Epimedium - various threads gathered together here

[Brian Ellis]

 Incidentally that's why I bought it, happy memories are what gardens are all about to me. I also bought a North American Chrysanthemum 'Hillside Apricot', a sterile Lychnis coronaria x L. flos jovis 'Hill Grounds' and Daphne x rolsdorfii 'Wilhelm Schact'....thank goodness there were no snowdrops

[TheOnionMan]

Incidentally that's why I bought it, happy memories are what gardens are all about to me. I also bought a North American Chrysanthemum 'Hillside Apricot', a sterile Lychnis coronaria x L. flos jovis 'Hill Grounds' and Daphne x rolsdorfii 'Wilhelm Schact'....thank goodness there were no snowdrops

Sounds like you got some real goodies, all with a "hill" theme   Even the last one looks like "Hil" to this dyslexic gardening nut.

[Brian Ellis]

It seemed to go with Keith's garden, he has sculpted four acres into canyons and banks, some areas have only 2 cm topsoil, others four foot.  This means he can grow a huge variety of plants, including bog plants in the pools with things like Beschorneria yuccoides on the bank!  He has had enormous growth on the plants in the first few years and it is a very exciting concept.  Earlier this year he was on a programme called "The Landscape Man" in which he was making an area based on ideas from Mexico with soft apricot adobe walls and raised beds.  Other areas of the garden include a wisteria wood where you can walk beneath the plants, here there is quite a lot of woodland planting.  His next project is moving most of the Michaelmas daisies and planting areas of Agapanthus...A man with a vision.

[Brian Ellis]

Interesting about the naturalism gardening movement; I think I'm part way there without even realizing it   I

You might also be interested in this Mark

http://www.channel4.com/4homes/on-tv/landscape-man/wildside-nursery-garden-photo-gallery-10-04-07_p_1.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardenstovisit/5887019/Garden-to-visit-Keith-Wileys-Wildside-Nursery.html

http://www.gardenersclick.com/gardeningarticles/view/keith_wileys_wildside

and a couple of pictures here

http://www.combleyplants.co.uk/wildside.htm

[TheOnionMan]

Brian, fascinating and inspiring garden design... I particularly like the photo in the third link (click on the pic to enlarge it) with repeated patchwork quilt displays of what looks like phlox and dianthus, the landscape formed and bermed, but with almost no rocks. Some of the garden views have a definite wild look or prairie-eqsue feel to them, which is most appealing and inviting. 

There is a place for gardens that utilize "soil sculpturing" to create interest, without the need of tons of rock, I intend on my garden being one such example.  I'm admiring the look and feel of the epimedium beds that I have expanded, they create their own landscape environs so to speak, because of their mix of evergreen-ness and deciduous type, their foliage color persisting into winter well after all tree leaves have dropped.  I'm just getting started! 

Sunny and mild today, about 50 F (10 C), just ran outside and snapped a few photos of the epimediums beds; ones that I have not had the heart to shear off the foliage, they're giving too much visual enjoyment currently.

1-4   Views of an Epimedium beds I started a few years ago, and in process of expanding down a slope.
5      Epimedium brachyrrhizum stays evergreen here, beautiful foliage clumps, behind it is E. x youngianum 'Otome', also with near evergreen leaves, showing that it must have some sempervirens in its lineage... Darrell Probst mentioned that many cultivars are placed in this or that Epimedium group to which it looks the most similar, but in fact species other than grandiflorum and diphyllum are involved in the make-up of some "x youngianum" cultivars.  The cultivar 'Otome' has unique rounded Peperomia-shaped leaves that are deeply veined and beautiful colored, it is a plant that I'll focus in on for hybridization.
6      Epimedium stellulatum on the left, nice veined evergreen leaves, E. x versicolor 'Cupreum' on the right, nearly evergreen and intense fall foliage color.

[Brian Ellis]

Mark, your epimedium tapestries are wonderful.  Keith also likes acers and grasses and plants them at the top of the banks to get the sun shining through them, he showed us some quite magical pictures of the garden.  The most overwhelming impression is of the carpets of 'wall to wall' colour.  He first removed all the topsoil, apart from a small patch of orchard which remains, then after all the sculpting it was returned to the site.  There is still more to be done to about an acre as time and money allows.

[WimB]

Mark,

all those autumn colours are very beautiful. You simply can't not love Epi's when you look at these. 

Not that I'm curious or anything  but what are you growing in the black "gutter" with all the labels in picture 1 and 2?

Cheers

Wim

[TheOnionMan]

Mark,

all those autumn colours are very beautiful. You simply can't not love Epi's when you look at these. 

Not that I'm curious or anything  but what are you growing in the black "gutter" with all the labels in picture 1 and 2?

Cheers

Wim

The "black gutter" is one of two batches of seed flats sown with my 2010 manually made Epimedium crosses, a total of approximately 50 peat flats sown... I'll be very busy in 2011!  All are covered with wire mesh to keep the squirrels and chipmunks out.  In the photo I have uploaded you can see these flats closer up, with one of my Epimedium membranaceum x brevicornu hybrids (#2), which surprisingly had some foliage turn brightly colored as if new foliage but these are old leaves.

[WimB]

Interesting hybrid, indeed. E. brevicornu has splashes like that when it's leaves emerge in spring, if I'm correct? What kind of flowers does your hybrid have?

50 peat flats  Is this the beginning of Garden Vision: the second edition? 

[TheOnionMan]

Interesting hybrid, indeed. E. brevicornu has splashes like that when it's leaves emerge in spring, if I'm correct? What kind of flowers does your hybrid have?

50 peat flats  Is this the beginning of Garden Vision: the second edition? 

Wim, I documented these earlier in the thread, but I have gathered up links to the past posts for easier retrieval. I had a number of seedlings found under E. brevicornu and membranaceum, the two plants growing slammed up against each other.  The hybrids look very consistent in flower, being little yellow and white flowers that are about 3 times the size of the tiny E. brevicornu flowers, but the growth of all but one seedling strongly follows the pattern of E. membranaceum, the other one seedling makes a more upright tuft with more rounded leaflets looking closer to brevicornu.  The best feature to find in this cross, is that membranaceum lends its everblooming characteristic to its progeny, so these things flower well into August or even September!  One seedling in particular, simply labeled E. membranaceum x brevicornu (#2) has the most outrageous brilliant foliage in spring (see link).  This year, I made lots and lots of hand crosses with membranaceum, but also with brevicornu too, plus I sowed lots of OP seed on each... the anticipation is making me crazy

Darrell Probst has moved on to other plant genera to hybridize, there's still lots of work to be done and infinite possibilities, so be looking for Marks' Vision   I have nearly 2 acres of land, so still lots of space to pack in Epimediums of every sort.

http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=4769.msg155733#msg155733
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=4769.msg154480#msg154480
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=4769.msg153802#msg153802
...and the main link showing the amazing spring foliage (note, listed in photos as brevicornu x membranaceum, I now believe the cross is the other way around)
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=4769.msg149686#msg149686

specific photo links, for the ones that have foliage and growth like membranaceum:
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=4769.0;attach=224695;image
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=4769.0;attach=227070;image

one hybrid that has foliage and growth more like brevicornu:
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=4769.0;attach=223735;image

[WimB]

Wim, I documented these earlier in the thread, but I have gathered up links to the past posts for easier retrieval. I had a number of seedlings found under E. brevicornu and membranaceum, the two plants growing slammed up against each other.  The hybrids look very consistent in flower, being little yellow and white flowers that are about 3 times the size of the tiny E. brevicornu flowers, but the growth of all but one seedling strongly follows the pattern of E. membranaceum, the other one seedling makes a more upright tuft with more rounded leaflets looking closer to brevicornu.  The best feature to find in this cross, is that membranaceum lends its everblooming characteristic to its progeny, so these things flower well into August or even September!  One seedling in particular, simply labeled E. membranaceum x brevicornu (#2) has the most outrageous brilliant foliage in spring (see link).  This year, I made lots and lots of hand crosses with membranaceum, but also with brevicornu too, plus I sowed lots of OP seed on each... the anticipation is making me crazy

Darrell Probst has moved on to other plant genera to hybridize, there's still lots of work to be done and infinite possibilities, so be looking for Marks' Vision   I have nearly 2 acres of land, so still lots of space to pack in Epimediums of every sort.

Thanks for the links, Marc. interesting hybrids. I like them a lot. Over here E. membranaceum is considered not very easy to grow so I don't have it.

A couple of greenhouses on your 2 acres and you can start a business.  Let me know when Mark's Vision starts selling   

[TheOnionMan]

Thanks for the links, Marc. interesting hybrids. I like them a lot. Over here E. membranaceum is considered not very easy to grow so I don't have it.
A couple of greenhouses on your 2 acres and you can start a business.  Let me know when Mark's Vision starts selling   

Hmmm, I shouldn't think E. membranaceum would be hard to grow, it seems to like shade and moisture, and gives no indication of any difficulty in cultivation.  You should try to get it, I believe it to be the very best of the yellows, flowering all summer long (and flowering LOTS).

The hybrids are interesting, but not worthy of introduction.  They serve the purpose of revealing hybrids quite intermediate between the parents, and proving that the everblooming characteristic can be passed to progeny.  I will use these to do further hybridization with, in fact, I did that this past spring and summer.

Regarding my Vision, I chipped my glasses and need a new pair

[TheOnionMan]

Some recent nights well below freezing mark the end of "Epimedium fall color fantasy" for many eppie varieties, but not all, some of the more evergreen sorts go into what I call the "slow burn", with rich foliar color lasting well into winter.

1.    E. grandiflorum 'Nanum' has the most unusual autumn foliage scheme, an inner center of yellow but outer leaves a deep dark chocolate brown color.

2-3. E. lishihchenii, an evergreen species, is a candidate for "best fall color on an evergreen species"; a rich burnished red color on shiny evergreen leaves, with deep red veining.  Looks great all winter and into spring, this is probably the most dependable winter-evergreen species for New England.

4.    E. x 'Domino' - you'll see a hit of color on a few leaves, but basically one of many Chinese species and hybrids involving Chinese species that tend to be winter evergreen, thus still having a strong presence  in the late autumn and early winter garden.

5.    E. diphyllum 'Variegatum' - a great all around plant, colorful red/honey/coffee spring color foliage, foliage stippled with white in later spring and summer, and a slow burn of mahogany leather red in autumn.

6.    E. x versicolor 'Versicolor' - tries to be fully evergreen but best regarded as semi-evergreen, rich red coloring starts early in fall and lasts well into winter.  A beauty.

7.    E. x youngianum 'Otome'- one of the very best youngianum types for all seasons, beloved for the very rounded deeply netted leaves that have an evergreen substance to them year round; I'm convinced that this "youngianum" has sempervirens blood in it, accounting for the shiny nearly evergreen leaves.  Beautiful leather leaf colors.

[TheOnionMan]

After viewing some photo galleries showing Epimedium sutchuenense (of possibly questionable identity) I thought I'd post a couple photos taken this spring.  My plant came from Darrell Probst, who writes about this species in the Garden Vision Epimediums nursery catalog "Finally the REAL E. sutchuenense, from the mountains of Shaanxi and northwest Hubei Provinces", and "superficially resembling E. leptorrhizum, with large, lavender mauve flowers and long, thin 8-12" rhizomes", "two leaves on every flower stem, each with three medium-sized leaflets".

Taking a cue from Darrell's description of the long annual rhizomes, this is not a plant for close company but more suitable to a large woodland area where it can spread, I have planted it in a wilder portion of my woodland accordingly.

[TheOnionMan]

On this last day of November 30th, 2010, there are still many Epimedium varieties showing color.  This year I have cut many of the more overtly deciduous species back, easing the spring cleanup, but I leave the many semi-evergreen and full evergreen types, as their presence is so colorful and prominent.  The following 3-part series is not only an exhibition of the fall colors on these fine plants, but also serves as a photographic record of what these plants look like in their fall garb.  So often Epimedium photos are just mere closeups of a few flowers, I believe it is far more important to impart an impression of the whole plant as it may inhabit one's garden.

1.  E. sempervirens 'Vega' - one of the very best sempervirens types with glossy foliage and clumping habit, this photo shows recently divided plants showing strong red coloration to the foliage.  This one will play a role in my hybridization efforts.

2.  A view of various sempervirens hybrids, the one in the foreground having blackish fall foliage.

3.  E. sempervirens 'Secret Arrow', perhaps the best and longest last fall color of sempervirens types.

4.  E. sempervirens "Variegated No.1" - I posted on the amazing hot red, pink and white spring color of this eppie; the fall foliage is more somber, a dark brownish purple color.

5.  E. sempervirens 'White Purity' on the left (strong red oliage color) and 'Asiatic Hybrid' above and on the right, taking on more muted purplish-red foliage tones.

6.  Three E. sempervirens forms, a violet-flowered form with red fall color on the left, 'Aurora' in the center staying green, and what Garden Vision a "typical form" of E. sempervirens", with red fall color, in the lower right.

7-8 A patch of E. pauciflorum on a steep woodland slope.

9.  My selected hybrid seedling of E. x youngianum 'Liliputian' crossed with an evergreen species (likely E. pubigerum or E. sempervirens 'Candy Hearts').  This is the smallest Epimedium of all, so I have a careful watch on this little gem, only recently at this late point in the season is it showing some dark foliage.

10. E. diphyllum 'Variegatum', with lustrous leathery coppery red foliage, with a pinkish-flowered form of evergreen E. pubigerum behind it.