Epimediums: What your shade garden is missing

摘要

Epimediums have the power to bring me to my knees in early spring. I will gladly muddy my jeans for a glimpseof their slender stems rising through the leaf litter. I am not the first to be captivated by these charismatic plants. They have been cultivated in Asia for centuries, primarily for medicinal purposes, but many old Japanese varieties were, and still are, grown for their sheer beauty.In the wild, epimediums [Epimedium spp. and cvs.) are found in habitats ranging from mostly sunny to deeply shaded, and in soils that range from moist to dry. The lion's share are found on wooded hillsides, sometimes under shrubs, or in the cracks and crevices of rocky slopes. In recent decades, plant explorers have discovered and named many new species, and have selected and hybridized hundreds of new cultivars.Amid this dizzying array of choices, there are a few widely available cultivars that are valued as ground covers for dry shade. Once established, these beauties endure dry spells while their neighbors wilt, with robust woody root systems that keep weedsand invaders at bay.