Epimedium - various threads gathered together here

[TheOnionMan]

Part 2,

11    E. membranaceum x brevicornu No.2 - fine golden fall color, good clumping habit akin to E. brevicornu

12    E. membranaceum x brevicornu No.3 - wider more open growth than No.2 similar to membranaceum

13-15 E. membranaceum hybrid seedlings, various 2-year hybrid seedlings   

16    E. brachyrrhizum - beautiful dense mounds of shiny, rugose dark evergreen leaves, sometimes colored. There's hardly a better clumping species than this one, and totally drought-resistant too.

17    E. stellulatum - makes a wide, low clump of spine-edged evergreen leaves.  The late fall and winter foliage continues to deepen in russet color, highlighting strong venation. Superb drought-resistant species.

18    E. fargesii - 2-year hybrid seedling - the parent plant grows near some choice eppie species and cultivars, this is the part of gardening that I love, the prolonged anticipation of a plant's first flowering.

19    E. grandiflorum 'Orion' - very late to color, but worth the wait, a beautiful orange color.

20    E. x 'Black Sea' - reported as a hybrid between E. pinnatum ssp. colchicum and pubigerum, this is one the finest eppies ever.  The foliage is always excellent, but thee fall & winter color almost doesn't look real, like shiny leather in coffee-red tones that will deepen over time to near black.  Drought-resistant plant.

[TheOnionMan]

Part 3,

21    E. x versicolor 'Versicolor' - rich red semi-evergreen foliage, and the ever-widening mat of E. pinnatum ssp. colchicum 'Thunderbolt' with superb evergreen foliage, deepening to near black in winter, highlighted by green venation.

22    E. x youngianum 'Otome'- one of the very best youngianum types, this one surely with some sempervirens in its genetic makeup.  Beautiful rounded, deeply veined evergreen leaves that take on various leaf colors throughout the year, build into a superb upright clump.  Epimedium x sasakii 'Melody' just behind it, another evergreen one.

23    E. x youngianum 'Grape Fizz' - a 2004 introduction by Darrell Probst, a terrific small plant with sprightly flowers that can appear all summer, taking on russet red leaf colors in fall.

24    E. fangii - not a particularly showy plant in flower, nor fall color, but an interesting species nonetheless, with stout, leathery, 3-part leaves.  Spreads by long rhizomes, so needs to be placed carefully. Possibly useful for hybridization for the plant habit, leaf disposition, and yellow flower color.

25    E. grandiflorum f. flavescens - No.2 - Darrell Probst numbers his various collections of forma flavescens, this one show some dessicated leaves on top from our summer drought, but was more tolerant of drought than most other flavescens forms.  Also unique in growth; very large, with bold textured leaves, yellow in autumn.

26    Epimedium hybrid seedling - 2 year, showing some interesting fall color and venation.

27    Epimedium hybrid seedling - 3 year, unflowered so far, keeping an eye on this one as it is among the most dwarf of my eppies so far, evergreen, with red leaves in spring, and deep bronze foliar color in autumn.

28    Epimedium hybrid seedling - 3 year, probably a seedling from youngianum 'Otome', with shiny veined leaves, great clumping habit, and attractive autumn color.

29    E. grandiflorum 'Bicolor Giant' - relatively new to my garden, has good red fall foliage.

30    E. pubescens "Shaanxi Forms" - introduced by Darrell Probst, a hardy selection of this slightly more tender species. Very low, wide clump of neat foliage, much smaller than E. stellulatum that can be seen just above.  perky white flowers above the foliage.

[TheOnionMan]

I was googling Epimedium wushanense 'Caramel' tonight, and came across a somewhat unsettling nursery-offering from Heronswood.  They are selling seedling-grown plants from E. wushanense 'Caramel', which will obviously be 100% hybrids and not the true Caramel; fair game I suppose, but the plant offering is listed simply as Epimedium [Caramel], an odd cryptic way to list the offering.  What does it mean?  To be sure, almost every customer who would purchase such an offering will label their plant Epimedium 'Caramel' or Epimedium Caramel, and it'll totally create confusion with the true E. wushanense 'Caramel'; they should know better than such a carelessly labeled offering... how disappointing.  If anyone currently grows the true 'Caramel', start calling it as such; E. wushanense 'Caramel' (true vegetatively propagated plant). Tsk tsk Heronswood.

Heronswood - Epimedium [Caramel]
http://www.heronswood.com/shop/03464

[gerrit]

Hello Mark

An impressive gallery of Epimediums. I appreciate it.

Mmm, some unknown species to me, like E.youngianum "Otome" and "Grape Fizz", E.grandiflorum "Orion" and Bicolor Giant. The last one seems very particular te me.

Gerrit

[Maggi Young]

Hello Gerrit, good to have you posting.
 

[TheOnionMan]

Hello Mark

An impressive gallery of Epimediums. I appreciate it.

Mmm, some unknown species to me, like E.youngianum "Otome" and "Grape Fizz", E.grandiflorum "Orion" and Bicolor Giant. The last one seems very particular te me.

Gerrit

Thanks Gerrit, always nice to meet another fellow Epimedium fan.  Please tell us more about your epimedium interest and how you grow them.  I find that there are many cultivars in the UK and EU that I can't find here, luckily there is hybridization going on in both the USA and in Europe, and I suspect in Japan too.

E. x youngianum 'Otome' is a cultivar bought and brought to the USA from Japan, and is without a doubt, one of the best epimediums.

'Grape Fizz' is an American 2004 introduction by Darrell Probst, a very good E. x youngianum to be sure.

'Orion' is a grandiflorum selection that most likely originates from Japan, and named by American nurseryman Dick Weaver of We-Du Nursery in the early 1990s.  It is one of several "giant red" types.

'Bicolor Giant' is another of the "giant red" grandiflorum types, I believe named by Darrell Probst, "acquired from Gotemba Nursery, Japan on 1997 as a pink grandiflorum".  My plant is still young, but the other "giant red", namely 'Red Queen', is indeed a monster Epimedium, for me growing more than a meter wide and 30" (75 cm) tall or taller.

[WimB]

Hello Mark

An impressive gallery of Epimediums. I appreciate it.

Mmm, some unknown species to me, like E.youngianum "Otome" and "Grape Fizz", E.grandiflorum "Orion" and Bicolor Giant. The last one seems very particular te me.

Gerrit

Hi Gerrit,

welkom op het forum. Always nice to have someone more here who speaks Dutch. Are you an Eppie-addict too?

[gerrit]

Thank you Maggy, Mark and Wim for your kind words
Let me introduce myself. I am an epimedium eddict indeed. For three years I started a collection and now I grow 50 different species in my garden. The reason to fall in love with our genus, is the combination of tiny liitle flowers with her ever changing leafcolors. In the beginning it was difficult to obtain new species, especially in Holland. There is absolutely no interest here for E. As a member of the Dutch Rockgarden Society I sometimes try to speak about E, but I think, this is not done. The seedlists contains hardly any E. The same as our SRGC. The most of my plants come from Belgium, Wim, you are familiar with him, Koen van Poucke.
For a year I follow the E thread on this forum and learned a lot.... That I know nothing. The knowledge you have Mark, and a woodlandgarden there in Mass, beatifull. But also nice to read there are also fans in even Russia or in warmer places like Lyon, France.

[TheOnionMan]

Gerrit, it seems surprising that there wouldn't be more interest in Epimedium in the Netherlands, maybe between yourself and your next door neighbor Wim in Belgium, you two can start a new trend   With 50 varieties, I'd say you are off to a good start!  It also sounds like you have them growing in the ground, rather than in pots, which I believe is the best way to enjoy them.  Show us some photos sometime, I'm always interested to see how gardeners incorporate epimediums into the garden and landscape.

I see from your signature information that your garden is below sea level.  I found the following link to be very interesting, about places in the world that are below Sea Level, I had no idea that the Dead Sea in Israel was the lowest elevation on earth at -423m.

Regarding your avatar, I take it as a compliment that you like Epimedium grandiflorum 'Dark Beauty', it is a stunning variety.

[WimB]

Thank you Maggy, Mark and Wim for your kind words
Let me introduce myself. I am an epimedium eddict indeed. For three years I started a collection and now I grow 50 different species in my garden. The reason to fall in love with our genus, is the combination of tiny liitle flowers with her ever changing leafcolors. In the beginning it was difficult to obtain new species, especially in Holland. There is absolutely no interest here for E. As a member of the Dutch Rockgarden Society I sometimes try to speak about E, but I think, this is not done. The seedlists contains hardly any E. The same as our SRGC. The most of my plants come from Belgium, Wim, you are familiar with him, Koen van Poucke.
For a year I follow the E thread on this forum and learned a lot.... That I know nothing. The knowledge you have Mark, and a woodlandgarden there in Mass, beatifull. But also nice to read there are also fans in even Russia or in warmer places like Lyon, France.

Gerrit,

I know Koen of course, a very friendly and knowledgeable man with a nice nursery.
He's one of the two persons in Belgium I know of with a big Epi assortment in his nursery, he has about 100 Epimedium species and cultivars for sale and a lot of other very nice plants. And there are quite a few Epi-addicts in Belgium (not so in the Netherlands?)

I believe the nursery of Hans Kramer (De Hessenhof) in the Netherlands is extending their Epi collection. And "Het houten huis" (http://www.hethoutenhuis.eu/) has a nice collection too...but you probably visited them already?


Cheers

Wim

[gerrit]

Ha ha Mark, next door neighbours. Between Wim and myself live approximately 5 million people.
I grow my epimediums in the ground. I have placed them on higher spots, on the top of peatwalls, and along a small brook. That was the first thing I was aware. To have a good view on the flowers, you should not go on your knees. Although we live in a flat country here, I made different altitudes in my garden. I think it makes a garden more interesting.
Wim, de Hessenhof is in my opinion the very best nursery in the Netherlands. Not for rock garden plants however. Hans Kramer, the owner is a very amiable man. The prices are low and it is always very crowdy there, so not all plants are available. The Houten House on the contrary I would not visit. I was there in May, and in the epimediumcorner it was a mass. They aim to have a huge collection, but they refused to show me.
Mark, I stole the picture of E.Dark Beauty from you indeed. For me the most wanted. As far as I know, not available in the low countries. Wim, do you have her?

[TheOnionMan]

Ha ha Mark, next door neighbours. Between Wim and myself live approximately 5 million people.
I grow my epimediums in the ground. I have placed them on higher spots, on the top of peatwalls, and along a small brook. That was the first thing I was aware. To have a good view on the flowers, you should not go on your knees. Although we live in a flat country here, I made different altitudes in my garden. I think it makes a garden more interesting.

Gerrit, you have a LOT of neighbors!   Your positioning of epimedium plants up onto elevated positions makes sense, and as you say, better to see the flowers.  Although one of my hybridization goals is create hybrids that present their flowers well above the foliage; those cultivars like 'Kaguyahime' and 'Enchantress' that partially hide their flowers among the leaves are not so showy because of their shy flowers.  How do the evergreen species do for you, does the foliage truly remain evergreen?  I am rather amazed that here in New England (Northeastern USA) where so few plants with evergreen leaves do that well in winter, that some of the epimediums have winter foliage that comes through just fine.

Mark, I stole the picture of E.Dark Beauty from you indeed. For me the most wanted. As far as I know, not available in the low countries. Wim, do you have her?

No problem, I thought it looked familiar, as I said, I'll take it as a compliment, a photo good enough for an avatar image I think there might be a young Belgian fellow that has the dark beauty

[WimB]

Ha ha Mark, next door neighbours. Between Wim and myself live approximately 5 million people.

Wim, de Hessenhof is in my opinion the very best nursery in the Netherlands. Not for rock garden plants however. Hans Kramer, the owner is a very amiable man. The prices are low and it is always very crowdy there, so not all plants are available. The Houten House on the contrary I would not visit. I was there in May, and in the epimediumcorner it was a mass. They aim to have a huge collection, but they refused to show me.

Mark, I stole the picture of E.Dark Beauty from you indeed. For me the most wanted. As far as I know, not available in the low countries. Wim, do you have her?

We have a lot of neighbours, indeed...The low countries are very densely populated. There's about 300 km between us...

Never been to the Hessenhof but I might be going next year. I mailed with the owner of the houten house and she seemed very friendly but people can be very different in real live.

Like Mark said  I bought your most wanted (AKA E. grfl 'Dark Beauty') this year and for the moment she's growing in the greenhouse of a friend/nursery-woman...she will be planted out in my garden next year...in a few years (if you can wait that long  ) I might be able to give you a piece.

[TheOnionMan]

Colder temperatures have arrived, yet still no snow, with garden interest provided by evergreen Epimediums and a few late-deciduous types.

1   E. pubigerum Cc950215 - In my opinion, one of the very best all-around clumping species, although a largely overlooked one.  The neat crimped foliage looks great year round, is the most reliable evergreen of all species, and drought-resistant too. The small flowers are produced in open sprays on tallish stems that clear the foliage, not bowl-me-over beautiful but refined and attractive.  Flowers are basically white, but depending on the form grown, can be flushed with pink or red. The number indicates a Darrell Probst collection number; with four forms offered in the past, I have three of them.  From Turkey, in areas near the Black Sea.

2   E. x sasakii - another evergreen "species", a name used by Japanese botanists to describe natural hybrids between E. sempervirens and E. x setosum, but the name not generally recognized.  Since E. x setosum is itself a natural hybrid between E. diphyllum and E. sempervirens, E. x sasakii can be thought of as:
E. sempervirens x (diphyllum x sempervirens).  The sempervirens genes certainly show through, with small rounded evergreen leaves, but with an upright habit more like diphyllum.  Very slow growing clumper.  I grow a couple forms.

3   E. x sasaki 'Melody' - introduced by Darrell Probst in 2001, this is a hybrid that occurred in Harold Epstein's garden, between E. sempervirens (violet form) and E. x setosum.  It is a very good plant, slowly building into a mound of shiny semi-evergreen leaves, taking on dark leather red colors in fall. The spring foliage is flecked with red, and the violet flowers are a bit larger and more showy than other x sasakii types.

4   E. sempervirens 'Candy Hearts' - a fantastic plant, the spring foliage is unbelievable, looking like shiny plastic with bold red edges.  New leaves after flowering also show bold coloration.  Large, heavy foliage tends to flatten out in summer making beautiful low mounds, worth growing for the foliage alone. Absolutely winter evergreen and drought resistant. Palest lavender flowers are okay but not very exciting.  Excellent plant for hybridization efforts.

5   E. pinnatum ssp. colchicum - this evergreen species hardly needs any introduction, a familiar garden plant that slowly spreads into a dense wide mat. Reliably evergreen here, and drought resistant.  The yellow verbascum-like flowers are best appreciated however if the foliage is cut off in spring.  Late autumn and winter foliage takes on dark charcoal shades.

6   E. x youngianum 'Otome' - I keep showing this Japanese variety, but it is so fantastic, useful too for hybridization, and colorful so late into the season, that it's hard not to be fixated on it.  Semi-evergreen, and drought-resistant.

7   Not all grandiflorums are created equal, even with flowers of the same color scheme.  The small plant on the left, showing some red fall color, is E. grandiflorum 'Silver Queen'. The much larger E. grandiflorum 'White Queen' is on the right, taking on some dull brownish-red fall color.

8   E. x youngianum 'Royal Flush'- fantastic copper-red spring foliage, some good foliar color in late spring and summer too, and subtle burnished copper tones in autumn; semi-evergreen.  Attractive lavender flowers. Somewhat similar to the next one, #9.

9   E. grandiflorum var. violaceum 'Bronze Maiden' - in spring this goes through an incredible metamorphosis of leaf color, from chocolate to carneous red and flesh tones.  This plant had a rough time with our summer drought, so it looks a bit tatty, but still showing some burnished leaf color.

10  Two E. x versicolor selections (garden bred E. grandiflorum x pinnatum ssp. colchicum), the cultivar 'Versicolor' in the lower right with deep leather-red foliage, and Darrell Probst's 2004 'Cherry Tart' above it with leather-brown leaves.  Foliage is semi-evergreen, these being a couple of the very best eppies ever.

[gerrit]

Hallo Mark,
This is a part from my garden with a peatwall. With E.gr."Yellow Queen", Corydalis kashmiriana and candelabra primulas.