Epimedium 'Red Maximum'
"Barrenwort"
Orders placed until 29 February 2025
You can expect your order in February/March 2025
Orders placed 1 March - 15 April 2025
You can expect your order in March/April 2025
Orders placed 16 April - 15 May 2025
You can expect your order within 10 business days
UK orders over £50
Free shipping
UK orders under £50
£4.99
Northern Ireland orders under £50
£5.99
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Description
Introduce a little elfin magic to woodland plantings, glades or other shady spots with Epimedium 'Red Maximum'. You wouldn’t think something so pretty and delicate could be so tough, but this award-winning red barrenwort ticks both boxes! It provides fantastic interest through the seasons in difficult shady or semi-shady areas. In early spring, red and bronze flushed leaves with interesting spiny-toothed edges emerge, adding some warm colour. Following that, delicate sprays of wine-red flowers with creamy spurs are borne in profusion on wiry stems, hovering in a fairy-like fashion about the foliage (no surprise Epimedium is also called fairy wings). In summer, thislow-growing, gradually spreading perennial continues to quietly perform its useful groundcover role, before the leaves turn reddish again in autumn, chiming well with the season. It even remains semi-evergreen through winter.
Epimedium 'Red Maximum' provides a great answer to the vexed question of what to plant in shady, problematic, uninteresting areas, such as under trees, or beneath the shade of large shrubs. Once it’s settled in, it will virtually take care of itself, slowly spreading over time to fill the gap with lush foliage. It can add a much-needed delicate and arty touch to dark corners or narrow, shady borders where most other plants struggle .Although Epimedium 'Red Maximum' is a very resilient plant which tolerates tough conditions, it will need something more gentle to get it started before it heads into challenging conditions. We recommend the bare roots are started in temporary pots and gown on for a few months, until they have formed a stronger root system, before planting into the ground. Once it’s all settled in, Epimedium 'Red Maximum' creates lovely textured groundcover which is effective at supressing weeds. Happy in moist but free-draining soil, it will tolerate dry shade once it’s established, so keep it watered in the first year.
Almost effortless, resilient and low-maintenance as well as very pretty, it’s no wonder this incredibly useful plant has an Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).
Key features
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Comes back every year
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Loved by pollinators
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Great for shade
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In peat-free compost
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Low maintenance
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RHS Award (AGM)
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Fully hardy
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Rodent resistant
Specs & details
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Botanical name
Epimedium 'Red Maximum'
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Flower colour
Red
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Plant size
1
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Established height
20-30cm
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Established spread
20-30cm
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Plant spacing
10 plants per m2
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Leaf colour
Green
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Habit
Upright
Spreading -
Life cycle
Perennial
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Hardiness
Fully hardy
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Years to establish
1-2 years
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Sunlight
Dappled shade
Partial shade -
Position
Sheltered
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Suitable for
Large containers
Borders
Ground cover
Woodland gardens
Cottage gardens
Low maintenance gardens -
Soil acidity
Any
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Soil moisture
Free draining
Damp -
Soil type
Loam
Sandy
Multipurpose compost
Loam-based compost -
RHS Award (AGM)
Yes
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Growing skill
Easy to grow
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Scented
No
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Pollinator-friendly
No
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Mouse resistant
Yes
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Rabbit resistant
Yes
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Deer resistant
Yes
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Toxicity
No report
Plant calendar
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | July | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
- Planting
- Flowering
Useful information
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Soak the Epimedium 'Red Maximum' roots in water for 3-6 hours prior to planting
Plant your "Barrenwort" bare roots into temporary pots with a multipurpose compost in spring and grow-on in a sheltered spot outdoors
Choose a pot which comfortably fits the bare roots. Some have a noticeable crown which should be just below the soil surface with any top growth exposed. Some varieties are a length of root which should be planted lengthways and shallowly (1-2cm deep).
Plant out into borders or permanent containers in late spring or early summer once in full growth. Choose a position in sun or shade depending on the variety.
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Orders placed until 29 February 2025
You can expect your order in February/March 2025Orders placed 1 March - 15 April 2025
You can expect your order in March/April 2025Orders placed 16 April - 15 May 2025
You can expect your order within 10 business days
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