Epimedium - various threads gathered together here

[Paul T]

Beautiful, Mark.  brevicornu is another I've not come across here.

[TheOnionMan]

Epimedium Hybrid - Posting 1b

Installment 2 of a 3-part message:

Here are some views of E. membranaceum.  See my previous post where I talk about the attributes of this ever-blooming species.

In the first view there is Saruma henryi again (yellow flowers) on the left, Trillium catesbaei, Epimedium membranaceum at centerstage, and just behind it is E. brevicornu mostly finished but still some small white flowers coming and those fuzzy flower stems.  A worm's-eye view of Trillium catesbaei and E. membranaceum in the second photo.  Photo 3 shows a typical inflorescence of E. membranaceum (notice one inflorescence of E. brevicornu in the upper right), and the 4th photo is a detail view showing the sepals... white, lightly spotted with red or pink dots.  In the 5th photo, nothing very different about this photo, but take a look at the date in the photo title, this eppie is still blooming on October 26th!

In the final installment, I will show photos of one selected hybrid, and compare the hybrid's flowers photographically with E. brevicornu.

[Stephen Vella]

 Nice combination there Mark,

The Saruma henryi I also do grow and Trillium catesbaei really nice and hard to come by, Epimedium membranaceum now thats nice with the relex petals, very delicate and spider like.

Nice to see you woodland plantins/scene 

cheers

[TheOnionMan]

Epimedium Hybrid - Posting 1c

Installment 3 of a 3-part message:

In the following series of photos, I'm holding a couple individual flowers of my E. brevicornu x membranaceum hybrid in each photo up against an inflorescence of E. brevicornu, for comparison.  As you'll see, the hybrid has larger flowers overall, the yellow cup is about 5x as big, the yellow spurs are vestigial in E. brevicornu but long and prominent in the hybrid.  In the hybrid, the general shape of the flower and other characteristics, more closely resemble E. brevicornu, thus my belief this cross represents E. brevicornu x membranaceum, not the other way around.

In the 5th photo, we see flowers of both the hybrid and E. brevicornu from the back, to reveal the sepals.  Notice the hybrid has picked up the red spotting from E. membranaceum (two flowers on the left are the hybrid).  Also to note, the hybrid has hirsute flower stems, but not quite as fuzzy as E. brevicornu.  In photo 6, again we see the back of the flowers and the spotted sepals, but we also see some of the foliage which is rounded, minutely spinulose, red-spotted when emerging, thus mimicking E. brevicornu.

In photos 7 & 8, we see views of the young inflorescence of this hybrid in May 2009.  Proving to me that E. membranaceum is involved, is that the flower stems are semi-indeterminate and keep spouting new flowers way past normal Epimedium flowering season; this young seedling flowered non-stop from May to August. The everblooming tendencies of E. membranaceum can be passed along to offspring!!! WooHOO!

I had a few other seedlings of the same cross, not nearly as good.  Many more seedlings are cropping up, but will be a year or more before I see what they look like.  What fun! I hope this detailed summary of Epimedium hybridization (even if the bees did it in this case) sparks the imagination of what is possible in this fantastic genus, now that the gene pool has been so enriched by numerous new species and hybrids becoming available.

[Rodger Whitlock]

Care to comment on the merits of these here:

Epimedium x perralchicum (dp yellow) (M. Charlton)

That could very well be the clone that Ed Lohbrunner used to sell. (He shut down his nursery, Lakeside Gardens, about 1984.) I've got a rather large patch of E. × perralchicum from Lohbrunner, had it for a very long time, and can attest that it's seemingly as tough as nails.

Not all epimediums are that tough, however. In the dry-summer climate here, the Asiatic epimediums (epimedia?) are quite unhappy, and with my policy of watering very little, if at all, during the summer, they don't last.

Of the epimedia I've had and lost to drought, two I especially miss. One is E. sempervirens, which I grew from seed sent from Japan by Don Elick. The seeds were iirc packed in damp peat, sown on arrival, and germinated with reasonable freedom. He sent me seed of the form illustrated in his wonderful book, Japonica Magnifica.

The other long-lost epimedium is E. diphyllum. It's rarely offered, and from what i've seen, virtually all plants now offered under that name are E. youngianum. A delightful miniature.

[Rodger Whitlock]

Care to comment on the merits of these here:

Epimedium pubigerum (Thimble)

Another good doer in this summer-dry garden. Flowers are distinct from all other epimedia I've seen. I like it, but saying that may be the kiss of horticultural death, reputation-wise if not in fact.

A cultural tip for would-be epimedium growers: cut the foliage down to the ground in late winter. Otherwise the flower stems may be obscured by the old foliage.

[TheOnionMan]

Epimedium pubigerum

Another good doer in this summer-dry garden. Flowers are distinct from all other epimedia I've seen. I like it, but saying that may be the kiss of horticultural death, reputation-wise if not in fact.

E. pubigerum is an excellent species, and quite distinct as Rodger suggests.  What I like about it is the foliage is completely evergreen here in New England (USDA Zone 5), which says a lot in this tough climate.  And the small white flowers (pinkish in some forms) held aloft above the foliage, have a definite charm.  A quick search on photos for this species in my library yields some less-than-satisfactory shots, but you'll get the general impression.

In the first photo, on the left is E. pubigerum with modest displays of white flowers.  Looking closely, some of the previous year's evergreen foliage is still present in the lower right (I'm not always as timely as I should be in cutting out the previous year's growth).  In the upper left is Epimedium grandiflorum f. flavescens 'La Rocaille', the original plant bought in 1973 or 1974!

In the second photo, we see the "epimediumesque" second flush of foliage, which lends a second season to Epimedium viewing, where the newer foliage takes on dramatically different leaf coloration than the maturing spring foliage.  This is basically a June phenomenon in my area.

The third photo shows a classic situation, with the previous year's evergreen growth at the base (darker green) yet still in good condition after a harsh winter, a fresh flush of lively light green slightly red-flushed new season's growth, and the lovely modest sprays of white flowers.  There are winters here and there (the relatively snowless types) where the evergreen leaves suffer badly, but in most years they survive just fine.

The forth and final photo shows the same plant back in 2006, where I did indeed cut off the old foliage in late winter/early spring, so no dark green old foliage is present.  I actually think it looks best when there is contrast between the new foliage and older foliage.

In summary, this is a rock-solid species, slowly spreading, extremely hardy, quietly beautiful, and recommended.  It is also quite drought resistant, as I find most eppies are.

[Stephen Vella]

Mark...Nice cross of E. brevicornu x membranaceum, yes you can see the yellow cup is now more prominate.

Worth regersting the cross and naming?

[TheOnionMan]

Mark...Nice cross of E. brevicornu x membranaceum, yes you can see the yellow cup is now more prominate.
Worth regersting the cross and naming?

Good question.  When I see decades worth of inventory in Darrell Probst hybridization program, so many gems and utterly fantastic hybrids yet to be released, this gives considerable perspective (and restraint) when merely finding a self-sown hybrid in the garden. 

That said, I'm still interested in my hybrid find, so I need to separate it from the crowded bed where a bunch of self-sown seedlings are planted, and see how the plant bulks up and performs over the next few years.  But the one characteristic that is uniquely important here, is getting hybrids that are "everblooming" like E. membranaceum, or at least have a greatly extended season of bloom, such as my selected brevicornu x membranaceum seedling.

So, if it is worthy of a name after some trials, then maybe it'll get named.  I just want to tread lightly, as lots of people out there are naming any sort of seedling as something new when they aren't very different than what already exists. 

Here are a 3 more seedling views taken spring 2009.  The first is a nice white with yellow center, I shall be watching this one too.  The last two photos show very nice epimediums, but they're not much different or special.  No matter, I plan an entire enbankment of growing unnamed eppie seedlings, it'll be beautiful regardless whether they're named cultivars or anonymous seedlings... it's all part of the fun.

[Stephen Vella]

Mark what your doing is something that only the large nurserys do and end up regersting and releasing with lots of time and money envolved.

Dont doubt your work and when you create your bed of hybrids do lable the suspect cross. You never know if and when a hybrid is passed around it comes with history, provenance details even if it isnt registered

Mark is there somewhere on the net where you can see some regesterd crosses or attempts with epimediums that have occured or the work of Darrell Probst ?

cheers

[TheOnionMan]

Dont doubt your work and when you create your bed of hybrids do lable the suspect cross. You never know if and when a hybrid is passed around it comes with history, provenance details even if it isnt registered

Mark is there somewhere on the net where you can see some regesterd crosses or attempts with epimediums that have occured or the work of Darrell Probst ?

cheers

Let me assure you I see the value in several selected hybrids already (like the one shown) and the tremendous potential in hydridizing with species like brevicornu, and it particular E. membranaceum for its ever-blooming characteristic.  I shall be "playing" with them in a serious way.  However, the point that I was trying to convey, is that I must bear in mind what hybrids and cultivars are already out there, so that if anything is indeed introduced, it is truly something special, not just another "look-alike" hybrid as is so often the case.

I don't know of anyplace where Darrell's work is documented on the internet so to speak, it doesn't really exist that I know of, except for what appears in the Garden Vision Epimediums nursery catalog.  Darrell has a basic (and static) web page that a friend created for him a number of years ago... it is a basic primer on the genus Epimendium with the basic species groups. The only way to see the fantastic extent of his Epimedium hybridization is to visit him at the nursery.

[johnw]

Mark - I have to admire your restraint.  So many would simply name the plant and market like mad.  You have the great advantage of being close to a major collection of Epimedium so you can compare your plant with the species and hybrids out there or ones in the pipeline.

I'm hopeful that Darrell with all of his experience would gladly give you very valuable feedback on your results.    

What really irks me are those "experts" would won't share information / plants / pollen or who go out of their way to stimy the work of others.  They are not interested in advancement of the plants or camaraderie, only in themselves. It's a pitiful and sad commentary on some "plantsmen".   I felt I had to say this as I just learned of just such an incident, not involving me but a hybridizer with a novel approach to a popular genus and whose efforts are being deliberately thwarted.  It has really got my dander up.

johnw  

[annew]

Epimedium pubigerum does well here in Yorkshire in a very poor situation of dry shade. I've not had much success with the newer introductions or the grandiflorum types. Perhaps the humidity is too low? It is quite windy here, and the shady parts tend also to be dry. Can you recommend any of the newer species as being of a tougher constitution?

[TheOnionMan]

Epimedium pubigerum does well here in Yorkshire in a very poor situation of dry shade. I've not had much success with the newer introductions or the grandiflorum types. Perhaps the humidity is too low? It is quite windy here, and the shady parts tend also to be dry. Can you recommend any of the newer species as being of a tougher constitution?

You might want to try E. pinnatum ssp. colchicum and E. x perralchicum (the former species is one of the parents), particularly the variety 'Frohnleiten' on the latter species, for the brightly colored and veined spring leaves, all of these I find drought tolerant.  Both are evergreen too. Another that seems extra drought tolerant is E. grandiflorum f. flavescens.  There are numerous forms of this, but the cultivar 'La Rocaille' has been in my garden over 20 years here, and it never gets any supplemental watering... and its growing under the the edge of a Hemlock row, competing with aggresive and thirsty hemlock roots.

Once established, I find most epimediums are rather drought tolerant, one reason I like this genus so much; delicate looking plants but with tough-as-nails constitution.  I don't water (or rarely so) any of the garden area with epimedium, and they have all faired well for many years, with one exception... in summers of certified drought, some of the E. grandiflorum, diphyllum, and youngianum selections had the foliage completely toasted and crisped.  After some thorough watering, the plants were resuscitated and didn't lose any.  I also never divide or plant Epimediums late in summer of fall, as they often die without sufficient roots reestablished before winter.

[Lesley Cox]

Regardless of the usefulness of naming crosses (unless exceptional and worth marketing) I'm wondering would any such named Epimedium need to be registered. As I understand it, only plants which have a recognised registering body (daffodils, rhodos, roses, irises et al) have to register the names of new cultivars/hybrids for them to be accepted as such. In the case of, say, campanulas, forsythias and many hundreds of others, including, I would imagine Epimedium, it is sufficient to name the plant and to PUBLISH THE NAME, with all relevant information and identifying illustrations, in a reputable horticultural publication. For Epimedium that would most likely be perhaps "The Garden" of the RHS, the journal of the Hardy Plant Society or the AGS Bulletin, the SRGC Journal. So little, if any cost involved.

If the new name is not published, anyone else can use the same name for a different plant of the same genus or give a different name to the same plant.