Epimedium 2012

[AmyO]

Well, now I stop...

Oh no Geo!!! Don't stop....I think we can put up with more of your pics!!

[Geo F-W]

Amy, when I go back to his nursery for the first blooms of epimediums, I might flood the topic of pics!

[RickR]

Oh my, every one of those photos are a delight, Geoffrey!
Thanks so much for posting them.

There is so much variation in size, color and form, so there is something sure to please everyone!

[AmyO]

Amy, when I go back to his nursery for the first blooms of epimediums, I might flood the topic of pics!

Oh yes...please do! And thanks!

[McDonough]

A glorious range of Epimedium hybrids there Geoffrey, many new, exciting, and dramatic color combinations.
Thanks for posting all these, it gives a good sense about the upcoming possibilities with this genus. I sure hope that some of these hybrids are able to "cross the pond" and become available here in USA.

First, I will second Wim's praise of 'Perrine's White', flowers of such solid substance, with that light kiss of pink, a true beauty!

I like 'Glingal' too, carnival colors, flights of flowers, what fun it would be to have this flowering in the garden.

Do you have information on the parentage of these fine hybrids; some of the darker ones look like omeiense, particularly 'Akame'.  And the orange ones, these tempt me the most, the ones labeled Select 3 & 4 are glorious, I'm so filled with Epimedium envy

Many of the hybrids you show us have contrasting yet complimentary inner and outer sepal colors, it's hard to choose a favorite, they're all so nice.  But I'm intrigued by the one labeled "big flower selections", as not only are the flowers large, but they are of fine form; love the broad white-lavender sepals and maroon cups outlined with a rim of yellow.  The one labeled Selection #17 is a similar color combination.

Interesting to see the E. pinnatum hybrid; I have seedlings coming along of some pinnatum ssp. colchicum hand-crossed hybrids.

The one labeled Selection #15 shows distinctively ascending sepals, a unique flower shape.  I'm inspired seeing such things, as it gives ideas and promise about what sorts of things are possible when hybridizing epimediums.  And last, Selection #16, a fine looking rosy one, but with long pale spurs tipped with yellow like bright points of light... magic.

Feel free to show us more!

[Lina Hesseling]

Geo, what great pictures!
I would love to have a neighbor like this. Just to go there very often and look at his plants and being unable to choose.

Lina.

[Saori]

Geo, what great pictures!
I would love to have a neighbor like this. Just to go there very often and look at his plants and being unable to choose.

Lina.

Ditto! I would also love to have his nursery as my neighbor as well! I love hellebores and I've known his name from these for a while, but I didn't know that he had lots of great Epimidium as well.

I have bookmarked his site!  http://www.mytho-fleurs.com/

[Geo F-W]

Mark, I do think that the upcoming possibilities with epimediums are huge, Thierry tries a lot of hybridizations with views to obtain new forms of flowers, foliages, improve floribondity, colors of foliages and flowers, the height of flower stems etc.. He selects a lot, he keeps the best of his hybrids for hybridizations and sell the others, which are nonetheless very interesting. Moreover, his plants are very well rooted and sold in 2-3L containers at a price extremely reasonable (about $ .

I do not know very well the parentage of his selections, he works a lot with omeiense, but also many others ... I ask him rarely, every magician has its secrets...

I remember on the SRGC topic of the epimedium, that you had already been interested in a selection with the same color combination as my "big flower selection", but with small flowers.
On the left, it's the big flowers form, and the small flowers form on the right.



I know that for both there is omeiense in the lineage.



Regarding the selection 15, clearly a hybrid davidii, it has several similar, I love also.



Personally, I'm totally a fan of his selection 22-23. It's like an improvement of 'Caramel', which I liked a lot. It has very long stems, very floriferous and arch up under the weight of the flowers. Its petals are more amber as 'Caramel' and it has broader sepals. I found one like that, but with foliage similar to E.wushanense 'Spiny Leaf Form', a gem.

Lina and Saori, yes, it is a joy to have a good nursery (and a good nurseryman!) close to home! There are many beautiful things there, especially, for me because I'm a Polygonatum's collector, pretty forms of Polygonatum kingianum, P.cirrhifolium and other "climbers" polygonatum, Polygonatum macranthum, giant P.falcatum etc. , some Chloranthus, which I love, nice Arisaemas etc. Thierry also greatly hybridizes Thalictrum.

[Hoy]

Lina and Saori, yes, it is a joy to have a good nursery (and a good nurseryman!) close to home! There are many beautiful things there, especially, for me because I'm a Polygonatum's collector, pretty forms of Polygonatum kingianum, P.cirrhifolium and other "climbers" polygonatum, Polygonatum macranthum, giant P.falcatum etc. , some Chloranthus, which I love, nice Arisaemas etc. Thierry also greatly hybridizes Thalictrum.

Hi Geoffrey, nice plants! I'm a collector of all kind of woodland plants - Epimedium as well as Polygonatum and relatives. Do you know if Thierry (or some of the nurseries having his plants) export to Norway? (Need a phytosanitary certificate)

[Geo F-W]

Hoy, unfortunately Thierry doesn't export at all, in despair of many people...

[Hoy]

Hoy, unfortunately Thierry doesn't export at all, in despair of many people...

Thanks, I was afraid of that

[Geo F-W]

A few more pictures...

http://www.mytho-fleurs.com/images/Epimediums%20Thierry/pages/thumbnail/thumbnailpage4.html

Enjoy!

[McDonough]

A few more pictures...

http://www.mytho-fleurs.com/images/Epimediums%20Thierry/pages/thumbnail/thumbnailpage4.html

Enjoy!

OMG!   I just ran through all 10 pages of Epimedium images, the new Thierry hybrids are simply mind-boggling, so many stunning flower forms and colors; I'm practically at a loss for words.  I also like the fact, the whole plant is shown in many cases, after all, it's not just about flowers; so few web sites that show Epimedium flower photos ever show us the whole plant. Mr. Thierry's hybridization goals are good ones, and it is obvious he has succeeded with those goals in developing so many spectacular flower forms and colors, and plants with really attractive foliage too.  I am humbled by that impressive body of hybridization work; at the same time his results sparks the imagination about what the possibilities might be, and now I'm more anxious than ever to "play" with epimedium crosses this coming spring

How fortunate you are to be close to such an exceptional nursery and nurseryman.  Would love to see more on Thalictrum hybrids too.

[WimB]

A few more pictures...

http://www.mytho-fleurs.com/images/Epimediums%20Thierry/pages/thumbnail/thumbnailpage4.html

Enjoy!

Thanks Geoffrey, wonderful plants?

OMG!   I just ran through all 10 pages of Epimedium images, the new Thierry hybrids are simply mind-boggling, so many stunning flower forms and colors; I'm practically at a loss for words.  I also like the fact, the whole plant is shown in many cases, after all, it's not just about flowers; so few web sites that show Epimedium flower photos ever show us the whole plant. Mr. Thierry's hybridization goals are good ones, and it is obvious he has succeeded with those goals in developing so many spectacular flower forms and colors, and plants with really attractive foliage too.  I am humbled by that impressive body of hybridization work; at the same time his results sparks the imagination about what the possibilities might be, and now I'm more anxious than ever to "play" with epimedium crosses this coming spring

How fortunate you are to be close to such an exceptional nursery and nurseryman.  Would love to see more on Thalictrum hybrids too.

Mark, I think yo would feel like a child in a toystore over there   

One of his best Thalictrum introductions for me is Thalictrum 'Splendide'. It's like a giant pink cloud in the garden when it flowers....I beleive he sells a white form of it now, too (forgot the name)!

[Geo F-W]

OMG!  I just ran through all 10 pages of Epimedium images, the new Thierry hybrids are simply mind-boggling, so many stunning flower forms and colors; I'm practically at a loss for words.  I also like the fact, the whole plant is shown in many cases, after all, it's not just about flowers; so few web sites that show Epimedium flower photos ever show us the whole plant. Mr. Thierry's hybridization goals are good ones, and it is obvious he has succeeded with those goals in developing so many spectacular flower forms and colors, and plants with really attractive foliage too.  I am humbled by that impressive body of hybridization work; at the same time his results sparks the imagination about what the possibilities might be, and now I'm more anxious than ever to "play" with epimedium crosses this coming spring

How fortunate you are to be close to such an exceptional nursery and nurseryman.  Would love to see more on Thalictrum hybrids too.

Well Mark, I feel very happy to be close to Thierry! Ideally I would be close to Thierry, Darrell Probst of Koen Van Poucke, Daniele Monbaliu of Crug Farm and Pan Global Plants...Then I would be the happiest man of the world...^^

It is just a small glimpse of what he will propose this year, he said that in 2013, it will be more interesting...We'll see.

Unfortunately, as many nurseries these days, he can't do everything he wants. For example, there would be very interesting to hybridize species such as platypetalum or ecalcaratum, actually two of my favorites, but species with small flowers don't pay enough attention to people, they like big colorful flowers, though showy (as for Heuchera, people tend to prefer more colorful, and this is true for many plants, unfortunately).
Epimedium brevicornu, for example, few people interested, while it is in my opinion an excellent species. As for Epimedium pubescens, which is in my top 10 here.


(photo Thierry Delabroye)

Here is an E.ecalcaratum hybrids breeds by Mark Libert in Belgium, its flowers are smaller than those of ecalcaratum, a little beauty. But unsaleable according to Thierry. (I think it's a cross between ecalcaratum and a wushanense or something like 'Amber Queen'/'Caramel')

Hybridizations that Thierry doesn't make, but you do Mark, are with grandiflorum and other japanese species. Not really his cup of tea, they're more capricious here.

Now, he is also trying to hybridize its hybrids (which are now hybrids of hybrids) with true species. Especially to avoid getting sterile individuals and to inject new genes.

You know, I can send seeds if anyone is interested. It's just that the seeds remain viable during shipping.

Mark, I think yo would feel like a child in a toystore over there    

One of his best Thalictrum introductions for me is Thalictrum 'Splendide'. It's like a giant pink cloud in the garden when it flowers....I beleive he sells a white form of it now, too (forgot the name)!

I think so Wim! It's exactly how I feel when I go to his nursery during the Epimediums's season.

He has new Thalictrum Wim, I don't know if he has already named all of them. He got a nice form with darker flowers than 'Splendide', 'Purple Rain'.


(photo Thierry Delabroye)