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I seem to remember a nurseryman telling me that some of the epimediums should NOT have their leaves cut off. I can't recall which ones he was referring to. Does anyone here know about this?
In my climate in New England (Massachusetts), with major difference between growing season and real hard winters with frozen ground for months, with or without snowcover (in 2015 we had 4 meters of snow in Jan-Feb), foliage on evergreen Epimedium isn't doing that much and can be cut off in autumn or winter without detriment to the perennating roots/rhizomes. For evergreen Epimediums, I typically do leave the foliage on, and see how they look in late winter/early spring, if all beaten up the foliage is sheared off. This year the evergreen ones are looking okay so far, a relatively mild Feb, and some of the more reliable evergreen ones (such as pubigerum, pinnatum ssp. colchicum, wushanense, ilicifolum) look like they might only need a judicious bit of leaf clean-up.
Well, why? Good question.I do not have many epimediums, they grow mainly in my mind now. I lost quite a few during harsh winter a few years ago - they were newly planted. Moreover, I planted some in places that are too bad - too dark, too dry, just too bad.So I can find two reasons for my silly question:1. I have some epimediums growing together with early bulbs, so I would like to cut the leaves of epimediums early. Sometimes early means late (IE, in autumn).2.I have an idee fixe of surface composting. And I do: first, I called a piece of my garden "a forest". There are old trees there and the bottom is covered with dense growth of Convallaria majalis, die this was a starting point 12 years ago when I moved here. This became both my compost "flat heap" and a woodland garden. For 12 years I have spread all leaves, small wood branches etc over this area - each year 20-25 cm fresh material - not chopped like Ian does. Plants have to cope with these strange conditions and only some do. So, after this long introduction - where are the epimediums?? They are not there, they would lose the competition with convallaria. I just wonder - if I had another new garden, without convallaria, would epimediums play its role? Would they survive covering each year with 20 cm of leaves? Including walnut leaves? This would destroy their leaves in November.As you see, all those beautiful epimediums grow happily, but only in my mind now. Thank you for your answer.
One of the prettiest Epimedium I have, 'Arctic Wings'. This is deciduous.
Leena, your lovely plant is Epimedium diphyllum
Thank you! I hadn't even thought it was something else than what it was bought as, and I don't know enough about Epimediums. This plant has been hardy here over some very cold winters and also increased in size, so it is a good plant.
Leena, Epimediums are self-infertile, they need more than one clone of the same species, or any other Epimedium species or cultivar in close proximity, for seed to occur. In other words, if you get seed, the seedlings will be hybrids.
I have this one without name, which comes from the garden of my mother, that could someone determine it?
