Epimediums

Every spring I'm surprised by my lovely Epimediums. I really don't know much about them, just enough to make up one post. When you look at them you think of delicate, fussy plants but in truth they are the exact opposite.

The flowers are not long lasting and if you forget to trim out some of last years foliage you might miss half the show. The show though doesn't stop there, Epimediums have wonderful foliage and they continue to add beauty to the garden all year long.

Most of my Epimediums don't have names posted under them although this one might be named 'Orion'. A gardening friend shared a number of her Epimediums with me one fall. I really wasn't interested in them but she insisted I take some pieces and so I dug them up and popped them into plastic bags. I should know better because everything she's shared with me has been wonderful.

It's embarrassing to admit it but those bags sat on top of the ground in my shade area for a few months. One day I noticed the foliage was peeking out so I quickly heeled them into the ground. They didn't get extra compost, a handful of fertilizer, nothing special at all. Yet, the next spring there they were in all their glory with the most wonderful fairy-like blooms.

This one has a name, Epimedium sulphureum. Last year the day of the plant sale came and my mom asked me why I had never dug any of these for the sale. To be truthful I didn't know how to divide them and I also thought they'd never sell. Well I was wrong, we had this variety and rubrum for sale and they sold like hotcakes.

This is a sweet variety out front. It's in a dry, root bound, shade bed with the worst soil ever but every year it cheerfully puts out this amazing bloom. According to the descriptions I've got here it might be 'Rose Queen'.

This is the first Epimedium I ever grew. It needs to be divided desperately and I will do so in another week or two. You can see how lovely the foliage is on this variety. I won a piece of it as a door prize at a daylily meeting many years ago. Wait, actually my friend Mare won it and I immediately forced a trade on her (I had won a daylily) because the foliage was so entrancing.

This year I only potted up 5 Epimediums, you can see them here soaking up some moisture. They are quite woody and you need a sharp knife to divide them. Also, they have a pungent odor when you cut them, it surprised me. Since our season is more on time this year (last year was late) they probably won't be in bloom on May 10th. I wonder if they'll sell and have no idea what to price them. I'm thinking they'll be $5 per pot, these are full gallon pots and they wholesale here in 5 pint pots for $7.35.

Finally, here's what they look like in a pot on their own. It's hard to tell that they will be something special in the garden. As you can see by Calie the wonder-doodle's face, she's trying to figure out why I'm out there in the rain taking pictures. Calie, you need a bath and a haircut!