Epimedium grandiflorum ‘Crimson Queen’

Barrenwort Berberidaceae

A rather grand name for a plant that remains pleasingly modest in size. Epimedium grandiflorum ‘Crimson Queen’ is an old Japanese selection, now generally regarded as a synonym of ‘Yubae’, one of those cultivars that has accumulated rather more names than it really needs—including ‘Rose Queen’, ‘Crimson Beauty’ and ‘Red Beauty’. The RHS currently lists ‘Crimson Queen’ as a synonym of ‘Rose Queen’. 

The attraction is obvious: large, deep rosy-red to crimson flowers with long, white-tipped spurs, held in airy sprays above handsome foliage. New leaves emerge coppery-bronze before maturing green, providing an excellent spring foil for the flowers. Deciduous and clump-forming, it slowly makes a useful colony in woodland conditions.

A superb choice for humus-rich soil in partial shade, becoming surprisingly tolerant of dry shade once established. And while ‘Crimson Queen’ sounds rather imperious, it is actually a very obliging woodland plant.

Height: 25–30cm | Spread: 40–60cm
Flowering: April–May | Foliage: Deciduous
Hardiness: H6 (-20 to -15°C)