Anemone Ground Cover

These easy to grow plants never fail to delight, when much of the garden is past its best Anemones open into a succession of saucer shaped blooms from July until October.

Anemone are many and varied species of pretty, flowering plants from the family Ranunculaceae and are native to temperate zones.

The name is of Greek origin meaning daughter of the wind hence the name wind flowers, and the plant is said to have been created by the goddess Venus when she sprinkled nectar on the blood of Adonis her dead lover, or by her falling tears as she wept over his grave. In Europe peasants carried them to ward off bad luck as well as pests and diseases, and similarly in Chinese culture it is a symbol of bad luck to many people and means bad tidings.

They are an easy to grow perennial plant which never fails to delight since when much of the garden is past its best Anemones open into a succession of saucer shaped blooms in varying shades of pink, white and yellow from August until October, held on strong and wiry stems which don’t have to be staked.

As a rough guide planting Anemone as ground cover – 4 plants per square metre is adequate with a little patience, 6 will give better coverage and 9-12 will make a weed supressing carpet very quickly.

They are often used as a ground cover plant in awkward areas, the Honorine Jobert growing the tallest at 120cm, with the most delicate yellow centred white flowers, followed by September Charm at 90cm and yellow centred pink flowers then Prince Heinrich at 75cm with the prettiest darker pink semi-double flowers. The sight of a sea of colourful flowers bobbing in the wind is particularly soothing and negates any thoughts of bad luck!

Anemones prefer if possible to be grown in any reasonable well-drained soil in full sun although they will tolerate a certain amount of shade. One of the later flowering plants, the blooms appear from about mid-summer through to autumn as many other flowers are fading and it is advisable to cut down old stems after flowering, this will generally extend the flowering period encouraging more blooms to grow. For ground cover we would recommend anywhere between 4-12 plants per square metre depending on budget and patience.

As Anemones are pot grown then they may be planted at any time of year when the weather is amenable and time is available.

If you should have any questions with reference to Anemones of any of the varieties ring one of our team and we will be happy to help.

How to grow Anemone
Position: Full sun, partial shade
Foliage: Hardy perennial, growth dies down in winter and fresh new growth emerges in spring.
Soil and site: Any well drained soil.

Flowering time:  Japanese types August-October. Leveillei and Sylvestris – Spring

Growth rate: Moderate
Ultimate height and spread: up to 120cm x 120cm

Hardiness:  Fully Hardy
Aftercare: Water regularly after planting and through the first season until established. Cut to ground level in Early Spring. The plants appreciate a generous mulch in Spring which is also the best time to lift and divide congested colonies.