Because this perennial has been among the top best-selling botanical supplements in the US for many years, creating high market demand, it is now at risk of extinction in the wild.

However, this gives growers the opportunity to protect a highly vulnerable species through cultivation. Growing goldenseal will certainly make you a medicinal plant conservation steward!

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In addition to this perennial herb having revered healing attributes, it’s also a charming addition to gardens where it can grow into a graceful ground cover that’s deer-resistant.

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to become inspired and prepared to welcome this enchanting woodland species into your garden or landscape.

Here’s what’s ahead:

Cultivation and History

Hydrastis canadensis is a slow-growing and long-lived herbaceous perennial member of the Ranunculaceae family that emerges in early spring.

Hardy in Zones 3 to 8, this species is native to North America, particularly in the central and eastern hardwood forests of the US and southern Canada. It thrives under the canopy of trees, in soil that is moist but well-drained and rich in humus.

This medicinal species’ wild population is at risk, making cultivation an essential part of plant conservation.

The two leading causes for this plant’s vulnerability are habitat loss and wild harvesting for the commercial herb market. The plant’s conservation status varies depending on location.

As of 2020, it is listed by the USDA as endangered in

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