Epimedium - various threads gathered together here

[maggiepie]

Maggi, is there any particular reason why you have never collected seed?

[Lesley Cox]

I'm pleased to see this new thread for Epimedium too. One of those frustrating genera for New Zealanders as there only a few here and nothing recent at all. Just a dozen are on the MAF permitted list and most have been in the country for 50 years or more. So Ross, I'd love more too but where are we to get them?

[Maggi Young]

Maggi, is there any particular reason why you have never collected seed?

Idleness and inattention, Helen.... plus I am hopless about the identification of the wretched things so could not put a proper name to most. 

[maggiepie]

Maggi, is there any particular reason why you have never collected seed?

Idleness and inattention, Helen.... plus I am hopless about the identification of the wretched things so could not put a proper name to most. 

Well Maggi, if you find yourself with nothing to do ( haha) when your plants have seeds, I would love to have a few, don't care if they are unknown.
Of course I will be more than happy to pay for p&p etc
I might even be able to find something you might like.

[fleurbleue]

Maggi and Maggipie,  I shall collect seeds on my Epimedium if I get seeds and if someones want to trade whith me fresh seeds 

[maggiepie]

Fleurbleue, I would be happy to look for seeds on mine for trade but only have Rosea and Rubra, I think those are probably amongst the most common?

[fleurbleue]

I have x versicolor neosulphureum ( light yellow), rubrum, pauciflorum (light pink), leptorrhizum (pink large flower), pallidum (near the same than versicolor), grandiflorum nanum (white with pretty foliage, marroon edged), grandiflorum Red Ruby et Rubin Krone and few very young ones ; I am just hoping they will set seeds    Maggipie we shall find a solution    And Maggi, no matter for the unknown ones if they are beautiful 

[shelagh]

Helen the Epimediums are know as the Barrenworts.  Seed is often small and very rare we have quite a collection oe E. and have only found a couple of SSS (self sown seedlings) during the past 10 years.

[Hans J]

Hi all ,

I have offered in year 2007 seeds of Epimedium pinnatum ssp. colchicum :

http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=308.msg12129#msg12129

There was not so big interest 

The seeds was send to a nice friend in England -I hope the seedlings grows well !

[TheOnionMan]

Maggi, is there any particular reason why you have never collected seed?

Idleness and inattention, Helen.... plus I am hopless about the identification of the wretched things so could not put a proper name to most. 

I recommend contacting Karen Perkins who now runs Garden Vision Epimediums (Darrell's ex) at epimediums@earthlink.net and request a 2010 catalog (typically not ready until late April).  Not sure if there is a cost for the catalog (it does come with 12 pages of color photos and is fairly heavy as catalogs go), you can ask.  They do ship bare root to Canada and Europe, although the phyto and shipping fees are quite high.  Darrell Probst has spent 15 years travelling the world, botanizing in China and Japan, searching out new species and verifiable older cultivars alike, straightening out the nomenclatural mess that was Epimedium, including duplicate named and confused cultivars.  What's amazing about the catalog is that it actually serves as a sort of monograph, a highly informational listing of most species, new species, the species groups (x youngianum, x versicolor, et al), and history on many of the cultivars.  All plants sold are numbered with Darrell's accession numbers, to keep them straight and true.  If you do write, tell Karen that Mark McDonough says "Hi" :-)

[Philip MacDougall]

   Epimediums are my new plant du jour. I had the good luck to order 5 plants of Epimedium latisepalum from Chen Yi 4 years ago. I recieved pencil lead thin 2 inch rhizomes, I had no expectations they  would survive. But Epimediums are amoung the toughest of plants. They turned out to be something that keys out near to E. wushanense and are spectacular. At 4 feet tall Epimedium elatum has been noted as the largest plant in the genus but E. wushanense will give it a run for the money. There is a plant on the market called E. wushanense Caramel which is more likely a natural hybrid. The clones I have are variable, one also shows some winter mottling to the leaves, a few of the open pollinated seedlings of this plant have jaw dropping winter foliage. Darrel Probst collected another as yet un-named new species he simply calls the "The Giant". This plant has very limp flower scapes, perhaps for scrambling through shrubs. The scapes are indeterminate and continue growing and flowering through the season, Darrell reports these will extend to 8 feet long. I finally cut the still flowering scapes down in Nov., seedlings crosses with E. wushanense have just begun germinating this week.
  Of note more than half of the members of this genus have only been introduced in the last 20 years.

[Philip MacDougall]

More leaves, how boring

[maggiepie]

shelagh, I would love to see pics of some of yours.

Hans, I bet if you offer the seed this year you will get some takers 

Mark, I happen to have a 2008 catalogue from Garden Vision, there were 10 pages of colour photos to drool over.
Unfortunately, the 125$ phyto certificate and 80$ basic shipping is outside my budget.
One can always dream of winning the lottery 

[fleurbleue]

Thank you very much Philip for pics  Your E. wushanense has a wonderful foliage ! and the others are very pretty 

[Tony Willis]

I have a reasonable collection and some seed has set each year. As they are all growing close together this is most likely to be hybrid. I collected some last year (it is very quickely shed and lost) and this has germinated very easily and I have a dozen small plants growing on. I also have seed from Hans growing on.

The Prost catalogue is very exciting but the prices to rich for me.

Three pics of mine.

The first is Epimedium wushanense
then two sp. The first has Epimedium platypetalum in the background

At the moment although frozen most still have their foliage.