Epimedium Sulfureum - Ask Extension
I'm looking for a showy ground cover to grow under a large maple tree around the bulbs already planted there (lilies) to fill in all the areas of dirt...
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Epimedium Sulfureum #873816
Asked June 19, 2024, 4:11 PM EDT
I'm looking for a showy ground cover to grow under a large maple tree around the bulbs already planted there (lilies) to fill in all the areas of dirt. I've had terrible luck with Jonny jump ups, anstilbe and bleeding heart and am now looking for a ground cover that won't be full time chore controlling. Will Epimedium 'Sulfureum' grow here? Other recommendations are welcome. I'm afraid of dead nettle seeing as mint takes over everything.
Jefferson County Colorado
Expert Response
Hello, and thank you for contacting us. We apologize for the delay - this is a busy time for garden questions!
This looks like a lovely plant, however my guess is that - like astilbe and bleeding hearts - it prefers the organically rich soils of the midwest and the south. There were not CSU references to the plant that I could find, but the Denver Botanic Gardens apparently has specimens of this plant:
https://navigate.botanicgardens.org/weboi/oecgi2.exe/INET_ECM_DispPl?NAMENUM=4193&startpage=1. Echters in Arvada also mentions it on their website.
Here is a Fact Sheet from North Carolina State extension that describes the growing conditions:
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/epimedium-x-versicolor-sulphureum/#:~:text=Preference%20is%20for%20light%20to,established%20and%20spreads%20by%20rhizomes.
Finally, here is a link to Front Range Wild Ones - a U.S. organization that promotes native plants in Colorado and other states. It might give you additional ideas for potential plants: https://frontrange.wildones.org/colorado-native-plants-in-the-shade/
My personal philosophy is that all gardening is an experiment - sometimes you get lucky and sometimes not but you always learn something - and hopefully have fun - in the process. It makes me feel a tiny bit better about the plants I've killed. :o)
Good luck, and please let us know if you have further questions.
Jeffco Volunteer Diagnostician Annette
This looks like a lovely plant, however my guess is that - like astilbe and bleeding hearts - it prefers the organically rich soils of the midwest and the south. There were not CSU references to the plant that I could find, but the Denver Botanic Gardens apparently has specimens of this plant:
https://navigate.botanicgardens.org/weboi/oecgi2.exe/INET_ECM_DispPl?NAMENUM=4193&startpage=1. Echters in Arvada also mentions it on their website.
Here is a Fact Sheet from North Carolina State extension that describes the growing conditions:
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/epimedium-x-versicolor-sulphureum/#:~:text=Preference%20is%20for%20light%20to,established%20and%20spreads%20by%20rhizomes.
Finally, here is a link to Front Range Wild Ones - a U.S. organization that promotes native plants in Colorado and other states. It might give you additional ideas for potential plants: https://frontrange.wildones.org/colorado-native-plants-in-the-shade/
My personal philosophy is that all gardening is an experiment - sometimes you get lucky and sometimes not but you always learn something - and hopefully have fun - in the process. It makes me feel a tiny bit better about the plants I've killed. :o)
Good luck, and please let us know if you have further questions.
Jeffco Volunteer Diagnostician Annette
