Sulphur Flower Buckwheat
Eriogonum umbellatum
Perennial
Bloom
June — August
Color
Sulphur Yellow — aging Rust
Height
6—12 inches
Spread
12—24 inches
Sun
Full sun (6+ hours)
Water
Very low — drought tolerant
A mat-forming Colorado native for the crevice and rock-garden role that myrtle spurge (Euphorbia myrsinites) used to fill — and unlike myrtle spurge, it is not a Colorado List A noxious weed with caustic sap. Domed umbels of sulphur-yellow flowers rise over evergreen leathery foliage in early summer and age to a rust red that holds into fall. It needs sharp drainage and essentially no water; the fastest way to kill it is irrigation.
Growing conditions
- Soil: Well-draining, gravelly/rocky — must not stay wet
- Sun: Full sun (6+ hours)
- Water: Very low — drought tolerant
- Drought tolerance: Excellent
- Hardiness: Colorado native / adapted · USDA Zones 4–7
Wildlife & ecology
- Pollinator value: Very high — native bees and butterfly larvae host
- Landscape use: Rock gardens, crevice plantings, gravel mulch beds, edging, pollinator gardens.
Want Sulphur Flower Buckwheat in your yard?
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