Epimedium 2012

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 wrote:

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.

Hello fellow epimedium fans; much has been posted, the epimediums are looking superb, much to respond to.  But I promised myself  on this fabulous crisp sunny day, I will tear myself away from the forum and the processing of hundreds of photos, to go work in the garden instead.  But before I head out to the garden, I wanted to take a moment to comment on an ID.

gerrit wrote:

#1 and #2.Epimedium stellulatum 'Long leaf form'
#3 and #4.Epimedium x youngianum 'Kozakura'

Gerrit, I believe there might be a mixup in the one labeled as E. x youngianum 'Kozakura'.  I believe the plant you show is actually E. x youngianum 'Beni-Kujaku'  (Wim shows a photo of this).  I am posting two photos of each variety to compare.  Kozakura is an odd one, with deciduous sepals and little open cups of pale lavender with the middle of each petal stained a deeper lavender-pink.  It's not very showy, more of a curiosity.  It's in flower now (photos taken today), whereas E. youngianum 'Beni-Kujaku' is one of the earliest to flower (well, at least here that's the case), fairly showy with lots of deep red-violet flowers, until the quick-to-appear second flush of leaves overtakes the flowers.

E. x youngianum 'Kozakura'

E. x youngianum 'Beni-Kujaku'

Love the E. stellulatum 'Long Leaf Form', I have put this one in my order to Garden Vision Epimediums; I currently have the regular form and it's a favorite.  More later :)

WimB wrote:

Very nice, that 'Ko Zakura', Mark...maybe I should buy that one too!

Wim, where does one find the correct syntax of a Japanese cultivar name?  Everywhere I have looked, including the RHS Plant Finder, the cultivar name is listed simply as 'Kozakura', I have not seen it as 'Ko Zakura'.  Is there a reference for how the cultivar was first described?  Googling, it seems that 'Kozakura' is a Japanese surname.  Just curious, as I'm a stickler for details :)
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/rhsplantfinder/plantlist.asp?code=XPou+&name=Koen...

Much to catch up with:

Ernie, great to see 'Fire Dragon', this is a new one in my garden too, just starting to flower and I'm excited to see the excellent color of the flowers.  

Regarding the two epimediums in question, your first E. grandiflorum koreanum is actually E. grandiflorum f. flavescens.  The other one, with large light yellow flowers low on the stem with foliage high above, is E. koreanum.  The species separation between E. grandiflorum f. flavescens and E. koreanum is cited in William Stearn's monograph on Epimedium.

E. grandiflorum 'Creeping Yellow' is an unfortunate name; from researching this one, it is a very nice foliage plant, the name referring to the light chartreuse green foliage that is banded with red and specked red; the flowers reported by numerous nurseries as pure white.

E. myrianthum does indeed have spectacular mottled spring foliage, I like these types of "eppies". Never heard of E. grandiflorum 'Kotobuki', seems to be so many subtlely different Japanese cultivars.  Here's a web site with many Japanese cultivars, many I have not heard of.
http://www.shikoku-garden.com/lists/List2009/Epimedium09.htm

Wish that I could find E. grandiflorum 'Freya' here, looks like a real winner.

Gerrit, I have no problem with E. grandiflorum v. higoense, and varieties 'Bandit' and 'Saturn' with lots of strong light.  In the Garden Vision Epimedium nursery, these received almost full sun, and did just fine, as do mine.

Wim, E. grandiflorum 'Akagi Zakura' is gorgoeus, a delicious red-pink color, and low stature.  Not heard of this one before.  

Regarding E. "pallidum", there is no such published name, no such species, it is a horticultural misnomer.

Ernie, no need to attempt sending plants here.  The person receiving plants here in the USA, originating from another country, can be heavily fined if all the proper required certificates are not in place.  It's too hard to send plants internationally, the USA restrictions are many, so please don't attempt it, although I certainly appreciate your most generous offer.

Regarding E. pallidum, the problem comes from the fact it is named as a species, not a cultivar like 'Pallidum' (which in itself is invalid to name culivars with latinised names), but the botanical binomial Epimedium "pallidum" was never a published name, it appears to be a horticultural invention that only occurs in horticulture, not in botanical science.  There are many examples of phantom names that only exist in the nursery trade.  I still believe there is no such thing as true Epimedium "pallidum", but of course, some nurseries will offer a plant named E. pallidum

Moreso than ever, I'm moving towards epimediums as supreme foliage plants.  Yes, I do love the delicate airiness of epimedium flowers, but the leaf forms, colors, and "leaf-build" (the way the leaves stack up), provide compelling attraction season long, all year long with evergreen species.  This series of 10 photos focuses on epimedium foliage and plant views.

1.  E. brachyrrhizum showing a lush second flush of lively bullate glossy foliage, the 2nd year evergreen foliage visible at the base. On my top 10 list, for gorgeous sprays of silvery pink flowers and year-round great foliage.

2.  E. brevicornu clump, another wider-than-tall cornerstone species that should be in every garden, with Corydalis nobilis in the background.

3.  E. sempervirens - MMcDonough selected hybrid.  Wow, this one is really paying off, been watching this one for 5 years.  I will be showing a spring foliage progression to show the foliar metamorphosis, the early foliage is dark chocolate color, now making a high rounded dome of layered shiny green, red-edged leaves.

4.  E. grandiflorum 'Princess Susan', the standard by which to compare bright two-toned grandiflorums by, one of the best. The flowers peak out at the periphery of a flat-topped leafy plateau.

5+6  E. membranaceum x ?stellulatum -  I have a number of these. Originally I identified these as membranaceum x brevicornu, based on the fact the seedlings were found under these two species which were growing intertwined.  However, the bright orange new growth suggests stellulatum as a parent instead, growing about 3' away (bees do fly). The foliage is the main attraction, and the fact the small white and yellow flowers keep on going until the end of August (everblooming characteristic from membranaceum).  In the foreground is E. youngianum 'Grape Fizz', a pleasant cultivar.

7.  The epimedium garden viewed in morning sunlight has special moments. Here we see E. x youngianum 'Sudama' aglow with morning light.  More about this unusual cultivar with ceropegia-like flowers that never open.

8.  In the center right is Epimedium pubescens 'Shaanxi Form'.  It is early to emerge and was whacked by a very hard frost, the stems and leaf growth hanging limp, but it has recovered.  I've been adding pieces of Bluets, Houstonia caerulea to line the paths, and they quickly bulk up into wonderful clumps that flowers for months.

9.  Here we see another putative E. membranaceum x ?stellulatum hybrid, this one smaller growing.  The lime green leaves behind it is E. pubescens, a newish form offered by Garden Vision Epimediums that is said to be partially creeping rather than clumping.

10. E. x versicolor 'Cupreum' - this plant is ancient, maybe 35 years old, and it remains an favorite with mahogany red heart foliage, each leaf with a network of green.  The coppery-pink flowers are a real attraction too.

gerrit wrote:

What you see is a form of Epimedium davidii. Bought under the registrationnumber EMR 4125.
It is an odd one. Only cups, almost no spurs. I love my plant, because  it's a curiosity.

Please readers, comment on it.

E. davidii EMR of my Favs too Gerrit; your plant looks like it is growing more robust than mine.  I also like it because it keeps sending up sprays of flowers, almost all of which I steal to dab pollen on other eppies ;)

Your Epimedium x omeiense 'Myriad Years' brings myriad tears to my eyes, what a beauty it is, don't think it is available here in the USA, will have to look :o

I agree Gerrit... Ernie that's a very bright color seedling, very nice, it's such fun finding your own seedlings.  After spending lots of money over the past 10 years buying very expensive epimediums building up a collection of about 200 species and hybrids, I can now rejoice in filling my garden with numerous spontaneous or manually created hybrids, many of which are equally bright and enjoyable, some even better and certainly unique, and at 0$ cost ;D

gerrit wrote:

Two representifs from the species acuminatum.

1 and 2 Epimedium acuminatum
3 and 4 Epimedium acuminatum 'Night Mistress'.

Gerrit, when I see you images of the acuminatum forms, and 'Spine Tingler', I am reminded of the expression "so close, yet so far away", by that I mean, I'm so close to the epicenter of Epimediums (Garden Vision Epimediums nursery), yet the dramatic 'Night Mistress" was only offered for a short time in the Garden Vision Nursery, and very high price too, so I didn't buy it, which I now regret as it hasn't been available for years.  Same with 'Spine Tingler', which is still very high priced, so it is another that I do not have; a fascinating unnamed species. Visiting Garden Vision last weekend, I bought regular E. acuminatum, a replacement for the species that I lost a number of years ago. :)

Wim, glad you showed that link to a dramatic color break, a pure red and white bicolor Epimedium, truly something different, nice flower form too.  Thanks for sharing this blog link.  I took a peak at another month's entry of the same blog, check out the stunning Arisaema selections and Epimedium hybrids.  I supply the direct link (Japanese text) and a Bing-translated version.
http://sainohana.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/2012/04/index.html
...bing translation version:
http://www.microsofttranslator.com/BV.aspx?ref=IE8Activity&a=http%3A%2F%2Fsainohana.cocolog-nifty.com%2Fblog%2F2012%2F04%2Findex.html

I have so many Epimedium photos taken in the last few weeks, but barely enough time to show many of them.  I also want to show photos from my visit to Garden Vision Epimediums last weekend during an "open nursery weekened"; these are now held at Karen Perkins charming rural location in Templeton Massachusetts (central MA).  But, the next 2-1/2 weeks I'll be traveling a great deal, and will probably not have time to post much.  So, today I post a random pair of images, Epimedium x versicolor 'Strawberry Blush', one of the more recent Garden Vision introductions.

Side by side portraits of the delicate hued blooms, one in indirect light  and the other catching sunlight.  The flowers are a very soft shade of peach-pink, with a lemon cup, these colors only visible when lifting the flowers, from above the broad-rounded sepals are a soft moonlight yellow color.  The spring foliage is intense copper color.

Gerrit, glad you showed Epimedium grandiflorum 'Yellow Princess', I was away for two days (my daughter's college graduation), and just got home tonight, and this very late-emerging-late-flowering alpine selection of E. grandiflorum was just opening its first flowers.  It is a good partner with E. grandiflorum 'Cranberry Sparkle', another late-emerging-late-flowering alpine selection with first flowers just showing upon my return home.  The latter has about the deepest red-violet flowers of any epimedium.   I post a photo taken at Garden Vision Nursery last week, where their plants are ahead of mine, and looking great in early bloom.  Notice that neighboring Epimedium are in full leafage, some finished flowering, and this one is just emerging and beginning to flower, adding a month extension to the Epimedium season.

Traveling... unfortunately it is all for work.