Lovely flowers but worth growing for the foliage alone. This is Ellen Willmott
Epimediums
This one is grandiflorum Lilafee
oh, those are beautiful! I've never grown any before but maybe i will now that i've seen these.
ness;-)
I just bought 3 different kinds. Now I'm really excited to get them planted.
I also just planted 2 varieties! I am looking forward to seeing the change in foliage color as the seasons progress.
The lovely picture of the grandiflorum Lilafee is so enticing!
Peter
Thanks. I have just taken a photo of another epimedium I have - this one is Epimedium x youngianum Niveum.
The epimediums are all so soft and gentle. . . . . My new ones are already growing! . . .
I'd like a few more - there are some fantastic varieties!
I'll be searching. . .
I've heard that epimediums grow relatively well under maples. Anybody know. I had no idea there were so many varieties. The grandiflorum Lilafee is enough to make me start searching. Thanks for the pictures.
They are excellent for dry shade so would seem to fit the bill for you Synergy.
Galanthophile, I have some epimedium in my garden. Most of them are done with the flowers this year, grandiflorum Lilafee is there. Do you collect the seeds? I saw many tiny little seeds there. Can they be growing from seeds? Here is one picture.
Ann: Beautiful varieties of Epimedium. I also have Lilafee and a yellow variety too.
FangNJ: Your Epimedium looks very healthy and vigorous. I hope mine will look like yours one day.
Fang - they certainly look like seedling plants to me - lucky you! They are wonderful plants.
I have two epimediums they are so beautiful. I love the heart shaped leaves they russel when the wind blows. Now is when thet are blossoming in michigan my red one with yellow border is beautiful the purple on hasnt blossomed yet though. We had a late snow storm so the flowers are being more timid I guess glad thats over
I love everything about these plants. The new growth especially!
Glad I came across this thread. I loved the plant the minite I saw it. Then I read that, once established, epimediums can grow happily in dry shade. That's what I have mostly, but my garden is in 4b-5a, so not as many choices. Nonetheless I got 3 varieties. I'll post pictures later.
I noticed that it took my first plants two years from a 4" pot to get established. This is the first spring I enjoy to see the flowers. What was your experience? How much shade do your plants get?
I'd say there is quite alot of variation - some plants have outgrown their space with me yet other forms have stayed pretty much the same size although they are the ones in the drier soil. My plants get mostly shade but not dense shade, they get the benefit of some sunshine for at least part of the day. I could certainly find room for a few more!
I just came across this tread today and am so glad that others are interested in epimediums! I have several. They first one I bought is Frotteliten (sp?). This one is evergreen and has beautiful yellow flowers in spring. The foliage gets cut back in spring to allow new foliage to replace what gets tattered over the winter. Mine has spread quite a bit which allows for transplanting.
Plant Delights Nursery has a wide variety of these. A bit pricey, but if you love them...
http://plantdelights.com
They are pricy, and I had bad experience with their packaging method, but they have a good variety.
I bought epimediums from Darrell Probst and liked it better http://www.home.earthlink.net/~darrellpro/
Let see if I can get some pictures added now.
One more ... Sorry that's a Hipatica. And I see that I need to work on taking better pictures.
This message was edited May 2, 2007 3:40 PM
I saw a variety of these at the Chicago Botanic Garden, I wonder if they offer any at their annual plant sale. I couldn't make it last year...
Sorry you had a tough experience with PDN. I hope you let them know, they are usually very good at fixing things. Lucky for me, I only live about 10 min. from there and can just bring home whatever impulse hits me...Although you are right about the $$ part. Ouch!
Epimediums are also among my favorites. They give you that forest-feeling and their fairy like flowers are really charming.
I only have 3 species and if I only had the space I would have many more.
Only one has bloomed yet which is
Epimedium x perralchium
What a lovely closeup! The petals like spread wings of a fairy.
I read somewhere that Epimediums are easy to hybridize. The article implied that cross pollination
could be left to the nature if two varieties were planted next to each other. Just wait for the offsprings.
I wonder how true this is. Has anybody grown Epimediums from seed?
This message was edited May 4, 2007 2:27 PM
Very nice Boniton - they are delightful flowers.
I've just purchased my first three and am looking forward to seeing them under my redwood trees - it's so dense in there that not even rain gets through in winter and I have to use my sprinklers. I'm hoping that they will tolerate the shade. It's been tough landscaping under such dense shade.
Thanks for posting the photos.
oh epimediums are vrey easy to grow they tolerate very dry conditions. They al ways look fresh as a daisy. Very nice heart shaped leaves and when they blossom you have to lift the leaves on some species and the flowers are very thick und the leaves. I have a yellow and a red flower type sorry i dont know the names right off hand.
I bought an epsteinii, a franchetii and a pubescens. I had to ask what would work in my zone 9 garden.
They are doing well in dry shade here in WI but only after they are established. I lost two the year we had "drought". So I'd water them regularly the first season.
Yes, it's that 'does well in dry situations AFTER they have become established. Being in CA everything is irrigated so it's not a problem. We have no summer rain. :-( But thanks for the warning. I think that established is at least two seasons, don't you?
I agree that established would be more 2 seasons than one.
My dry situation is not a typical one. I have very tall oaks, so it's 100% dry shade with pagoda dogwood understory. Also the area is on a slope, so rain or sprinker it drains very quickly.
I made two mistakes with epimediums: first not taking the draught warning seriously and second I did not mulch either. Now I mulch heavily with straw, pine needles, shredded leaves, etc. This seems to make a lot of difference. I think, mulch not just retains the rainfall, it must help with retaining dew as well. I do mulch in graduated layers: fine lower layer, coarse on top.
This message was edited May 31, 2007 1:52 PM
Thanks for the heads up on the mulch. I'll make sure that I do that. I try to mulch everything because we have to retain water and we have to keep back the weeds. We use redwood bark here though. I have to keep the redwood droppings up because they get caught in my dog's long coats. They are like a string of fish hooks. Very nasty to keep up with.
I kn ow there aren't a lot of these plants available for my zone, but I sure would like to add 1 or 2 to my gardens.
I went on Plant Delights Nursery site and they list quite a few epimediums as hardy to zone 4.
You could ask Darrell Probst
see post Post #3455660
Or ask the folks at Naylor Creek Nursery (very helpful) which ones they recommend - they say zone 5 but quite a few do better in colder areas:
http://www.naylorcreek.com/main/per4.html
Or Go to Plant Delights Nursery - their customer service can leave something to be desired though.
http://www.plantdelights.com/Catalog/Current/page37.html
doss,
Thanks for the info
Any time!