Epimedium - various threads gathered together here

[Tony Willis]

Chris the dolichostemon is about 15 inches with numerous small flowers.That is just part of a flower spike to photograph.

[ChrisB]

Only three nurseries list it - all in the SW    Must check with Edrom, I'm due a visit there....

[Renate Brinkers]

Olga,

thanks a lot, now I am sure that mine is `Orangekoenigin´. You have an impressive collection, wonderful plants.

[gote]

Tony - E. dolichostemon is super.  Is that very small?  Gote - love the foliage on yours.  These plants are just intriguing to me.  I love to look at them closely to see the detail of the flower parts.

It is not mine Chris. I wish it were. I failed to remove Olga's picture when i quoted her.
Sorry Olga
Göte

[gote]

Moscow is colder…
My friend lost E. acuminatum after -20c snowless frost.

You are quite right Moscow is colder. The strange thing is that Ståle who is in Norway, where it is warmer than here in mid Sweden, lost his acuminatum.
My acuminatum had some 20% of the leaves burnt from the winter sun this winter. Ståle has his in a more exposed position than mine.
It could be a case of different clones but do you know if your friend's acuminatum was shaded in the winter?
Göte

[Roberto Gamoletti]

Two more epimedium in flower now in my garden

Roberto

[Staale]

Yes, Göte is right that my plant of E. acuminatum died. That may however have other causes than low temperatures. My plant was next to my little stream, and the soil there is quite saturated all year. It was also growing to exposed to sun, I think. Recently I received 3 new plants of acuminatum (if they turn out correctly named) to try again in a better spot. Love the foliage of acuminatum.

[Paul T]

That thing I also find with E. acuminatum is that unlike most of them it keeps flowering for me throughout summer.  It periodically puts up a new leaf and associated flowers anytime during the warmer months.  Always a nice surprise to find more flowers on it unexpectedly.  And the flowers are probably my most favourite of the Eps I have flowered here..... although I have seen some other nicer ones but not in my own garden.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

A friend of mine is looking for a "different" ground cover for his front garden which is in full sun though.
Would any Epimedium be suitable or do they all want shade ? 

[Paul T]

Luc,

I grow Epimedium pinnatum 'Colchicum' (or is that ssp colchicum, I don't recall right now) out in full sun.  It wasn't exactly deliberate, it just worked out that way.  My climate has pretty hot summers so I'd have to say it doesn't mind full sun (depends of course what your friend's summer are like).  It has formed a mass about 1.5m wide so far, and it is most definitely supressing everything it comes across.  I have to dig a heap of it out this year as it is starting to overrun everything else in the vicinity.  It is particularly beautiful if you trim the leaves just as the flowers are emerging, because then you get a whole mass of flowers without anything disturbing them.  Still looks brilliant even if you miss the window of opportunity and find the flowers already too far advanced, but better with no leaves at all and just flowers.  It flowers prolifically for me in full sun as well.  That a help?  I can dig up a pic of the flowers of mine if you'd like, but I think it is correctly named as far as I can tell.

And if you don't grow that one..... how many plants would you like.  I will literally end up throwing a bunch of mine out I would imagine, as I don't have space for a miriad of 1.5m patches of the one Epimedium (but wish some of the others would try to grow that well.  )

[Tony Willis]

a few more in flower.I find that some put up flower spikes form now until the frost in October. I notice the bumble bees like them at the moment and so there is a chance of some hybrid seed.

My two plants 37 and 38 look the same in flower but have slightly different foliage.

Epimedium sp chen 37
Epimedium sp chen 38
Epimedium sp chen 24
Epimedium youngianum niveum
Epimedium platypetalum
Epimedium akebono
Epimedium epsteinii

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Luc,

I grow Epimedium pinnatum 'Colchicum' (or is that ssp colchicum, I don't recall right now) out in full sun.  It wasn't exactly deliberate, it just worked out that way.  My climate has pretty hot summers so I'd have to say it doesn't mind full sun (depends of course what your friend's summer are like).  It has formed a mass about 1.5m wide so far, and it is most definitely supressing everything it comes across.  I have to dig a heap of it out this year as it is starting to overrun everything else in the vicinity.  It is particularly beautiful if you trim the leaves just as the flowers are emerging, because then you get a whole mass of flowers without anything disturbing them.  Still looks brilliant even if you miss the window of opportunity and find the flowers already too far advanced, but better with no leaves at all and just flowers.  It flowers prolifically for me in full sun as well.  That a help?  I can dig up a pic of the flowers of mine if you'd like, but I think it is correctly named as far as I can tell.

And if you don't grow that one..... how many plants would you like.  I will literally end up throwing a bunch of mine out I would imagine, as I don't have space for a miriad of 1.5m patches of the one Epimedium (but wish some of the others would try to grow that well.  )

Hi Paul !
Thanks for the elaborate explanation !
Don't worry about the threatening Summer - my friend lives nearby -so his "Summer" is belgian... not even close to what you're getting...heatwise...    Maybe I'd have to worry more about our winters - sometimes wet and quite milde - sometimes down to -10 °C as last Winter

I've googled for some pictures - it looks quite an attractive species...
I'll talk to him about it.
He has some 10 m2 to cover.

Thanks for your help !

[Hans J]

Luc ,

I could also suggest you E. X perr.'Frohnleitn' or E.  X ' Neosulphureum ....( look on my pics  - there is also one of E.pinn. ssp. colchicum )
Also well in sun is E.X warleyense 'Orangekoenigin' - all this old hybrid cultivars are really uncomplicatet .
They are plantet often in parcs - in any positions -they grows always happy !

Good luck
Hans

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Thank you Hans !
I'll dig into them ! 

[Lori S.]

You must all garden in the tropics   My earliest Epimedium is up 10mm or so.   

Tropics, indeed!  There won't be new growth on my epimediums until about month end!