red to a dark purple, almost black. These were originally developed for the cut flower trade but growers determined early on that they would make great landscape plants as well.

I wouldn't worry about the branch alignment. They will either right themselves to a more vertical alignment or you can prune them back as desired to keep the plant dense and compact and to encourage heavier flowering and fruiting. I'd wait till spring to do so however.

Floral, the Magical series IS available in the UK although I can't confirm if all the varieties under this heading are available. There are also some sister plants under similar group headings; the Miracle and Mystical series - all are xinodorum hybrids and all have the brightly colored and profuse berrying that make them so attractive. And most are very rust resistant as well.

The patent for this one is dated 2014. So you must have got it in your area very early in its life. I can’t find any sellers in the UK of this cultivar, nor is it on the RHS plant finder, as far as I can see.

On Kolster BV's website (https://www.kolster.nl/nl/producten.html) there is no entry for the Midnight Glow. I don't know if they don't produce this any longer or what. I sent them asking about it, so I'll see what they have to say. For now, here are some more pictures.

It may very well be that it is the Mystical series that I was referring to....these have been around and for sale here since 2008. And they are virtually interchangeable with the Magical and Miracle series - all of these were bred initially for the cut flower trade, specifically for their colorful and longlasting berry display, and all are xinodorum hybrids.

Since the Magical series was developed and introduced by Dutch breeder Kolster Nursery, it seems odd that they would not be available in the UK.....you often receive European introductions long before we do over here :-))

ETA: headmotty, whether they still produce and sell it (or maybe still too new to show up on website) or even answer your question, it can be treated exactly the same as any other similar inodorum hybrid. These are deciduous shrubs and they can be pruned back at will without damage or harm to the plant. If the stems are not erect enough for you when growth begins next spring, just cut it back!! It will have no negative effect on flowering or fruiting. Growth in a pot in a nursery setting is never a good indication of how the plant will perform once established in the garden :-)

Cool, great information!

I have a slightly different thread to bring up here if that's okay.

I grew my Hypericum from seed four years ago. It bloomed in the second year which was nice. It has not bloomed in the past two years. However, it is now occupying more than 10 times the original space it took up in the second year when it bloomed. I have read that it can be invasive. It is growing up through other plants nearby including an unknown groundcover that is very dense, and both my Hucheras.

What do I need to do to stop it spreading so much and how do I get it to flower again? Thanks.

There seem to be two basic types of Hypericum: the low-growing type which spread underground, such as calycinum and perforatum varieties; and the shrubby type which will grow about a meter tall and wide and pretty much stay like that, such as mine here, inodorum. Looks like you planted the spreading type.

You'd probably have to dig up any parts you don't want. Or you could dig it all up (or use Roundup (glyphosate) if you don't mind chemicals, carefully if you don't want other things around it to be killed also, and replace with a non-spreading variety.

For making it bloom, maybe just cut it back to ground and let it regrow from scratch and see what happens.

There are far more than 2 'basic types'. They range from tiny alpines to large shrubs. Woody and herbaceous. Annual, perennial, even trees. We need to know which Hypericum Bruce has in order to give meaningful help even F it is like jelly to be one of the commoner species. A new thread with an id or a picture would probably be the best way forward rather than tacking onto an old thread about a particular, and not very common, cultivar.

Bruce's St. John's wort sounds suspiciously like Hypericum calycinum, which is an extremely aggressive spreader here in the PNW! It is a great groundcover for a sunny bank or slope with a poor, rocky soil but does NOT play well with others and is best planted where it can spread at will without interfering with any other plants. It is also extremely prone to rust in our climate and is best cut back to the ground annually to avoid complete defoliation and to regenerate "clean".

IME, this is not a easy plant to remove once established. Its roots/stolons will travel through the root systems of any other nearby plants and one often winds up digging those up as well to clear the entangling mess. I tend to recommend this plant very reluctantly to clients and only under specific circumstances.

Not what you asked for, but I find my favorite hypericum to be profilicum or frondosum. Both are shrubby non-spreaders for me with a tendency toward evergreen (esp on frondosum) and carefree midsummer flowers. Autumn color can be good as well with frondosum often maintaining purple leaves for months.