Anemone x hybrida — Japanese Anemone

Japanese anemones (Anemone x hybrida) flower with delicate charm and refinement in late summer into fall—a time when most other late-blooming perennials are declining and ready to enter winter dormancy. 

Japanese Anemone Habits

Plants are often slow to establish themselves in garden beds, but quickly form colonies unless roots are prevented from spreading.

• Plants have a graceful habit with erect and stately branching stems 1-5 ft. tall with lobed, slightly hairy, dark green leaves.
• Flowers are more or less saucer-shaped and vary from 2-4 in. in diameter, depending on the variety, with 6–15 tepals (identical petals and sepals that form the flower).
• Single, semi-double, and fully double flower forms range from frosty white through soft rosy pinks to dramatic deep rose; many are named cultivars.
• Anemones combine beautifully with other perennials in borders and perennial beds, and may also be used in front of large shrubs or under the canopy of trees.
• Plants are readily available in local nurseries during fall, the best time to plant.

Japanese Anemone Culture

Culture is simple, once you are willing to meet their few requirements.

• Japanese anemones thrive best in situations with morning light when slightly shaded from hot afternoon sun or in all day dappled shade. They can be planted in all but the hottest and driest areas of the garden.
• Soil should be deeply prepared with organic matter incorporated to assist drainage and add fertility, then covered with mulch to retain moisture.
• Plants need regular watering during the growing months. Good drainage is essential.
• Japanese anemones are very cold hardy, even in the chilliest parts of the county.
• The degree of dormancy will depend on your garden’s microclimate and the severity of winter. Anemones are very late in breaking through the ground in spring, often not showing renewed growth until late April.

Growing Cautions

The main caution is to manage their growth over time to prevent unwanted vigorous spreading.

• Tall-blooming varieties may require staking in midsummer prior to bloom, particularly if grown in excessive shade, which promotes legginess and causes tall stems to flop.
• Japanese anemones are one of the few perennial bloomers that thrives in part shade.
• Too much exposure in sun may dry out soil or promote excessive spread in mild microclimates.
• After plants die back in winter, remove spent foliage to the compost pile. To prevent unwanted growth from underground runners, thin clumps every 1-2 yrs.
• Setting plants 2 ft. apart initially allows for annual spreading.   

July 2023