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Search Results for ' Epimedium'

PAL Questions: 3 - Garden Tools: 1

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Keywords: Shade-tolerant plants, Epimedium

PAL Question:

Can you recommend some Epimedium species and tell me what kind of conditions they prefer?

View Answer:

The resources I consulted say that most Epimedium prefer part shade, and most are evergreen. Some will tolerate a partly sunny site as long as the soil does not dry out.

Epimedium perralderianum has bronze leaves that turn green and last throughout the year. It blooms in March/April. Epimedium x rubrum prefers shade, so if your site is partly sunny, this might not be the ideal choice.

Collectors Nursery in Battleground, WA, also carries several varieties.

One gardening website, Paghat's Garden, has especially good information. The site developer recommends in particular the following varieties:
Epimedium x versicolor 'Sulphureum', or Yellow Epimedium - for its evergreen foliage
Epimedium grandiflorum 'Lilafee' - for quite striking lavender flowers and evergreen foliage

Richie Steffen, curator of the Elisabeth C. Miller Garden, is the author of "The Ten Best Epimedium You Can Buy," published in the Northwest Horticultural Society newsletter, Spring 2011.

Season All Season
Date 2007-12-13
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Keywords: Brunnera, Stachys, Liriope, Epimedium, Lamium, Rock garden plants, Shade gardening, Ground cover plants, Geranium

PAL Question:

I've built low, 2 to 2.5 foot brick retaining walls running east to west in my backyard. The walls face north. I'm looking to plant in a narrow strip atop these walls some "spiller" plants which will enthusiastically droop over the walls despite their north-facing nature.

Ideally, I'd like mostly evergreen plants which would fill in fairly quickly, though I'm willing to plant a variety and carve out space for the slower growing plants as needed. There's great drainage since I have gravel reservoirs behind each wall, and the part of the plant above the wall will get part to full sun, though I could overplant them if necessary for a plant that couldn't handle full sun.

My biggest priorities are to have evergreen plants with interesting foliage and form. I'm really looking to soften the look of these grey brick walls, and so would prefer a furry look to a spiny one. Flowers and fragrance are less important though always nice, and I'm hoping to have at least 2 or 3 different plant types with different colored foliage (shades of green are fine).

View Answer:

Some of the plants that occur to me, based on the description of your site, are Brunnera macrophylla, Epimedium, Geranium phaeum, Stachys byzantina, Lamium maculatum, and Liriope. Of these, the Geranium and Lamium will trail somewhat, while the others are essentially upright.

These links offer lists of plants that may be appropriate to your site: From the University of Missouri Extension and Whatcom County Groundcovers.

You could also try entering your site requirements into the plant-finding and plant selection web pages below:

Great Plant Picks (a local site)

King County's native plant guide

Missouri Botanic Garden Plant Finder

Royal Horticultural Society Plant Selector

The Miller Library has many books on gardening in the shade, so you may wish to come in and do some research to help you in your plant selection. Here is a booklist that may be of interest.

Season All Season
Date 2007-05-21
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Keywords: Chionodoxa, Vancouveria hexandra, Tiarella, Pulmonaria, Galium, Brunnera, Vinca, Epimedium, Lamium, Platanus, Narcissus, Liliaceae, Geranium

PAL Question:

We have a very large beautiful sycamore in our back yard. My roommate thought it would be nice to build a flower garden around the base of the tree, but something tells me that doing so would be harmful to the tree's root system. Is this true? I would love to hear your thoughts.

View Answer:

I think it should be safe to plant shallow-rooted, shade- and drought-tolerant perennials and small bulbs under your sycamore (I'm assuming you mean Platanus species, and not sycamore maple, which is Acer pseudoplatanus). You just need to be careful not to pile soil on top of any exposed roots, and try not to scrape or scuff any roots when you are planting. This tree does have spreading roots so they may extend out some distance. More information about the tree can be found on the pages of the U.S. Forest Service.

Some of the plants which may work well in your garden are:

Brunnera macrophylla
Epimedium
Galium odoratum
Geranium phaeum
Lamium (but not the invasive Lamiastrum)
Pulmonaria
Tiarella
Vancouveria hexandra
Vinca minor
Chionodoxa
Narcissus
Scilla

Season All Season
Date 2007-06-16
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Keywords: Shade-tolerant plants, Shade gardening, Lindera, Epimedium, Cyclamen, Carex

Garden Tool: If you think a shady garden is a liability there is a good book that will change your mind. Gardening in the Shade (Horticulture Books, 2004) was compiled from articles that originally appeared in Horticulture Magazine. The book is divided into four sections: techniques, general design, plant for shade and step by step projects. Some of the plants suggested are Epimedium, sedge, Cyclamen and Japanese Spicebush (Lindera obtusiloba). Any one with cedar trees in their garden will want to read the essay by a local Northwest writer on coping with dry shade. Other resources for shade gardening include the classic book, The Complete Shade Gardener by George Schenk (Timber Press, 1984) and the web page created by University of Missouri Extension.

Season: All Season
Date: 2006-10-23
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April 19 2012 16:02:30

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