Epimedium 2012

[McDonough]

Wim, you certainly come up with some of the most obscure Epimedium cultivars

Listed as a form of grandiflorum in this link (E. grandiflorum 'Kusudama'):
http://www.florius.cz/semetin/eng/a58e.htm

The photo in your link shows a young plant, or at least, not a mature plant, hard to say much about it based on a few leaves.

I was curious about what "Kusudama" refers to; lots of references to origami come up, I believe it is a style of origami:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kusudama

From this site, more is said about Kusudama origami:
http://www.theorigamipapershop.com/c-156-kusudama-origami-paper.aspx?gclid=CKm21umOha4CFULrKgodKSj_3g
"Kusudama origami is made from a number of identical origami shapes that are glued or sewn together to form a ball.  The word Kusudama is made from a combination of two Japanese words kusuri meaning medicine and tama meaning ball."

Under fair use provision, here is a photo of an origami Epimedium plant, that comes up under a search for Epimedium Kusudama, screen capture from the following web site:
http://www.oriland.com/about/displays/exhibits.asp?category=spain2007&model=09&name=San%20Lorenzo%20de%20El%20Escorial,%20Spain,%202007

[WimB]

Wim, you certainly come up with some of the most obscure Epimedium cultivars

Yes, that's one of my hobbies  I just have a very good friend with a lot of (obscure) Epimediums 

I was curious about what "Kusudama" refers to; lots of references to origami come up, I believe it is a style of origami:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kusudama

From this site, more is said about Kusudama origami:
http://www.theorigamipapershop.com/c-156-kusudama-origami-paper.aspx?gclid=CKm21umOha4CFULrKgodKSj_3g
"Kusudama origami is made from a number of identical origami shapes that are glued or sewn together to form a ball.  The word Kusudama is made from a combination of two Japanese words kusuri meaning medicine and tama meaning ball."

Always very interesting to find the meaning of a Japanese name, thanks Mark!

Under fair use provision, here is a photo of an origami Epimedium plant, that comes up under a search for Epimedium Kusudama, screen capture from the following web site:
http://www.oriland.com/about/displays/exhibits.asp?category=spain2007&model=09&name=San%20Lorenzo%20de%20El%20Escorial,%20Spain,%202007

Somehow I don't think it's that one 

[RickR]

I think I can make those origami pseudo-epi flowers, but I've never seen origami fritillaria before... 

[Saori]

Wim, you certainly come up with some of the most obscure Epimedium cultivars

No kidding, Wim!

Since it's a Japanese name, I thought that I could easily find a picture of the flower if I searched in Japanese, but the only site I could manage to find is http://www.ishidaseikaen.com/webshop/products/detail.php?product_id=3394

Sadly, no image... (although they do offer it for 2,100 yen for a four-inch pot).

[McDonough]

Once again I find myself evaluating "evergreenness" of epimediums, this winter being a particularly trying one for evergreen plants in New England, Northeastern USA.  This winter has been highly unusual for two reasons, it has been virtually snowless (just a 3-4 negligible inches of disappearing snow), and it's been roller-coaster ride of unusual mild weather, swinging to deep freeze and dessicating high winds, back to mild above-freezing weather.  I'm realizing that the evergreen character of many epimediums has some dependency on winter snow cover, because this nearly snowless winter has shown much more widespread foliar damage or winter kill on evergreen Epimediums than I've seen in the last decade.  Those that showed no foliar damage whatsoever the last 7-8 years, such as E. pubigerum & E. pinnatum ssp. colchicum, are rather leaf-burned this year.

Yet, a few species still look totally unfazed.  Here are some photos taken today, Feb. 10, 2012.

Left:  E. stellulatum.   Right: Epimedium 'The Giant'



Left: E. brachyrrhizum (the best winter eppie!), right: E. wushanense "Spiny-leaved form", showing some winter burn  



E. membranaceum x brevicornu; I have several plants of this cross, and they are more evergreen that both parents.  Not pictured is E. ilicifolium, still looking perfectly fine with green evergreen leaves.

[RickR]

I wonder, Mark, if you are going to have the "problem" I have here every year: when the spring air is warm, but the the frozen soil lags long into the season.  Marginal evergreens of all kinds tend to look fine until spring begins.

What is the frost depth in the soil now, compare to most years?

[McDonough]

I wonder, Mark, if you are going to have the "problem" I have here every year: when the spring air is warm, but the the frozen soil lags long into the season.  Marginal evergreens of all kinds tend to look fine until spring begins.

What is the frost depth in the soil now, compare to most years?

Probably not as deep as normal.  Overall it's been a rather mild winter, interspersed with some normal deep cold spells.  Hard to know based on this aberrant winter, other than to say the lack of snow cover most definately affected foliage "evergreenness" on some Epimediums.  But that's okay, generally I shear off any beat up looking foliage in late winter / early spring, to better enjoy the spring flowers.

[McDonough]

Believe it or not, I don't have the epimedium bible, The Genus Epimedium and Other Herbaceous Berberidaceae (A Botanical Magazine Monograph) by William T. Stearn.  My list of things to buy is always so long, but with limited budget, discretionary spending on hobby items is always very restricted.  But tonight I finally ordered a used copy in "very good" condition from Amazon for $50, a very good price when researching availability of this book. 

On Amazon there are 5 remaining used copies, but they get expensive very fast, here's a screen capture of the 5 remaining used copies.  There is also a new copy for $215.99, but looking around at other sources, new copies can be bought for considerably less.

Amazon, 5 remaining used copies as of 02-18-2012:

[Geo F-W]

Waiting for spring, some pictures of a few selections of my friend and neighbor Thierry Delabroye, among thousands of his nursery. I'm anxious to see his hybrid of 'The Giant' next month.

Some are quite showy, not for all tastes I think...^^ I like.

1. Perrine's White
2. Glingal
3-6. selections
7. Space Wagon
8-10. Calliope

Edited to include names in text portion to make them searchable.
--- moderator

[Geo F-W]

More...

1-4. selections
5-8. Cyrion
9. Mandrin Star
10. E. pinnatum hybrid

[Geo F-W]

And more...(that's a lot of picture I know ...)

[Geo F-W]

Well, now I stop...

[WimB]

...a few selections of my friend and neighbor Thierry Delabroye, among thousands of his nursery....

I really have to visit his nursery again this year...it's been a while since I've been there. And he sells such wonderful plants (very stunning Hellebores too: http://www.mytho-fleurs.com/images/Delabroye/Delabroye-hellebores-20-02-2011/index.html). I love Epimedium 'Perrine's white', that's one of his own hybrids, no?

[Tim Ingram]

Wow, what a selection of epimediums (and hellebores)! I still have quite a bit of space in the garden...

[Geo F-W]

Absolutely Wim, Perrine is his daughter. He sells 'Perrine's White' since this year.
His selections have really diversified over the past three years, this year there will be many many.
He's a bit disappointed, also so do I, because people seem to be interested only in large-flowered Epimediums, while he created some lovely tiny-flowers forms.
I leave his nursery every year in march and april with dozens of epimediums...

His Hellebores are also fantastic indeed. There's something for everyone, from sophisticated to the selections of botanic species.
I bought him this year some nice crosses between H.orientalis and H.tibetanus and a pretty green yellow flowered form with foliage deeply dissected.