Epimedium sagittatum
Horny goat weed, Barrenwort
- Height × spread
- 0.15m × 0.3m
- Position
- Part shade
- Hardiness
- Colder than -20C (RHS H7)
- Flowers
- Spring
Availability
Please ask in store about availability
Many plants are seasonal. Call 01234 567890 to check current stock.
About this plant
An elegant barrenwort with the elusive charm of many of these, with tenuous flowers that elude the camera. This makes a clump of sheeny leaves, oblong and tapering to a point with finely toothed edges. It is evergreen and should be cut back as the new leaves appear. The flowers appear soon after the young foliage, in March and April. They are held on large sprays made up of finest stems and tiny pendulous pale yellow flowers, a delight. It is a medicinal herb and a component in Chinese 'spring wine'. It is used to treat breathing and arthritic conditions as well as forgetfulness and even blood pressure. It is also considered to have aphrodisiac qualities. Excessive doses have negative side-effects that include vomiting and nosebleed.
- Flower colour
- White
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Spring foliage
- Red-copper
- Variegated
- No
- Scent
- No
- Shape
- Dome
- Height
- 0.15m
- Spread
- 0.3m
- Season of interest
- Spring
- Flowers in
- Spring
- Evergreen
- Evergreen
- Garden style
- Small scale garden, Shady court, Herb garden
- Sun or shade
- Likes part shade, likes light shade, tolerates dense shade
- Soil type
- Loam (normal)
- Soil pH
- All types
- Drainage
- Moisture retentive soil, Damp and wet soil, Well drained soil, Dry and shady soil
- Hardiness
- Colder than -20C (RHS H7)
- Borders & containers
- Borders
- Use for
- Ground cover, Rabbit resistant, Bee attraction
- Walls
- East, North facing
- Deer
- May be nibbled by deer
- Maintenance
- Easycare – low/no maintenance
- Hazards
- No
AutumnNow
Autumn · Planting
Remove offsets to create new plants
Offsets are small plants or shoots that develop around the parent plant. They should have developed a root system of their own before they are detached. They can be planted directly, or grown in pots if so small they could be 'lost' in the garden.
Spring
Spring - late · Outdoors
Feed with slow release fertiliser
Apply a general purpose slow release fertiliser, spreading it around the root area of the plant as it is coming into growth. (Or apply a liquid feed at regular intervals throughout the growing season.)
This is a simple way to provide a nutrient boost as a single annual procedure.
Spring-Autumn · Outdoors
Water to keep the soil moist
For best results, this plant needs soil that is always moist. Water deeply and regularly as soon as soil appears dry. Even for established plants in the ground, a dry week can cause problems with some soils. Check plants in pots more often, especially in hot weather. Or install an automatic irrigation system which will do the hard work for you, even when you are away on holiday.
Without regular watering some plants never fully regain their beauty.
Found in
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