Surrey Homes | SH101 | June 2023 | Education Supplement inside

Epimediums require
some shade and
will do their best
if you prepare the
site first, adding
some organic matter
before you plant
has a long flowering season from late
April through until August – as well as
a long name. It’s a recent introduction
from China and has luminous yellow
flowers and elongated serrated leaves.
Some are ideal for dry conditions,
under trees and shrubs, as long as there
is some light. In other words, dappled
shade rather than dark conditions. They
are perfect as ground cover plants, some
spreading over the ground wonderfully
fast. One such plant is the hybrid
(and the fastest growing) E x versicolor
‘Sulphureum’. Cut down last year’s
shabby foliage to the ground early in the
year so that the flowers on their wiry red
stems can be seen and enjoyed before
the mottled heart-shaped leaves appear.
You can see drifts of it at RHS Wisley
(if you can face the road works) and the
RHS are now adding newer varieties in
the woodland garden and in the shadier
parts of the rock garden. They are ideal
companions for spring plants such as
hellebores, primroses and spring bulbs.
What do epimediums need?
They require some shade and will do
their best if you prepare the site first,
adding some organic matter before
you plant. There are some varieties
that can take sun, so it’s worth doing
your homework before you buy. Once
your plants are in, keep them watered
in their first year, especially if we have
a dry spell. Epimediums are hardy
despite looking so delicate and can
cope with cold, wintry conditions.
My first epimedium was E. ‘Amber
Queen’, AGM. This one has a long
flowering season and has serrated
leaves topped with orangey-yellow
flowers above dark wiry stems and
seems to be as tough as old boots. I’m
not sure about the colour now but as
the plant is rhizomatus it has made a
good sized clump over the past five
years so and earned its place in a rather
overcrowded shady border. I think that
some of the newer hybrids are very
tempting. Who could resist E. ‘Fire
Dragon’ with its description of amber
and silver foliage topped with pink
and yellow flowers. And the vigorous
E. grandifolium ‘Lilac Seedling’ with
arrow shaped bronze-green leaves
and lilac flowers appearing in April.
This particular wish list is growing.
Where to see them
There is a National Collection of
Epimediums set up by Roger and Linda
Hammond in 2013 (themagnolias.co.uk).
They are based in Brentwood, Essex.
Roger’s interest in epimediums began
when he was at horticultural college
and saw epimediums displayed on a
Blackthorn’s stand at a RHS Show.
They have a good, comprehensive
website and open their garden and
collection in April. He recommends
Sally Gregson’s book, The Plant
Lover’s Guide to Epimediums. Many
of the illustrations in the book come
from the National Collection. Sally’s
nursery, Mill Cottage Plants in Wookey,
Somerset, has epimediums growing
under her other love: hydrangeas. It
was interesting to see that she was
inspired by Elizabeth Strangman’s
nursery in Hawkhurst, Kent, which
unfortunately closed in 1999.
Where to buy them
There are now many nurseries
supplying epimediums which include
Edrom Nurseries edrom-nurseries.co.uk,
Burncoose Nurseries burncoose.co.uk,
Hardy’s Cottage Garden plants
hardysplants.co.uk, Beth Chatto
bethchatto.co.uk and Dorset Perennials
dorsetperennials.co.uk.
Sue Whigham can be contacted on
07810 457948 for gardening advice
and help in the sourcing and supply of
interesting garden plants.
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