Shade Gardening: Tell me all about your Epimediums, 1 by aspenhill

aspenhill wrote:
I have two epimediums that have done really well in my shade garden. Deer have been leaving them alone, which is always a bonus with the deer problem I have here. The first photo is either 'Rose Queen' or 'Lilafee' - I bought both at the same time and planted close together - one made it one didn't. I've tried comparing pictures from internet searches to my photo, but it is so hard to tell. My photo matches pictures of both, but then again most of 'Lilafee' are more lavender/purple and some of 'Rose Queen' are a much deeper pink. Aggravating when I can't id. Second photo is 'Niveum'. I've been wanting to get more of these, but rarely see them in the local nurseries.

General question about mail order plants: They are pretty small. A lot of mine don't make it, but I've always planted directly in the garden. As a general rule of thumb, do you keep them potted until they grow to a bigger size or do you plant them directly in the garden? Do you notice a better success rate with one way or the other?