If an Australian florist didn’t board a plane bound for the US in 2017, we wouldn’t be leaning on Chaos Theory in 2023 for naming a choice Epimedium hybrid…Let’s start from the beginning.

One of the benefits of doing our own propagation is that we can choose which plants not to grow, especially if in doing so we will be stepping on the toes of nursery friends. Such was the case with Epimedium—for many years we didn't offer any for sale in deference to Karen Perkins and Darrell Probst. But after an inspirational visit to the French breeder Thierry Delabroye in 2016,  we couldn’t help but play with seed behind the scenes, because no one we knew in the Sates was producing plants like his,  and he wasn't selling. 

At the time, the goal was to come close to the long wands of Thierry's plants with a sturdy, upright habit that made them suitable for garden use. Fast forward to a chance encounter with an Australian florist friend during the inaugural flowering of the first seedlings, which caused us to realize the potential for Epimedium as cut flowers and the opportunity to shift our goal post towards selecting for cut flower use. ‘Butterfly Effect’ was one of the earliest of the seedlings produced, and it meets both goals. 

It makes a splash as a cut flower given its large, 2” pale butter yellow flowers that delicately float like butterflies above the foliage, and flowering stems to 3’ are upright, which makes for a great a garden plant as well. It is evergreen, has strong, spreading rhizomes and is quick to bulk up in the garden or hightunnel with adequate moisture, especially in summer. We suspect from its parents that it’s hardy to at least Z6. Quart pot