Wonderful woodlanders with spring flowers and good foliage at almost any time of year. Some incredibly tough plants that look incredibly dainty and a few that do need cossetting.
Many view Epimedium as dull, Victorian, shade plants but following the many recent introductions from Asia in recent years and the inevitable raft of hybrids that have occurred in cultivation since they are anything but dull now. Many of the new introductions have brought a range of interesting foliage shapes as well as some amazing flower types including long spurred and clouds of tiny flowers.
Most forms of Epimedium are easy to grow in a shady border requiring little more than a decent, humusy soil that doesn't dry out too much in summer. The older deciduous and semi-deciduous types do benefit from having the previous year's foliage sheared off in late winter to display the spring flowers but do not be tempted to cut back the evergreen foliage of the new Asian types in the same way, they have a habit of dropping dead if you do!
An early hybrid from Elizabeth Strangman with showy lavender-pink flowers with darker middles in spring. Striking foliage. E. dolichostemon x E. leptorrhizum. 30cm.
A recent introduction from China, this species has almost prickly evergreen foliage and very large, long spurred, light yellow flowers in late spring. Good soil in shade. New foliage is stunning with reddish patches on coppery green leaves.
An un-named seedling from Elizabeth Strangman. Big arrow shaped leaves emerge rich coppery red alongside generous sprays of tiny white starry flowers. Good soil in shade. 40cm.
A striking species only recently introduced to cultivation from Sichuan, China. Mid green leaves with fine toothing, semi-evergreen. Open sprays of very large pale yellow, spidery flowers in mid spring. 45cm. Good woodland soil in shade.
A striking Chinese species making good clumps of narrow jagged leaves and tall stems with masses of long-spurred pale yellow flowers potentially to 1m but normally 60cm. Good soil in shade.
Difficult to describe as the flower colour varies considerably from sun to shade! In shade it is a dull brown-purple, in sun rich reddish fading to yellow spur tips. Big flowers to 4.5cm across on stems to 45cm. Good soil in shade.
