Epimedium 2012

[McDonough]

The current heat wave has brought on Epimedium growth and flowering with such speed, that day by day it's hard to keep up, particularly now during the work week.  In no particular order, I have a cavalcade of photos to show, tis epimedium season.

Epimedium x 'Amanogawa' - one of the best and most unique Asiatic hybrids.




E. 'Sunshowers', a beautiful light yellow hybrid from Far Reaches Farm and introduced by Darrell Probst.




E. pinnatum ssp. colchicum - an evergreen species with bright yellow spikes of bloom.




E. x warleyense - the red-orange epimedium, I get best flowering and deepest flower and leaf color when grown in full sun.




E. x warleyense 'Orangekonigin' - from the same cross (E. alpinum x pinnatum ssp. colchicum), similar but with paler soft salmon orange flowers.




E. grandiflorum 'Red Queen' is an impressive giant grandiflorum, my plant nearly 4' across x 2-1/2' tall.




I get lots and lots of hybrid seedlings, most are not worthy of naming, but are certainly nice additions to the garden; here's one such hybrid.  It has the purple banded foliage of E. grandiflorum v. higoense 'Bandit', but with large white flowers tinged lavender.  It is
staying compact with large flowers well presented above the foliage.




One of the many hybrid seedlings here, I love watching them bloom for the first time, and watching in subsequent years 3 and 4, to see how they clump up and develop.  Here's one with nice deep color flowers with a diffuse white stripe down the middle of each sepal.




Epimedium x versicolor 'Versicolor' is among the first to bloom, but keeps on going in subtle profusion of pastel peach flowers and bronze-toned foliage.

[gerrit]

anchored with a Japanese maple (what variety is it; Japanese maples is another area I could be totally caught up with, oh brother!

Acer palmatum 'Dissectum'. I grow some more maples in my garden. Like you I am fond of this genus.

I get lots and lots of hybrid seedlings, most are not worthy of naming, but are certainly nice additions to the garden; here's one such hybrid.  It has the purple banded foliage of E. grandiflorum v. higoense 'Bandit', but with large white flowers tinged lavender.  It is
staying compact with large flowers well presented above the foliage.

Of all Epimediums you showed, I like these two most. The purple bandage, the small size (I presume) and the 'large' flowers above the foliage. Very special indeed. Maybe better than "Bandit" or 'Saturn", which are rather problematic species. Although in my garden. Both die in a second, when exposed to the summersun and grown in deep shade, they don't appreciate that.

Some Epimediums in bloom in my garden today.

1. Epimedium 'Togen'
2 and 3. Epimedium fargesi 'Pink Costellation.
4 and 5. Epimedium 'Black Sea'.

[gerrit]

Problems with transmitting pictures. The pictures belong to reply 91.

1. Epimedium 'Togen'
2 and 3. Epimedium fargesi 'Pink Constellation'
4 and 5. Epimedium 'Black Sea'.

[Lockwood]

Mark - all beautiful!

I love your hybrids - "Lady Bandit" or "Blushing Bandit".   

And "Candy Stripe"   


Gerrit - which epimedium is shown in pics 2 & 3? Very nice!

[McDonough]

Julie, I like the names "Lady Bandit" or "Blushing Bandit"

My regular E. fargesii is also in bloom, not showy but certainly distinctive

Gerrit: do you know if E. fargesii 'Pink Constellation' is a pinkish-flowered selection from the wild, or a garden hybrid?

Epimedium fargesii:

[WimB]

Eppi's are really starting to flower over here!

Epimedium grandiflorum 'Dark Beauty'
Epimedium 'Perrine's White'
Epimedium epsteinii
Epimedium x sasakii
Epimedium x warleyense
Epimedium dolichostemon
Epimedium grandiflorum 'Mukawa Genpei'
Epimedium x youngianum 'Merlin'

[McDonough]

Wim, looks like your epimedium season is well under way.  Your photo of E. youngianum 'Merlin' reminds me that I must replace this one, which I lost in the drought 2 years ago, it's so unique with the inflated shape of the cup.

I tried looking up E. grandiflorum 'Mukawa Genpei' to see a photo, but could find any, the closest I came was a Japanese blog site, showing many Epimedium hybrids and a few species, many of the cosses shown are a study in subtlety.  But check out the tons of mind-blowing hepatica hybrids, wow!.  About the 3rd photo down is a cross identified as leptorrhizum × ゛Mukawa-Genpei".  As usual, you sure find some truly obscure Japanese hybrids  This one looks very similar to E. grandiflorum 'Princess Susan'.
http://sainohana.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/2008/03/index.html

Finally after long stretches of warm sunny days, it is cold and rainy today, the rain especially welcome.  I worked out in the rain for a couple hours digging and potting 3-year old Epimediums to donate to my local town garden club, and now dried off and inside, I'm relaxing with a cup of hot tea and pouring through the Garden Vision Nursery catalog that came yesterday, must get my order in today.   This year's focus is mostly to replace a dozen or more varieties I lost during the drought of 2010.

[WimB]

Wim, looks like your epimedium season is well under way.  Your photo of E. youngianum 'Merlin' reminds me that I must replace this one, which I lost in the drought 2 years ago, it's so unique with the inflated shape of the cup.

Merlin is very nice indeed...a super form!

I tried looking up E. grandiflorum 'Mukawa Genpei' to see a photo, but could find any, the closest I came was a Japanese blog site, showing many Epimedium hybrids and a few species, many of the cosses shown are a study in subtlety.  But check out the tons of mind-blowing hepatica hybrids, wow!.  About the 3rd photo down is a cross identified as leptorrhizum × ゛Mukawa-Genpei".  As usual, you sure find some truly obscure Japanese hybrids  This one looks very similar to E. grandiflorum 'Princess Susan'.
http://sainohana.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/2008/03/index.html

Tatsuo provided this link and told on the SRGC forum that it is called "E. grandiflorum var. thunbergianum '武川源平 = Mukawa (Mugawa) Genpei' ": http://www7b.biglobe.ne.jp/~yamakusa/ika-005.jpg
I find the meaning of the name wonderful!

Finally after long stretches of warm sunny days, it is cold and rainy today, the rain especially welcome.  I worked out in the rain for a couple hours digging and potting 3-year old Epimediums to donate to my local town garden club, and now dried off and inside, I'm relaxing with a cup of hot tea and pouring through the Garden Vision Nursery catalog that came yesterday, must get my order in today.   This year's focus is mostly to replace a dozen or more varieties I lost during the drought of 2010.

Finally cold and rainy  It's been cold and rainy for two weeks in a row over here! 

I'm looking forward to the GV catalogue too, probably this week!

[gerrit]

Gerrit: do you know if E. fargesii 'Pink Constellation' is a pinkish-flowered selection from the wild, or a garden hybrid?

Mark, the only thing I know about this, is the registration number Og93023.

Not a very nice photo of Epimedium 'William Stearn'. I'll try to make a better one later.

[gerrit]

Epimedium grandiflorum 'Mukawa Genpei'
Epimedium x youngianum 'Merlin'

In spite of confusion with names, I like this grandiflorum "MG" very much.
Merlin is also nice. Always forgotten to buy.

[McDonough]

Wim, I saw the posting on the SRGC Epimedium topic, but missed clicking the photo link for 'Mukawa Genpei'... a good clear photo.  I like those selections that have clear white petals and spurs compared to rich color sepals, such as 'Princess Susan', which 'Mukawa Genpei' resembles.

Gerrit, we all have species and cultivars available on the opposite side of the pond; such is the case with 'William Stearn', wish I could find it here, the foliage mottling is outstanding.

Nearly all the epimediums are in bloom here, so it's impossible to keep up, I've taken many hundreds of photographs, and once the work week hits, I have little time to post.  Here's a batch:

A small-flowered hybrid with E. davidii EMR with tiny bright yellow flowers and red-pink sepals, good foliage, high on the cute quotient.






Epimedium grandiflorum 'Circe', one of the more recent (2006) introductions by Darrell Probst, this is among the deepest color forms, with lots of flowers well presented about the foliage.  It looks amazing in early bloom, with such dark cranberry red buds.




A grandiflorum hybrid that I have selected, with cherry color two-toned blooms in substantial clusters.  Unfortunately, I must have actually planted 2 seedlings instead of just one, as a small-flowered white one is growing intermingled.  I shall have to dig it up and feather out the white plant and dispose of it.  In the first view, notice all of the self-sown seedlings, possibly because of the mild winter and extra mild spring, thousands upon thousands of epimediums seedlings are cropping up everywhere.






Epimedium sempervirens 'Candy Hearts', really grown for the fabulous glossy red-edged foliage after flowering, this is the first year where it has made a respectable show with its pale flowers.  Notice that the flowers of sempervirens have incurved spurs that give a clawed look them.




Epimedium x youngianum 'Murasaki-Juji' is a cute little youngianum type. It was being overgrown by an arborvitae so last year I salvaged the plant and gave it its own unencumbered space.

[McDonough]

So many eppies, so little time

Epimedium x 'Domino' - one of the most exciting hybrids in recent years, terrific flower power, great foliage, upright mounding habit.  The flowers look peachy white at first, but will deepen as they age.




Epimedium grandiflorum 'Tama No Genpei' - a really good one, with large starry bicolored lavender pink and white blooms, and dark purplish foliage, particularly when first emerging.  The leaves in front are Asarum canadense.




Hybrids from 'Tama No Genpei' are nice, here's an smallish clumping one with angled upright stems of similar color flowers.




Epimedium stellulatum is a spectacle in the spring garden, the new foliage rising about the evergreen leaves is lime green flamboyantly mottled orange, and clouds of starry white yellow-centered blooms.  Several garden views.






Two views of an Epimedium sempervirens hybrid that I have selected.  It it noteworthy on several counts, it forms a large rounded clump, the early foliage is dramatically dark purplish brown turning a lighter coffee tone, eventually green, and flowers, while pale, presented above the foliage.  Autumn color is deep mahogany.

[RickR]

Just a nice pic of a seedling epimedium:

        

And a species, supposedly E. platypetalum that originally came from Chen Yi:
(Mark has tentatively identified it as a form of E. sempervirens.)

        

[Hoy]

A very nice seedling, Rick!
I don't mention your plants Mark, as I have lost words a long time ago

BTW, does anybody know what kind of Epimedium that grows in the woods of Madeira? I remember seeing a lot of it (think it was only one kind) in the understory there. Don't know whether it is native or foreign though.

[McDonough]

Just a nice pic of a seedling epimedium:

And a species, supposedly E. platypetalum(?) that originally came from Chen Yi:

That's the good thing about epimediums, there's hardly ever a seed-grown one that isn't a pleasant plant that's worth growing

The Chen Yi plant certainly is not E. platypetalum, a yellow spurless species.  Your plant looks like a form of E. sempervirens, based on the incurved spur form.  I'm going top order this species again from Garden Vision Epimediums, as mine perished in the drought of 2010.