Epimedium 2012

[Hoy]

And when can we look for this one at the local nursery selected and named by Mark McDonough? I would buy at least 3 specimens!

  How about Epimedium 'ReMARKable' ...  Kinda catchy, wouldn't you say?
A very apt description.  The hybrid is quite a breakthrough, isn't it?

I place an order of 5 plants

BTW, the penstemon I bought is Penstemon 'Rich Ruby'! The one I bought was wrongly labeled

Your last hybrid catches my eye even without flowers, Mark!

[gerrit]

Following up on the Epimedium membranaceum hybrid shown 2 messages above (cross is E. membranaceum x rhizomatosum), it just gets better and better, flowering non-stop.  Here it is, near the end of October, and it is still forming new stems and buds, with big sprays of incurved golden flowers... there are hundreds of flowers and buds.  I have decided to name this hybrid, it's the only one out of many similar crosses that so consistently flowers non-stop into autumn. Two views of this everbloomer, photos taken on this rainy late September day.

It is remarkable indeed, such a non-stop flowering Epimedium. It is worth having a name and being available for customers. I would buy one for sure. But I think, this is not the end. In fact there are many species and cultivars with a better performance. The round-shaped leaves are not very special. So I think there is much to improve. Mark, this is a wonderful plant using in hybridization efforts. Perhaps a breakthrough, yes.

[McDonough]

Following up on the Epimedium membranaceum hybrid shown 2 messages above (cross is E. membranaceum x rhizomatosum), it just gets better and better, flowering non-stop.  Here it is, near the end of October, and it is still forming new stems and buds, with big sprays of incurved golden flowers... there are hundreds of flowers and buds.  I have decided to name this hybrid, it's the only one out of many similar crosses that so consistently flowers non-stop into autumn. Two views of this everbloomer, photos taken on this rainy late September day.

It is remarkable indeed, such a non-stop flowering Epimedium. It is worth having a name and being available for customers. I would buy one for sure. But I think, this is not the end. In fact there are many species and cultivars with a better performance. The round-shaped leaves are not very special. So I think there is much to improve. Mark, this is a wonderful plant using in hybridization efforts. Perhaps a breakthrough, yes.

Good to hear your feedback Gerrit, I think you have summarized it well, while this hybrid is a standout for non-stop flowering, its main value is for further development of a line of everblooming Epimediums. Another desirable trait, it has very low foliage, while unremarkable, the leafage definitely remains low and rock garden sized; a favorable attribute in my opinion.

[gerrit]

while this hybrid is a standout for non-stop flowering, its main value is  is for further development of a line of everblooming Epimediums.

Right Mark, go on. I'm your biggest fan 

Another desirable trait, it has very low foliage, while unremarkable, the leafage definitely remains low and rock garden sized; a favorable attribute in my opinion.

Right again. As you know, I had the idea of creating dwarf Epimediums with my mother-plant, Epimedium davidii CPC. Unfortunately he died in what we call here a horror-winter. To get a new one, I have to travel to Belgium. I'll do this next spring. So I support your efforts to use your hybrid in a program with other existing dwarf-Epimediums, like for instance your wonderful E.lilliputian.

[McDonough]

Another desirable trait, it has very low foliage, while unremarkable, the leafage definitely remains low and rock garden sized; a favorable attribute in my opinion.

Right again. As you know, I had the idea of creating dwarf Epimediums with my mother-plant, Epimedium davidii CPC. Unfortunately he died in what we call here a horror-winter. To get a new one, I have to travel to Belgium. I'll do this next spring. So I support your efforts to use your hybrid in a program with other existing dwarf-Epimediums, like for instance your wonderful E.lilliputian.

Sorry to hear of the loss of your E. davidii form.  With the prolonged drought we had two years ago, plants were so weakened that some died over winter, and others struggled for yet another year, but even with good rainfall in 2011, some finally gave up after being unrecoverably weakened the year before.  I have replaced most of them, but still have a few more to re-purchase if I can.  I can sympathize with the loss; in the world of typically long-lived Epimediums, they've become our babies :-)  They can be both difficult and costly to replace.

In this general view of several E. sempervirens cultivars and hybrids, #1 is a selected superior hybrid of E. sempervirens that mounds up beautifully, holds its flower *above* the leaves, has dark green veined leaves, awesome late autumn/early autumn foliage color, and awesome spring foliage color.  It is one to continue hybridizing with.  #2 is E. sempervirens 'Vega', a wonderful low-growing selection with very shiny foliage and bright spring and fall foliage color.  I have earmarked this one for hybridization.  #3 is a selected hybrid E. sempervirens x grandiflorum, quite intermediate, with shiny evergreen looking foliage but not evergreen in truth, and it gets the large voluminous 2nd flush of foliage (not a desirable trait). In the lower left (sorry, forget to add a number) is E. x youngianum 'Liliputian'.




In this photo, the plant pointed at with a red arrow is a very dwarf E. sempervirens hybrid, exceptionally compact and small leaved, and typical of the species, no major 2nd flush of foliage.  The compact plant is 5 years old, and remains only a couple inches tall in leaf. Once again, I find this to be an exciting find to get such a dwarf plant, that is clearly of the shiny-leaf evergreen type, but so miniature. Yet again, another one to use for further breeding.

[gerrit]

Good to see your promising small Epimediums. I was surprised they are sempervirens-hybrids. Unfortunately I have none of them in my collection. Available here is E. sempervirens 'White purity'.

Thanks for posting.

[McDonough]

Epimedium sempervirens is a very interesting species, in my opinion valuable for hybridization.  Its main attribute is foliage, which can show startling color in both spring and fall, among the very best in the genus. The leaves also show a distinctive sheen.  Cultivars such as 'Candy Hearts' and 'Cherry Hearts' are outstanding with glossy heart-shaped leaves intensely suffused pink and red, spring and fall.  Since the leaves are semi-evergreen, the late leaf color typically lasts until December.  In some forms, the leaves are near black maroon is spring and fall, and of course, there is that magnificent variegated form just called "Variegated #1" by Garden Vision (see links below):  

http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?topic=178.msg1628#msg1628
http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=943.0;attach=26793;image

I have every form of sempervirens that Garden Vision offered over the years (15).  Of those, the ones I like best are the two mentiond above, but also 'Vega', 'Secret Arrow', 'Aurora', and the fantastic hybrid 'Violet Queen' which is surely a more complex hybrid (suspected to be x grandiflorum v. violaceum). See link below for photo of plant in full flower: 
http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=178.0;attach=3332;image
Only this last one is really showy in flower, an example demonstrating its potential in hybridization, not only for beautiful foliage plants, but for sheer flower power too.  The species weakness is having pale so-so flowers, often half hidden in the foliage.

[gerrit]

In order to find some Epimedium sempervirens in Europe, I searched the web. E.sempervirens 'White purity' is the only member of this species found.

Of course I knew this fantastic E. sempervirens 'Violet Queen'. Once seen, You'll never forget it. (an Epimedium-lover of course)

Well, we have to be patient and wait until this species crosses the ocean. In the mean time we'll watch your stunning pictures.