Epimedium x warleyense 'Orangekönigin'

Barrenwort Berberidaceae

The Orange Queen—and unlike many monarchs, genuinely useful. Epimedium × warleyense ‘Orangekönigin’ is a German selection by the celebrated plantsman Ernst Pagels, derived from the sterile hybrid E. alpinum × E. pinnatum subsp. colchicum. The original hybrid arose spontaneously in Ellen Willmott’s garden at Warley Place, Essex; ‘Orangekönigin’ is the refined German sequel. 

An evergreen, clump-forming groundcover, it produces bronze-flushed young foliage followed in early spring by airy sprays of soft tangerine-orange flowers, the darker orange veining giving the sepals an almost hand-painted appearance. It is somewhat paler than the original E. × warleyense, but forms a denser, more compact clump, thanks to its shorter rhizomes.

Remarkably tolerant of dry shade, it is an excellent long-term groundcover beneath trees and shrubs, where its evergreen foliage provides useful structure long after the flowers have finished. A thoroughly dependable plant—and considerably less demanding than its royal title suggests.

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