Sometimes, no matter what you do, plants just die. When it happens, you haul them out of the ground, consign them to the compost pile and ease on down the horticultural road. Other times, you think a plant is dead and it makes a phoenix-like resurrection. This happened to me two weeks ago. The phoenix in question was Epimedium pinnatum ssp. colchicum, otherwise known as a yellow-flowered barrenwort, bishop’s cap or fairy wings. I bought it as part of a plant-purchasing frenzy one year ago and installed it in a new garden bed. It had already bloomed, but leafed out nicely over the growing season. The mild winter meant that the leaves hung on through the dark months.
Then the grim reaper rode in on the wings of a late spring cold snap. The leaves turned brown and the plant appeared dead. I went out on one of the few clement days and clipped off the dessicated foliage. However, because of innate laziness and/or optimism, I did not pluck the whole plant out of the ground. Two weeks later, a bumper crop of yellow blooms and new leaves appeared virtually overnight. I am rather proud of my gardening prowess, despite the fact that I had absolutely nothing to do with this timely resurrection.
I first saw barrenwort in one of the garden beds at The Bishop’s Garden, part of the larger Frederick Law Olmsted-designed landscape at the Washington, D.C. National Cathedral. Given that one of the species’ common names is “bishop’s cap”, it is rather fitting that this particular plant has thrived in that particular garden. The barrenwort there, like mine, was a ground-covering plant, growing no more than twelve inches tall, with branched, wiry stems that produced sprays of small, four-petaled, orchid-like flowers. The ones I saw at the Cathedral Garden were pink, but the epimedium genus contains species that bear flowers in shades of yellow, purple, pink, white and near-red.
Barrenwort has a mounding habit and even after the flowers depart in late spring, the leaves remain attractive. They are shaped like elongated hearts and, depending on the species and variety, can have reddish mottling, veination or a rosy cast. The plants spread themselves around by way of rhizomes, making them a vigorous but well-mannered ground cover. As I witnessed in my own garden, they are at least partially evergreen, depending on species and climate conditions. Perhaps best of all, they thrive in light to medium shade and can withstand a certain amount of drought. Mr. Antlers and his posse generally avoid barrenwort, though, as with all “deer resistant plants”, there are no guarantees.
Over the past couple of decades, gardeners have increased their collective appetite for easy-care, ground-covering plants, and the fortunes of the epimedium clan have soared. According to the Northwest Horticultural Society, over 300 species and varieties are currently in commerce and over 200 of them are fairly easy to find. “Easy” is a relative term, just like “dear resistant”, but the Internet works wonders for those in search of unusual cultivars.
Yellow flowers are always points of light in beds, borders and containers, and one of the best yellow-flowered varieties is a German cultivar, ‘Frohnleiten’. The leaves are stunning—dark red with bright green veins. If its publicists are even half right, it is a weed-stomping wonder.
My next barrenwort purchase may well be the lovely ‘Lilac Cascade’, first introduced in 2001. It was the creation of Massachusetts hybridizer Darrell Probst, who is also well known for his lovely coreopsis cultivars, like pale yellow ‘Moonbeam’. Not surprisingly, ‘Lilac Cascade’ has soft lilac-colored flowers. The leaves are medium red, with darker red edges and bright chartreuse veins. It is billed as “semi evergreen”, so leaf persistence is climate dependent.
Those who like larger flowers, should chose varieties of Epimedium grandiflorum, like the white-flowered ‘Bandit’ or the red-purple ‘Red Queen’. ‘Bandit’ also features small green leaves edged in dark red.
For something bright and dramatic, try Epimedium x warleyense ‘Orange Queen’, with vibrant golden orange flowers and bronze-tinted foliage. It is a semi-evergreen variety that originated in China and has made a splash on this side of the Pacific.
Installing swathes of barrenwort is the perfect way to create a tapestry-like effect in the shade garden. The plants can also cover ground at the feet of taller specimens like monkshood—aconitum—or Ostrich fern–Matteuccia struthiopteris.
Barrenwort clumps expand at a rate of four to six inches per year, so you can create a formidable array by starting with just a few plants. This is a good thing, since single plants—especially of newish cultivars and hybrids—tend to be a bit expensive. The initial outlay can be a challenge, as gardeners’ wallets tighten considerably in spring, due to the wide availability of every kind of plant. When you consider barrenwort, just remember that it is a great investment that will be fully amortized by the time you have divided the original plant a few times.
Provide barrenworts with well-enriched soil when you install them, and water regularly while they settle in. After that, they need little. A good trimming in later winter or earliest spring gets rid of the ratty old leaves, the better to showcase the spring flower display.
For something bright and dramatic, try Epimedium x warleyense ‘Orange Queen’, with vibrant golden orange flowers and bronze-tinted foliage. It is a semi-evergreen variety that originated in China and has made a splash on this side of the Pacific.
Installing swathes of barrenwort is the perfect way to create a tapestry-like effect in the shade garden. The plants can also cover ground at the feet of taller specimens like monkshood—aconitum—or Ostrich fern–Matteuccia struthiopteris.
Barrenwort clumps expand at a rate of four to six inches per year, so you can create a formidable array by starting with just a few plants. This is a good thing, since single plants—especially of newish cultivars and hybrids—tend to be a bit expensive. The initial outlay can be a challenge, as gardeners’ wallets tighten considerably in spring, due to the wide availability of every kind of plant. When you consider barrenwort, just remember that it is a great investment that will be fully amortized by the time you have divided the original plant a few times.
Provide barrenworts with well-enriched soil when you install them, and water regularly while they settle in. After that, they need little. A good trimming in later winter or earliest spring gets rid of the ratty old leaves, the better to showcase the spring flower display.
Local garden centers will carry a few epimedium varieties and you should keep an eye out for them as you troll the aisles in the coming weeks. For a wide selection, go to Plant Delights Nursery, 9241 Sauls Rd, Raleigh, NC 27603; (919) 772-4794; www.plantdelights.com.