How to Grow a Yin Yang Huo Plant

Mix soil and cow manure compost in a 2 1/2-quart mixing bowl. Your soil mixture will be one part cow manure to 10 parts fortified soil. Cover the mixture and leave it to set overnight. The following day, pour 1/2 cup of water into the soil composition. Mix thoroughly, wetting all the soil evenly.

Pour 2 cups of woody plant medium into your terra cotta pot. Disperse evenly across the bottom the container. Add fortified soil mixture, sprinkling a few pieces of woody plant medium for every 3 inches of soil. Dispersing the woody plant medium throughout the soil should use up about 1 cup of your remaining wood medium.

Separate your epimedium seeds into groups of four seeds. Using four seeds increases your chance of propagating a strong, hardy plant. If you are using rhizomes, use them individually. Use your finger in make a 1-inch hole in the soil. Insert into the hole one group of four seeds. Repeat this process in five or six more holes across the soil surface. If you are using rhizomes make a 1-inch hole to accommodate the rhizome base. Cover the rhizome base with soil. Cover the area around the plants with the remaining wood medium.

Leave your potted plant in an area that gets partial sun, preferably in the morning. Within one or two weeks you should begin to see tiny shoots breaking through the soil. Allow these shoots to grow for a few more weeks, making it clear which of the small plants are the hardiest. Remove all but four or five of the largest plants. Water twice weekly, allowing the soil to become almost dry in between. Once your plants are about 5 inches tall, cut watering down to once a week. Once your plants are established water them sparingly, allowing the soil to remain dry for weeks at a time.