Epimedium 'Enchantress'
barrenwort 'Enchantress'
'Enchantress' is a clump-forming rhizomatous perennial 25-30cm high, evergreen, ternate leaves with narrowly heart-shaped, spiny-edged leaflets which emerge marbled and splashed dark bronze-red in spring and mature to bright green with red veins, and flowers of lavender-grey sepals, pale pink-lilac petals with white spurs and mouths edged with purple, and prominent yellow stamens, in spring; Epimedium leaves may be used for their nests by leaf-cutting bees
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Size
Ultimate height
0.1–0.5 metresTime to ultimate height
2–5 yearsUltimate spread
0.1–0.5 metresGrowing conditions
Moisture
Moist but well–drainedpH
Acid, Alkaline, NeutralColour & scent
| Stem | Flower | Foliage | Fruit | |
| Spring | Purple Pink White | Bronze Red Green | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer | Green | |||
| Autumn | Green | |||
| Winter | Green |
Position
- Partial shade
Aspect
South–facing or West–facing or East–facing or North–facing
Exposure
Sheltered Hardiness
H6Botanical details
- Family
- Berberidaceae
- Native to the UK
- No
- Foliage
- Evergreen
- Habit
- Clump forming
- Genus
Epimedium are rhizomatous perennials with evergreen or deciduous, ternately or pinnately divided leaves, and open sprays of small, bowl-shaped flowers, often with prominent spurs, in mid to late spring
- Name status
Accepted
How to grow
Cultivation
Grow in fertile, humus-rich, moist but well-drained soil in partial shade, with shelter from cold, drying winds; where frosts are prolonged or severe, spread an organic mulch such as leaf mould or composted bark to protect plants over winter
Propagation
Propagate by division in autumn or after flowering; or by root cuttings of rhizomes, kept under glass in winter, and planted out after all danger of frost has passed
Suggested planting locations and garden types
- City and courtyard gardens
- Cottage and informal garden
- Low Maintenance
- Garden edging
- Underplanting of roses and shrubs
- Banks and slopes
- Flower borders and beds
- Ground cover
Pruning
No pruning required, but cutting back in late winter or early spring, before flower spikes form, will improve appearance
Pests
May be susceptible to vine weevil
Diseases
May be affected by mosaic virus diseases and fungal leaf spots
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