Ванкуверия

Family: barberry. Grows in shady, moist ravines of northern California, where beneath the canopy of sequoias and other conifers it forms dense carpets on rocks.

From thin, surface-running rhizomes numerous leaves sprout in spring. Graceful, pale green, 15 cm tall, they are the main ornament of ванкуверии. Unlike the very similar barrenwort (эпимедиума) the leaves of ванкуверии in gardens never overwinter, dying back at the first frosts. Interestingly, in the wild they sometimes do overwinter. In June, above the cover of leaves delicate, sparse racemes of snow-white nodding flowers rise. At that time the cover reaches 25–30 cm in height.

Location: should be chosen according to its natural preferences. Under the canopy of trees, on moderately moist forest soils it spreads very actively. In the temperate zone ванкуверия does not suffer from winter cold, is not damaged by diseases and pests and, oddly enough, tolerates summer droughts well, only spreading less vigorously when moisture is lacking.

Propagation: in the garden ванкуверия does not set seeds. It is propagated in early spring and at the end of summer by sections of rhizome with a renewal bud. They are placed in a shallow trench (5–6 cm) at intervals of 8–10 cm and covered with loose, slightly acidic forest soil. The distance between trenches is 10–20 cm.