Garden Anemone (Anemone coronaria) Growing & Care Guide for Gardeners
Article by Dean Ravenscroft, Ph.D. - Updated 31st Jan 2024
- Plant Characteristics: Noted for its vibrant, poppy-like flowers available in a variety of colors including red, blue, white, and pink. This perennial's bold blooms and fern-like foliage make it a standout in any garden.
- Growing & Care: Best in well-drained soil and full sun. To encourage blooming, provide consistent moisture during the growing season. It's a bit more demanding in care but rewards with striking blooms.
- Tips for New Gardeners: Suitable for those with some gardening experience, as it requires attention to watering and soil conditions. Consider planting in groups for a dramatic display. They are not overly susceptible to pests, but watch out for overly wet conditions to avoid root rot.
Anemone coronaria, commonly called Windflowers or Garden anemone, belong to the Ranunculaceae (buttercup plant) family. Other names include Spanish marigolds and Lilies of the field.
These tuberous perennials are showy, displaying six to eight velvety sepals and a black center atop 10 to 12-inch (25 to 30 cm) stems, they are poppy-like in appearance and, indeed, are sometimes also referred to as poppy anemones.
Plants spread can range from about four to 20 inches (10 to 50 cm), and plants usually reach their full height within two to four years.
Anemone coronaria photograph by chipmunk_1.
Gardeners choose to grow Anemones for their vivid reds, blues, purples, pinks and whites that look equally beautiful when dispersed openly in fields and along stone walls, or as border plants in beds and rock gardens.
They are especially lovely when sharing space with tulips, daffodils, and other spring flowers.
Anemone coronaria can also be grown in containers for a dazzling display on outdoor decks and patios.
When used as a cut flower, this ornamental is a darling of florist shops.
Gardener's HQ Guide to Growing Garden Anemone
Anemone coronaria plants thrive in USDA hardiness zones 7 to 10 (UK Hardy), preferring full sun to partial shade and rich, moist, well-drained soils.
In warmer climates, the underground plant stems or corms can be planted outdoors in October or November, but because they don't winter well, northern or colder climate areas should hold off planting until the spring.
Alternately, they can be started in pots in colder climates but initially kept inside in cool areas free of frost.
Although technically a perennial, many gardeners find that digging up the corms in late fall to replant in the spring is not always successful, and it is simpler to treat them as annuals and purchase new corms each year for planting.
Whether planting outdoors or in containers, place Anemone coronaria corms claws up, four to six inches (10 to 15 cm) apart and two to three inches (5 to 8 cm) deep.
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Anemone coronaria Growing and Care Guide
- Scientific Name: Anemone coronaria.
- Common Name: Garden anemone.
- Growing Zone: USA: 8 to 11; UK Hardiness Zone H5 (hardy to -15°C / 5°F).
- Life Cycle / Plant Type: Perennial.
Plant Details
- Plant Height (Inches): 12 to 18.
- Plant Spread (Inches): 3 to 6.
- Time of Bloom: Spring.
- Flower Details: Blue, Pink, Purple, Red, White.
- Leaf Foliage: Green.
- Fruit:
- Growth Form: Upright / erect.
Ideal Growing Conditions
- Best Light Conditions: Partially shady to full sunlight.
- Rate of Growth: Grows slowly.
- Suitable Soil Types: Loamy, Neutral, Well drained.
- Soil Moisture: Moist.
Caring Conditions
- Care:
- Level of Maintenance: Low.
- Propagation: Seed, sowing them in containers in a cold frame when ripe or separate tubers in summer when dormant.
- How to Prune: Not usually required.
- Pests: Susceptible to leaf and bud eelworms and damage from slugs.
- Diseases: May be infected by powdery mildews.
Further Information
- Can Attract: Birds, bees, butterflies, and very hungry deer.
- Tolerant of: Deer, Black Walnut.
- Best Garden Use: Border, Container, En masse, Rock garden, Seashore, Specimen.
- Family: Ranunculaceae.
- Closely Related Species: Aconitum, Adonis, Clematis, Consolida, Eranthis, Helleborus, Nigella, Ranunculus, and Trollius.
- Miscellaneous: Attractive foliage, Non-native to North America, Some parts are poisonous, Attracts butterflies, Suitable for cut flowers, Suitable for dried flowers, Attractive flowers / blooms.
- Genus Detail: Anemone. Other members of this genus covered by the Gardener's HQ site include Winter Windflower, Japanese anemone, and Snowdrop Anemone.
- Further Reading and References: RHS Anemone coronaria.
I hope that you enjoyed this guide on how to grow Anemone Coronaria. You may also enjoy the following Gardener's HQ growing guides: How to grow Trollius and Pulsatilla plants.
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