Why we should treasure these small but mighty flowers and foliage
Epimedium is a beautiful and valued foliage plant that grows happily in dry shade, but will carpet the ground faster in a rich, damp leaf mould.
These rhizomatous perennials offer colourful, many-flowered sprays of spider-like blooms, typically held above foliage in spring.
Cut down the previous year’s foliage to appreciate the emerging flowers, which may well remain hidden under old leaves, leading you to believe that they haven’t flowered. Make sure to do this at the beginning of February, however, to avoid shearing off any delicate flower stems that emerge well in advance of the new leaves.
The flowers of a handful of varieties, such as E. ‘Spine Tingler’, can be damaged by frost, so perhaps in a frost-prone garden, leave foliage on for longer to protect emerging flowers, carefully snipping off old leaves to reveal the blooms as the weather warms.
Flowers vary in size, but all feature long, curved spurs in contrasting colours, with most appearing in March, April, and some into May.
Both deciduous and evergreen options are available, with foliage that is vibrant in autumn and even more so in spring. There are about 30 species, many from China, with excellent hybrids available.
Goes well with:
• Ajuga (bugle)
• Brunnera
• Digitalis (foxglove)
• Ferns
• Galium odoratum (sweet woodruff)
Wildlife credentials with our Dr Chris Gibson
A valuable early season forage for bumblebees. The different forms of epimedium are prone to hybridization as the bees are not fussy about which ones they visit. If you grow more than one type, the bees may therefore deliver you not only minor variants but potentially a brand new garden-worthy form. The leaves are useful ground cover for invertebrates and amphibians, especially the forms that retain their leaves through the winter. Little seems to eat them, probably a result of the chemicals they contain, some of which are being investigated for their medicinal properties.
Some of our favourites:
Epimedium ‘Buff beauty’:
A hybrid from Wildside Nursery, Devon. Large creamy yellow flowers with a touch of pink. Evergreen. Flowers in April and May. Height and spread: 30cm (12in).
Epimedium grandiflorum ‘Lilafee’:
Has narrow, oval leaves, softly bronzed when young. From dark purple buds open long sprays of light purple flowers fading to white-tipped spurs. Deciduous. Height and spread: 30cm (12in).
Epimedium grandiflorum subsp. koreanum:
Sprays of creamy white columbine-like flowers with long spurs which dangle among clumps of emerging leaf stems. Leaves light green, tinted bronze in spring. Deciduous. Height and spread: 30cm (12in).
Epimedium × warleyense ‘Orangekönigin’:
A compact, clump-forming evergreen perennial with green leaves, tinted red in spring and autumn. Delicate sprays of reddish orange flowers with yellow centres. The species name warleyense is derived from Warley Place, the home of the famous gardener Miss Ellen Willmott. ‘Orangekönigin’ (Orange Queen) is a selection from renowned German nurseryman Ernst Pagels. Evergreen. Height and spread: 50cm x 75cm (20x29in)
Epimedium × youngianum ‘Niveum’:
Neat clumps of smaller foliage in soft shades of milk-chocolate, over which float clouds of pure white starry flowers. A real gem. Deciduous. Height and spread: 30cm (12in).
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