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Key characteristics

Family: Ranunculaceae
Height: 4 to 6 in
Width: 8 to 12 in
Flower color: Bright golden yellow, fully double with layered petals
Foliage color: Glossy medium to dark green, heart-shaped leaves
Bloom time: Early to mid spring
Light: Partial shade to full shade
Water: Moderate to high
Maintenance: Low; foliage dies back naturally by early summer, spread can be controlled by removing unwanted growth
Growing zone: USDA zones 4 to 8
Wildlife: Early spring pollinators such as bees

Groundcovers

Ficaria verna 'Flore Pleno'

Flore Pleno Double Lesser Celandine

Ficaria verna 'Flore Pleno' forms low carpets of glossy, heart-shaped green leaves that appear in late winter. The flowers are fully double, composed of many narrow, golden-yellow segments arranged into rounded, pompon-like blooms that sit just above the foliage, creating a dense and cheerful display.

Blooming from late winter through early spring, this cultivar originated as a double-flowered selection of a European woodland species. It is well suited to naturalized plantings beneath deciduous trees, along stream banks, and in shaded garden areas, where it emerges early, provides vivid seasonal color, then recedes quietly as summer approaches.

Light

Partial shade to full shade

Water

Moderate to high

Bloom time

Early to mid spring

Find this plant

Works well in

Woodland Gardens
Under Trees
Rain Gardens
Pollinator Gardens

Companion plants

Primroses · Japanese forest grass · Trilliums · Brunnera · Snowdrops · Foamflowers

Design tip

Plant broad drifts beneath deciduous trees where early spring sunlight reaches the woodland floor before the canopy fills in. Pair with later-emerging shade perennials to conceal the fading foliage, ensuring continuous texture and interest after this spring display recedes.