Epimedium - various threads gathered together here

[gote]

Vancouveria hexandra is a nasty weed here, I've spent years trying to eradicate it.

E. sagittatum below, a huge disappointment, it was bought from China as E. brachyrrhizum

That is funny, It is not a weed in my place but I keep it under Rodgersias and Cimcifugas.
Perhaps I am just a bad gardener who cannot grow Vancouveria as well as you do. 
I have got brachyrrhizum and could possibly spare a small piece next spring. Remind me then if you still are looking for it
Cheers
Göte

[arisaema]

That is funny, It is not a weed in my place but I keep it under Rodgersias and Cimcifugas.
Perhaps I am just a bad gardener who cannot grow Vancouveria as well as you do. 
I have got brachyrrhizum and could possibly spare a small piece next spring. Remind me then if you still are looking for it

Just discovered this, I'd love to trade for a piece of it - will do my best to remember!

Maybe it's the peaty soil my Vancouveria was planted in, or maybe it's the wet climate, but it went absolutely mad here

[TheOnionMan]

Following the spring display of Epimedium flowers, and the few summer-blooming types, I've been carefully reviewing the foliage on Epimedium species and cultivars, after all, much of the year it is their foliage that's the main attraction. Also, I review them with a new eye as I launch into an ambitious Epimedium hybridization program, looking for best characteristics, paying special attention to those that are truly drought-resistant (many get stressed under prolonged drought).  Most interesting this time of year, is the fall color "signature" of many epimedium.  Studying the autumn color (as well as the remarkable spring foliar colors), gives clues about various traits and species lineages, the signature fall colors often showing in hybrid progeny.  What follows are some random thoughts of Epimedium that I like:

1.   E. ilicifolium - the narrowish spiny-edged leaves make a concise dwarf clumping plant.  No fall color per se, but evergreen and small, with yellow flowers, this is a plant I shall be working with based on its growth habit.

2.   E. brachyrrhizum - I'm showing a young plant here, I have some gorgeous large clumps, one of the VERY BEST species in every aspect.  Evergreen leaves, it sometimes throws new growth of plum red; a great clumper, not a runner.  Excellent potential for hybridization.

3.   E. sempervirens 'Secret Arrow' - sempervirens is a key species in a hybridization program, absolutely drought-tolerant, not blinking an eye during this summer's record-breaking drought.  Hybrids involving sempervirens are equally drought-tolerant.  This particular selection introduced in 2000 by Garden Vision Epimediums is fantastic during all seasons, a low-growing clumper, but the fall color is outstanding.

4.   Darrell Probst introduced 9-10 different forms of E. grandiflorum f. flavescens, which he numbered to keep them separate; all are nice, all are distinct.  This is E. grandiflorum f. flavescens #5, which takes on a unique caramel color in fall, highlighted by brown veins.

5.   E. grandiflorum 'Tancho' - fall color reminds me of Lays Potato Chips, heart-shaped leaves are a very pale yellow with thin brown edging and veins.

6.   E. x youngianum 'Hagoromo' - hot pink fall color on this small one, and the delicate white and lavender flowers are slender and utterly unique.

7.   E. x youngianum 'Tamabotan' - a kaleidascope of dark purple foliage colors in spring and into summer, but the fall color is a diaphanous light pink color.  A number of other Epimedium take on such autumn colors.

8.   E. lishihchenii - one of the best species, heavy textured evergreen foliage is low and spreading, and very long season (into summer) of large spidery yellow flowers.  In autumn, the shiny rugose red-flushed leathery leaves are outstanding.

9.   E. x 'Black Sea'- a truly unique cultivar in every respect, in autumn and winter the evergreen foliage turns an unusual red-black shiny foliage.  In this photo, the color is just starting, by December it is near black.

10.  Epimedium x setosum - evergreen hybrids between E. diphyllum and E. sempervirens, this is by far one of my favorites. Clump forming plants covered with minute pure white flowers in spring, in fall taking on orange red foliage colors with green veining.

[TheOnionMan]

Observing a large batch of 3 year old Epimedium seedlings, I'm having some interesting results.  The most important realization came this summer with prolonged heat and drought that devastated the foliage on many Epimedium grandiflorum and youngianum cultivars, with almost all foliage toasted to a crisp, those hybrid plants that had evergreen species in their lineage, such as sempervirens and pubigerum, laughed at the drought and looked as deep green and fresh as they did in spring.

I'm particularly excited by a batch of seedlings from E. youngianum 'Liliputian', one of the smallest varieties with white flowers, which crossed with some nearby evergreen species; either pubigerum, sempervirens 'Candy Hearts', or x sasakii (itself, a natural diphyllum x sempervirens cross).  The resulting plants are all very dark green, evergreen, compact, and drought-tolerant.  One plant is particularly small, a real dwarf with concise leaves and tiny evergreen leaflets smaller than a fingernail.

1    Epimedium - evergreen 'Liliputian' hybrids in front row
2    Selected dwarf evergreen 'Liliputian' hybrid, showing the brace of tiny evergreen leaves at the base, basal leaves only about 1" tall
      (it is my belief that the evergreen parent is E. sempervirens or E. pubigerum)
3    E. membranaceum x rhizomatosum cross, not great, but flowered all summer long, even in the drought.  Here, flowering in September.
4    E. membranaceum - 2 year old hybrid seedling, can't wait until spring!

[annew]

They look really exciting, Mark. We could certainly do with some more drought-tolerant varieties.

[TheOnionMan]

It's hard to resist those perky little self-sown Epimedium seedlings.  Here are three seedlings from E. sempervirens 'Mars', you can catch a bit of the rust-orange fall foliage color on Mars to the right.  Each seedling has taken on different fall colors, little hearts of promise.

[gote]

Really nice Mark,
I must keep a better look at the autumn colours.
Crocus speciosus would be good nearby, adding some accent to the yellow/red.
Göte

[TheOnionMan]

Every autumn I struggle with the same dilemma, whether to shear back Epimedium foliage in the autumn or wait until spring.

The mounds of foliage have such presence this time of year, some still dark green while many plants are already dormant, other epimediums lasting well into autumn and early winter with persistent and brightly colored foliage.  It typically goes like this; I plan on shearing the foliage after most leaves are killed off with the onset the really cold weather, but as it so often works out, a heavy snow arrives and the weather turns frigid, burying the plants in snowy ice-pack, so now I have to wait until spring.  But in spring, the "eppies" can start sprouting so early, it becomes *very labor intensive* to careful snip off all of the dead or battered foliage and twiggy remains of stems, without damaging new growth and inadvertently cutting off flower stems. With several hundred maturing eppies in the garden, the spring cleanup can be a nightmare if the old foliage isn't removed in time.

It's November, and foliage mounds of Epimedium still make a visual impact... what should I do, what should I do?  If I were smart about it, I would shear off all foliage very soon!

1-2  Colorful Epimedium foliage in the autumn garden.
3     Epimedium brevicornu with yellow foliage.
4     Epimedirum sempervirens 'White Purity' with leathery red fall leaves. I leave the foliage on
      most sempervirens forms, some overwinter quite well.
5     Epimedium x vesisolor 'Versicolor' - one that is "semi-evergreen", I usuall leave the foliage on
      and snip off old foliage in late winter.
6     Epimedium grandiflorum var. coelestre 'Alpine Beauty' - colorful!
7     Epimedium planting near my deck stairs.

[Lesley Cox]

Those are stunning foliage plants in the autumn Mark.

I have great hopes of my batch of Epimedium seedlings from hybrid seed sent to me a while back. I've had the first flowers, all white or nearly so, with a pinky-brown in the centres. Only 4 (of 54) have flowered so far and at present there is some nice leaf colour variation. When the rain stops I'll take some pictures. I have no idea at all what parents could be involved.

[TheOnionMan]

Those are stunning foliage plants in the autumn Mark.

I have great hopes of my batch of Epimedium seedlings from hybrid seed sent to me a while back. I've had the first flowers, all white or nearly so, with a pinky-brown in the centres. Only 4 (of 54) have flowered so far and at present there is some nice leaf colour variation. When the rain stops I'll take some pictures. I have no idea at all what parents could be involved.

Leslie, where did you get the seed from?  I would indeed like to see any seedlings that flower for you, or have particularly colorful spring foliage... looking forward to it.

[TheOnionMan]

Approaching mid November, some epimediums are still showing colorful fall foliage.

1.   E. lishihchenii is coloring up fantastic this year.  I showed this earlier, where the leathery veined leaves are red-hued, but the color now is most impressive.  I see this as a species to play a primary role in hybridization efforts.  I used many of the spidery yellow flowers to cross with other pollen parents, but next year I need to focus in on hybrids with this plant.  The full sheath of highly colored evergreen leaves are about 6" tall by about 24" across, never dropping a leaf during our intense drought this past summer.

2.   Two E. grandiflorum cultivars, 'Purple Prince' on the left, 'Princess Susan' on the right.

3.   The common E. x rubrum turns burnished leather brown-red colors in the fall and early winter.

4.   E. grandiflorum cultivar, dark chocolate colored leaves, distinctive.

5.   Two evergreen E. sempervirens cultivars, 'Aurora' on the left is still green, 'Vega' on the right.

6.   E. x 'Enchantress', a hybrid between E. dolichostemon and E. leptorrhizum.  It is a large clump but shed about 90% of its leaves during this summer's record drought, so only a few evergreen leaves remain.  Too bad, because they are a deep blackish-purple color in fall.  Today I moved the plant to a more moisture-retentive spot.

7.   A view of three 3-year old Epimedium hybrid seedlings, the one in the center is taking on a unique blackish color to the leaves, don't know from what parent this comes from.

8.   One of 9-10 E. x youngianum 'Liliputian' hybrids (which crossed with one of several possible evergreen species), with small evergreen leaflets and diverse leaf petioles.  The previous black-leaf hybrid seedling can be seen in the upper right.

I have decided in some parts of the garden this year, I will finally be proactive and shear some of my Epimediums in the fall (now) rather than in spring, which if I wait too long in the spring, means tons more cleanup work than doing it in the fall, see this separate posting:
http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?topic=274.msg4809#msg4809

[TheOnionMan]

I'm a sucker for Epimedium seedlings, they're so cute.  The initial leaf is not necessarily indicative of what the plant will look like, even spiny narrow-leaf types will have a roughly heart shaped first leaf.  The photo shows a flat of E. sempervirens 'Mars' seedlings, about 20 of them or so, but just a few in this view.  On the left, we're seeing a seedling with second or third leaflets, also showing some fall color, but I'm intrigued by the lobes on the upper-most leaflet.  This is the fun part, imagining what the hybrid plants will look like, will they be anything new and special.  Some seedlings flower the second year from seed, but it requires a minimum of 3 years to know what the plant character will be like.

[Brian Ellis]

You are not the only sucker around Mark

Yesterday we were treated to a talk by Keith Wiley ex gardener at The Garden House Buckland Monocorum, proponent of new naturalism in gardening

http://www.wileyatwildside.com/2.html

The talk was fascinating, well worth me looking forward to it for nearly a year!  I picked up this Epimedium, a seedling from Wildside with the name 'Buff Beauty' it has  "pale amber flowers and bronze tinted young foliage."  Thought you might like to see it.

[TheOnionMan]

You are not the only sucker around Mark

Yesterday we were treated to a talk by Keith Wiley ex gardener at The Garden House Buckland Monocorum, proponent of new naturalism in gardening

http://www.wileyatwildside.com/2.html

The talk was fascinating, well worth me looking forward to it for nearly a year!  I picked up this Epimedium, a seedling from Wildside with the name 'Buff Beauty' it has  "pale amber flowers and bronze tinted young foliage."  Thought you might like to see it.

Oooh, lucky you, what a delicate beauty 'Buff Beauty' is! Looks like it might have some E. davidii in it lineage, I hope to be as lucky with my hybridization efforts.  Brian, do you know if 'Buff Beauty' is a hybrid that occurred at Wildside and is of their own naming?

Interesting about the naturalism gardening movement; I think I'm part way there without even realizing it   I'll look for a 2nd hand copy of Mr. Wiley's On The Wild Side book from Timber Press... I constantly get emails from Timber Press with all kinds of discounts and special offers, but I just delete the emails these days to avoid the temptation until I'm back to employment.

[Brian Ellis]

Brian, do you know if 'Buff Beauty' is a hybrid that occurred at Wildside and is of their own naming?

Mark the label says "A seedling selected at Wildside" so I am assuming it is one of their own naming too.  I'm pleased you like it