Epimedium Lishihchenii
November 15th, 2009
Epimedium lishihchenii is amazingly evergreen here in the little icebowl we call Iowa. Its leaves are shiny and leathery, with strong, wiry stems. It was just discovered in 1996 in China, and has large, spidery yellow flowers in spring. However it’s early winter we’re concerned about here, when this plant’s foliage (after ten above zero at night) looks like it just stepped off the boat from China… most remarkable. If January is terribly cold, this epimedium may lose most of its leaves before spring, but in milder winters it comes through to spring almost unscathed. At the least, it provides foliage interest (and hope) until after Christmas.
