Epimedium Shiho - Barrenwort

Epimedium 'Shiho' is a new variety of Japanese Epimedium with large flowers that stands out for its compact habit, small, leathery foliage, and unusual flowering, which is dark purple with red highlights. Its flowers are smaller than those of the species and resemble tiny columbines. They bloom abundantly gathered in small clusters in spring, on a clump of foliage tinted with bronze-purple. Deciduous Epimediums bring life to the partially shaded areas of the garden like few other plants can. They live for many years in well-drained, fairly moist soil.

Belonging to the berberidaceae family, the 'Shiho' Epimedium is a recent horticultural achievement, characterized by its small size and small dark flowers. It is derived, among others, from Epimedium grandiflorum, a species native to northern China. It is a rhizomatous plant that establishes itself quite rapidly, forming a dense but lightweight cushion, 20-25 cm (8-10in) tall and spreading very little, occupying 25 cm (10in). It produces delicate small flowers, 1 to 2 cm (1in) big, in late spring (usually in May), which hang towards the ground and have an original shape, somewhat resembling columbines. They are composed of 4 petals with long spurs, perched on graceful and flexible stems. It is from this elegance and delicacy that it gets its name, "Fairy Flower". Its foliage is often deciduous (evergreen in mild climates) and composed of toothed leaflets that are bright green in summer, taking on a beautiful bronze-red in spring and at the end of the season.

Epimedium thrives in cool conditions and tolerates root competition from other plants, which allows it to be used to cover the base of trees and bushes in year-round wet regions, even in mountainous areas. It is hardy down to -15°C (5°F) and prefers humus-rich soils. The 'Shiho' Epimedium, delicately scattered in sparse clumps, is a useful plant for often neglected, shaded areas. It would be a shame to confine it to a utilitarian ground cover role: accompanied by Saxifraga fortunei, Hepatica nobilis, Ferns, Hostas, shade-loving perennial geraniums (nodosum and macrorrhizum), Foxgloves, Candelabra Primroses, and sweet woodruff, the Elf Flower will create a magnificent, light shade flowerbed.