{"id":3683,"date":"2022-05-10T07:09:24","date_gmt":"2022-05-10T15:09:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/?p=3683"},"modified":"2022-05-10T07:09:24","modified_gmt":"2022-05-10T15:09:24","slug":"epimedium-excitement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/epimedium-excitement\/","title":{"rendered":"Epimedium Excitement"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Epimedium<\/a>Not long ago a friend called me with dramatic news about epimedium.\u00a0 For those who might be wondering, this is a plant, not a medical condition.\u00a0 Epimedium might occasionally induce euphoria, which is a psychological condition, but that is another story.<\/p>\n

Epimedium is, in fact, a shade-loving, spring bloomer that covers ground in a very appealing way and easily provides three seasons of interest in exchange for very little labor or input from the gardener.\u00a0 It is also a low-grower, topping out at 12 to 18 inches tall, with a spread of about 12 inches.\u00a0 I have to say that the most vigorous epimedium in my garden, a yellow-flowered beauty, reaches only about 12 inches tall, but has spread to about 18 inches after five years.\u00a0 I am overjoyed by that, because while on its growth rampage, it has prevented weeds from sprouting in its coverage area.\u00a0 This is a trait that is characteristic of the species in general.<\/p>\n

Though epimediums are members of the Berberidaceae or barberry family, they look nothing like the typical, spiny barberry shrubs with which we are all familiar.\u00a0 All epimediums feature elongated, heart-shaped leaves and the small flowers that once reminded someone of bishop\u2019s hats or miters, accounting for one of the plant\u2019s common names, \u201cbishop\u2019s hat\u201d.\u00a0 They are also known, romantically, as \u201cfairy wings\u201d, and less romantically as \u201chorny goatweed\u201d.\u00a0 \u00a0The flowers might also remind you of tiny columbines, complete with long, spur-shaped petals.<\/p>\n

My friend\u2019s excitement came from seeing \u2018Cosmic Stars\u2019, a bi-colored darker\/lighter purple variety that provides a lot of drama and more flowers than many other epimediums.\u00a0 Another Stars epimedium is the vigorous, dangerous sounding \u2018Ninja Stars\u2019, with narrower, spiny-looking leaves and yellow flowers.\u00a0 These and many other exciting epimedium varieties have been collected and\/or bred by the prolific Darrell Probst, who has traveled throughout Asia and worked with other epimedium collectors and breeders to bring new and improved varieties to market.<\/p>\n

Thanks to Probst and others, the epimedium world has expanded beyond what used to be the most available species, Epimedium grandiflorum, or large-flowered epimedium, which bears flowers in white or shades of purplish pink.<\/p>\n

The color range has expanded to orange, like Epimedium x warleyense \u2018Ellen Willmott\u2019, and the orange and red \u2018Stoplights\u2019.\u00a0 Brilliant yellows are widely available, including Epimedium x versicolor \u2018Sulphureum\u2019.\u00a0 Specialty catalogs also offer numerous bi-colored varieties like \u2018Cupreum\u2019, introduced way back in 1854, and boasting pink flowers with yellow cups.<\/p>\n

Petal shapes and sizes may vary as well.\u00a0 \u2018Wudan Star\u2019 a white-flowered variety of Epimedium stellulatum, features petals that are pointed, rather than spurred, giving each bloom a star-like shape.\u00a0 The flowers are also larger than normal.<\/p>\n

Epimedium leaves play a starring role before and after the plants bloom in the spring.\u00a0 Many species and varieties emerge reddish in the early spring, turn green as the growing season advances, and finally redden again in the fall.\u00a0 In warmer regions the plants may be evergreen, although this does not happen in my USDA Zone 7 garden.\u00a0 Some varieties are variegated, such as the white-flowered \u2018Splish Splash\u2019, which features leaves dappled with red\/bronze markings. The leaves of \u2018Suphureum\u2019 may be mottled with red as well.<\/p>\n

For those of us challenged by dry shade, heavy clay soil, or critters like rabbits or deer, epimedium is the answer to a prayer.\u00a0 Be sure, though, to water young plants regularly until they become established.\u00a0 The foliage is also useful for covering the dying leaves of daffodils, tulips and other spring bulbs that emerge and bloom under deciduous trees.\u00a0 The plants make good edgers in shady areas as well.<\/p>\n

Once your epimediums have established themselves and spread to cover the available space, you can also divide them easily by digging up and separating the clumps, making sure that each division has a piece of the rhizome attached.\u00a0 If you are like me and have more shady spots than you know what to do with, division is a great remedy.<\/p>\n

It is fitting that I first saw \u201cbishop\u2019s hat\u201d over a decade ago in the Bishop\u2019s Garden on the grounds of the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.\u00a0 The mature planting covered a number of square feet and blanketed the bare earth completely.\u00a0 I saw no weeds at all, which made me wonder if the plants blocked out the weeds, or if the dedicated cadre of volunteer weeders took care of their removal.\u00a0 Either way, I saw the possibilities for epimedium in my own garden.<\/p>\n

If the idea of epimediums opens up possibilities for you, try local garden centers, which may carry a few varieties.\u00a0 For excellent selections, go to Digging Dog Nursery, 31101 Middle Ridge Road,\u00a0 Albion, CA 95410<\/a>; (707) 937-1130<\/a>; www.diggingdog.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Print catalog available.\u00a0 You can also try Plant Delights Nursery, 9241 Sauls Rd, Raleigh, NC 27603; (919)-772-4794<\/a>; www.plantdelights.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Print catalog available.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Not long ago a friend called me with dramatic news about epimedium.\u00a0 For those who might be wondering, this is a plant, not a medical condition.\u00a0 Epimedium might occasionally induce euphoria, which is a psychological condition, but that is another story. Epimedium is, in fact, a shade-loving, spring bloomer that covers ground in a very … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,2,3],"tags":[2699,1397,257,2698,1396,2249,1227],"class_list":["post-3683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall","category-general-interest","category-spring","category-summer","tag-barberry-family","tag-bishops-hat","tag-deer-resistant-plants","tag-dry-shade","tag-epimedium","tag-fairy-wings","tag-ground-covers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3683"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3683\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3685,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3683\/revisions\/3685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}