Whether you need a star that shines or have a gap to fill, these 9 beauties fit the bill
genus Epimedium have the power to bring me to my human knee in former leap . I will gladly muddy up my jeans for a coup d’oeil of their slender stanch go up through the leaf litter . I am not the first to be enamor by these magnetic plant . They have been cultivated in Asia for centuries , primarily for medicinal purposes , but many old Japanese varieties were , and still are , grown for their vapourous stunner .
At a Glance
Name : Epimediumspp . and cvs .
USDA Hardiness Zones:4–9
condition : Partial to full shadowiness ; average to dry out , well - drain soil ; ideally neutral , moisture retentive dirt gamey in organic affair
Native range : China , Japan , Korea , contribution of the Mediterranean and North Africa
In the natural state , Epimedium ( Epimediumspp . and cvs . ) are found in habitats order from mostly cheery to deeply fill in , and in soils that range from moist to dry . The Panthera leo ’s contribution are found on wooded hillside , sometimes under shrub , or in the chap and crevices of rocky slopes . In recent tenner , plant explorers have discovered and name many new mintage , and have select and hybridized hundreds of fresh cultivar .
Amid this dizzying array of choices , there are a few wide available cultivars that are valued as ground covers for ironical nuance . Once established , these beaut suffer dry spells while their neighbor droop , with robust woody root systems that keep weed and invaders at bay .
But epimediums have the potential difference to be so much more than just watertight priming coat covers . Afforded the sumptuousness of good garden conditions , they can flourish as specimens , adding typical colors , textures , and forms to the garden tapestry . With so many rattling cultivars to take from , it ’s heavy to pick just a few to play up . But those on the following pages will give you a sense of the rattling multifariousness available if ( when ) you captivate the collecting bug .
Spiky foliage and stellar blooms
Name:Epimedium‘Ninja Stars’
Zones:5–9
Size:12 to 15 inches tall
The killer foliation of‘Ninja Stars’grabs care all season , emerge mahogany and later deepening to glossy green . Theleaflets are shaped like stretch blades , with daring spiny edgeshighlighted in a paler color . Its bloom levitate on impossibly slender stems , with clear yellow petals and pale , spinelike prodding . A 2nd spirt of leaf brings the mahogany hues back , extending the colorful show . When grown in unspoiled conditions , its rhizome extend a comforting 4 to 6 inches per twelvemonth . Like many Taiwanese selections , this one occupy a stab at being evergreen . It is a relatively novel cultivar , introduced by genus Epimedium guru Darrell Probst in 2016 .
Vigorous, cascading habit
Name:E. grandiflorum‘Waterfall’
Zones:4–8
Size:12 to 20 inches tall and up to 30 inches spacious
’ Waterfall’is a rich plant with great comportment throughout the growing time of year . It forms a beautiful mass of folio that reach 20 inches tall in summer . As leaves go forth they are tinged in bronze , with a glow of light putting surface highlighting the veins and the spot where each leaflet attach to its petiole . The elegantly sharpen leaflets are arranged in layers , flowing one over the other like a waterfall of foliage . If the foliage creates the waterfall , then the bloom create the froth that forgather along edges and eddies , bump the surface and tote up visual direct contrast . This froth of blossom is held on unsloped and slightly curve stems that go out from the foliation mass . The large bloom are rosy colour with showy elongated spurs that slice from lavender to whiten .
A diminutive beauty
Name:E.‘After Midnight’
Size:6 to 8 inch tall and blanket
Starting out with a burst of umber , the folder of‘After Midnight’soon become green at the center , sharply trimmed in bronze . These make a stunning backdrop for the flowers , which , though only 6 to 8 inches marvelous , draw you in from across the garden . You ’ll know your compulsion with Epimedium is full blown when you find yourself nose to horn in with these blossom , marveling at how the cherry - rimmed outer sepals nearly align with the color of the flowering stalks . The sepals will soon fall away , leave a flurry of sparkling white flowers that contrast smartly with the dark leaflet edges . This is a adorable plant to put in a pocket of rich grime in the crevice of a boulder , or along a shaded walk where you’re able to value its small height and beautiful item .
Plenty of rosy color
Name:E.‘Pretty in Pink’
Size:10 to 12 inches grandiloquent and 12 to 18 inch broad
‘ Pretty in Pink’is as sorcerous as the name implies . Demure bicolored bloom dangle like precious stone over softened coppery foliage , which is gently blotch with flecks of Bourgogne . Its proscribed sepals are a soft , clean pinko , the inner flower petal are a deeper raspberry , and its retentive , slight , pendant spurs slice to white at the point . Introduced by Plant Delights Nursery in 2012 , it is a warm raiser withE. grandiflorumheritage . When the flowers fade , a 2nd flush of foliage with pink hue prances above the rest . Eventually even this showy flush settee into a shiny park for the summer and holds up into early winter .
Lightning-patterned leaves
Name:E. pinnatumssp.colchicum‘Thunderbolt’
Zones:5–8
Size:10 inches tall and up to 36 in wide-cut
‘ Thunderbolt’is hard to beat for the perdurable , lustrous , rounded foliation that pop off over to an exciting chocolate - red when the dusty weather sets in . This gorgeous color deepen in sunshine and carry up unusually well into the winter months , afford it evergreen plant status even in southern New England . Each pamphlet is crazed with bright light-green veins in a lightning - similar rule — hence the ‘ bolt ’ name . This survival live up to the reputation of epimediums as majuscule soil cover by advancing 6 to 8 inches a year . Clear white-livered sepal circumvent small petals and forgetful goad that are tilt in burgundy , give the center of the flower a little burst of color .
Long-lasting variegation
Name:E. sempervirens‘Variegated #1’
Size:8 column inch tall and 12 inch all-inclusive
It is worth seeking out‘Variegated # 1’for the artsy portmanteau word of clean , cream , pink , and Salmon River that cloud its emerging brochure in leap . This colourful show coordinates well with the white flower that arrive in midspring . Eventually the leaves steady down into a lovely white - and - green compounding that endures well into summer , and since this is a semi - evergreen case , its foliation will remain in good shape into early wintertime . Legend has it that Darrell Probst pay his highest Leontyne Price ever to secure this clone on a 1997 collecting trip .
Delicate looks, hardy constitution
Name:E. brevicornu
Size:1 to 2 ft tall and wide
Epimedium brevicornusends finespun pitch-dark wands adrift above speckled foliage that reaches 8 to 10 inches tall . The prow seem to have a slight hold on the fluttering white flowers , with each stem posture as many as 25 to 50 flower . clean spurs are sweep back , revealing a yellow center and yellow pollen - create stamen . The overall consequence is one of heavy appealingness and kickshaw — even the leaves seem delicate and papery thinly . This mintage is from northerly China , which impart it a dosage of hardiness ; it can survive to at least Zone 4 .
Spellbinding floral display
Name:E. grandiflorum‘Circe’
Size:12 inches marvellous and 18 inches wide
Ever the enchantress,’Circe’weaves her charm with large and abundant bass pinkish flowers , with spur beautifully tipped in lily-white , that are held above coppery - tinged leaflets in late April and other May . Leaflets are edge in delicate spines and form a tidy mass about a foot tall . The parting switch to Olea europaea green in summertime and do not persist through winter . As with all epimediums , the lowest bloom in the raceme undefended first , with New flower opening as the chaff matures . In the case of ‘ Circe ’ , the outer sepals , which send packing aside as the bloom opens , are deep imperial - black and are borne on reddish - bronze pedicels — a treat to behold in April and May , when every point brings you to your knee joint .
See what genus Epimedium require to stay glad and sizeable .
A Closer Look
Anatomy of an epimedium flower
appear closely at an epimedium bloom and you will notice that its floral parts fall out in fours : four out sepals that are often quite small and that miss away when the flower open up ; four larger , petal - like sepals ; and four true petals hold at the center that often contrast in color with the sepal . These dead on target petal bear nectar producing spurring that are small in some coinage and cultivar , and bolder and showier in others . Individual flowers range from a quarter - column inch across to 2 inches from tip to bakshis .
Joann Vieira is the director of gardening at The Trustees of Reservations , a nonprofit conservation establishment based in Boston .
SOURCES
Bet you can’t plant just one. With so many gorgeous cultivars to choose from, epimediums may become habit forming. However, if you choose reliable performers, your addiction can be a healthy one.Photo: Carol Collins
• Edelweiss Perennials , Canby , OR ; 503 - 263 - 4680 ; edelweissperennials.com
• Garden Vision Epimediums , Phillipston , MA ; 978 - 249 - 3863 ; epimediums.com
• Sebright Gardens , Salem , OR ; 503 - 463 - 9615 ; sebrightgardens.com
Photo: courtesy of Karen Perkins/Garden Vision Epimediums
From hunky-dory Gardening # 193
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Photo: courtesy of Karen Perkins/Garden Vision Epimediums
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Photo: courtesy of Karen Perkins/Garden Vision Epimediums
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Photo: Carol Collins
Photo: courtesy of Karen Perkins/Garden Vision Epimediums
Photo: Carol Collins
Photo: courtesy of Karen Perkins/Garden Vision Epimediums
Illustration: Carol Collins
