Epimedium 2012

[gerrit]

I was away for two days (my daughter's college graduation)

That's the good news. A very important event, congratulations, Mark. What 's she gonna do after this?

Traveling... unfortunately it is all for work.

Okay, that's the bad news, but when you are alone in your hotelroom, with nothing to do, you may take your note book and watch the pages of our beautiful VRV-forum, particularly the Epimedium thread 2011 and maybe you will make an account and participate on the forum.

[gerrit]

Every year the last one. Epimedium ilicifolium. Nice eppie.

[McDonough]

I agree Gerrit, Epimedium ilicifolium is a nice eppie.  Is yours finishing up now?  You clone looks a little bit different than mine, I think there are a number of clones in cultivation, the leaves on my plants looks more narrow... I like the look of your plant with fuller leaves.  Mine is setting seed, still flowering, and making fresh new flower stems, all at the same time, t is one that I find tends to rebloom.  In the photo, you can see a few blooms, a stem with seed pods, but harder to see are several new flower stems just forming.

E. ilicifolium:



One that I'm finally impressed by (took several years to "get going"), is E. x 'Windfire', with numerous upright stems and bright yellow flowers with ascending spurs, still making a good show.  Its been blooming for weeks.




A young plant of Epimedium x 'Flame Thrower', purchased last year as a tiny start, it's already putting on a fair show of red and cream-yellow flowers, big and spidery they are.



Other species just starting to flower include 'The Giant', E. elongatum, E. membranaceum, and a number of hybrids with membranaceum... photos to follow.

[gerrit]

My E. illicifolium is still with flowers as you can see. There are still buds and it's setting seed at the same time, just the same as your plant. Last week we had hot weather with temps between 25 and 28 degrees. Very clear intense blue skys with a hot burning sun. Dangerous conditions for eppies. I had to cover the plants with shadow material. And it's going on for the next days.

One that I'm finally impressed by (took several years to "get going"), is E. x 'Windfire', with numerous upright stems and bright yellow flowers with ascending spurs, still making a good show.  Its been blooming for weeks.

A very special one indeed. I like the tall uprising stems. With so many yellow flowers. A very healthy hybrid, strong. With davidii-blood, I presume?

[Krish]

I have five Epimediums  in my garden.  Epimedium grandiflorum nanum and Epimedium grandiflorum rubrum I got three years ago are doing very well. The next two (I do not have names) are also coming up nicely. Epimedium lishihchenii which grew very well last year  is still emerging.

[Krish]

more pictures

[McDonough]

Hello Krish,

Epimedium grandiflorum 'Nanum' is a really good one, stays small for a long time, but when maturing in good woodland soil, it can get fairly large (although the leaflets stay tiny and charming).  The second one is probably Epimedium x rubrum (a hybrid with E. alpinum), probably the single most common Epimedium in horticultural commerce, and a really good plant it is, one of my favorites. Hard to know about your unnamed ones, but suffice it to say, there is no such thing as a bad Epimedium, they're all so enjoyable, thanks for sharing.

[McDonough]

A view of 2-year and 3-year Epimedium hybrid seedlings.  I evaluate them as much for foliage (if not more so) than flowers.




I have many hybrids between either E. brevicornu or the similar stellulatum, x the everblooming E. membranaceum, resulting in evergreen plants, with everblooming clouds of small white yellow-cupped flowers.




Two Epimedium davidii hybrids planted side-by-side.  On the left is a tiny-flowered hybrid of E. davidii EMR, on the right is a different E. davidii hybrid with floriferous sprays of large bright yellow flowers:


E. davidii selected hybrid on the left, on the right, a view to a nearby selected hybrid with pale speckled foliage.


Another view of of a low luminous hybrid with pale chartreuse speckled foliage; it's on my "watch list".


Two more views of the Epimedium davidiii EMR small-flowered red and yellow hybrid.  Interestingly enough, when I visited Garden Vision Epimediums nursery a few weeks back, they had a large block of plants that looked exactly like my hybrid... when I checked the label, it too was labeled as an E. davidii EMR hybrid!




The following is a selection I made a few years back, a dense squiggly-leaved plant, which is interesting to grow as a foliage plant alone.

[RickR]

Some nice results, Mark.  It seems I've forgotten what "EMR" means...

[McDonough]

Some nice results, Mark.  It seems I've forgotten what "EMR" means...

Epimedium davidii EMR refers to one of the original collections of this species, EMR4125, made by Martyn Rix in the Mupin Valley (now Baoxing), the first clone of this species introduced into the United States (this info, from one of the past Garden Vision Epimedium catalogs).

[McDonough]

Krish, back to your unnamed "eppies", I think the first one in the photo labeled "Epimedium sp.jpg" might be 'Pink Elf', which is becoming a popular item in the nursery trade.

[Krish]

Krish, back to your unnamed "eppies", I think the first one in the photo labeled "Epimedium sp.jpg" might be 'Pink Elf', which is becoming a popular item in the nursery trade.

Hi Mark
I got the Epimedium as "pink champagne" from the local nursery.Thanks for identifying the other ones. Do you have any idea which Epimediums are hardy for our climate
Krish

[McDonough]

Krish, back to your unnamed "eppies", I think the first one in the photo labeled "Epimedium sp.jpg" might be 'Pink Elf', which is becoming a popular item in the nursery trade.

Hi Mark
I got the Epimedium as "pink champagne" from the local nursery.Thanks for identifying the other ones. Do you have any idea which Epimediums are hardy for our climate
Krish

Krish, I'm wondering if the Epimedium purchased as 'Pink Champagne' is of mistaken identity,  the spurs look much too short, and the ascending sepals as opposed to down-curved sepals doesn't quite fit, it looks more like 'Pink Elf' to me.  Here's a few links to compare.  It could be that the flowers on your plant are not fully expanded yet, but I have a hunch that it might have be a nursery mixed up.

Epimedium 'Pink Elf'
http://www.plantdelights.com/Epimedium-Pink-Elf-PP-17228-Perennial-Fairy-Wings/productinfo/8190/

Epimedium 'Pink Champagne'
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/299261/
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/299262/

Regarding hardiness, hard for me to comment on plants for your Zone 3 climate; I know that many Epimediums are rated to Zone 4; so you might need to experiment.  Hardiness information for Epimedium seems to be hard to come by, although here in Zone 5, few if any have been lost directly to winter cold; those I have lost over winter were in a highly weakened state after a summer and fall of severe drought.

[gerrit]

Mark, I agree your ID about E."Pink Elf". Krish,look at my posting, reply 137.

About hardiness: Last winter we had several days with temps up to minus 23 degrees. But we had about 20 to 30 cm of snow to cover the plants. That's essential. So, no losses here.

[gerrit]

A view of 2-year and 3-year Epimedium hybrid seedlings.  I evaluate them as much for foliage (if not more so) than flowers.

It's lovely to see your new promising hybrids. Just only for flowercolours one should grow them.

Two more views of the Epimedium davidiii EMR small-flowered red and yellow hybrid.  Interestingly enough, when I visited Garden Vision Epimediums nursery a few weeks back, they had a large block of plants that looked exactly like my hybrid... when I checked the label, it too was labeled as an E. davidii EMR hybrid!

Epimedium davidii EMR4125 is one of my absolute favourites. But now I see your hybrid with two colours, I think you improved one of the best Epimediums.