The graceful but strong Japanese anemone will flower from late summer until late October bringing color and height into your garden. Grow them in a cottage garden or a border where they will fill the gaps left by faded summer flowers.
The flowers of the anemone are white or a dusky autumn pink, or even deep red, with golden yellow stamens. They rise on slender stems from dark green leaves and sway in the wind. In Greek anemone means “daughter of the wind”.
The term Japanese anemone is slightly misleading as anemones actually come from eastern China but were grown in Japanese gardens. Robert Fortune brought the anemone into Europe in 1844, having discovered it growing between tombstones in a Shanghai graveyard. In gardens today they can grow through stones, amidst artificial grass lawns and even paving.
The Japanese anemone will take a year or two to establish itself but then, if it is happy, it will romp away. It flourishes in both sun and light shade and likes slightly alkaline soil. Happy in damp but not waterlogged positions, it will also cope with dry conditions and doesn’t mind a heavy clay soil either. The great thing is that they will spread.
They can, in fact, take over large areas and may come back if you try to remove them. However, despite their tough qualities they can also be difficult to establish because they dislike being disturbed. It’s best to leave established plants alone but if you want to increase them, try dividing some clumps in autumn or, alternatively, lift the offshoots from the main plant in late spring and pot them up in plastic pots to keep the roots cool and plant them out in the summer. Another option is to take root cuttings in early winter by laying sections of root out flat on the ground and covering them with compost. Care for your anemones by cutting back the stalks after the flowers have faded, tidying up old dead leaves in March, then mulching well.
A. hupehensis ‘Hadspen Abundance’ is a beautiful variety and grows to 90cm (3ft) tall. It is very unusual because the flowers consist of two smaller dark pink petals and three slightly larger paler ones set against dark foliage. This two-tone effect gives the plant a shimmering effect.
Anemone hybrids ‘Pamina’ has a great impact on autumn displays with its large double, deep pink, cup-shaped flowers above clumps of pretty, dark green leaves. It is perfect for the middle of a shady border but will also grow in the sun. More compact and lower growing than other varieties, it is particularly suitable for small gardens.
Anemone x hybrida ‘Whirlwind’ is one of the most beautiful varieties. With clumps of large, dark, vine-like leaves and pure white semi-double flowers with yellow stamens, it continues to bloom into October and can usually withstand a light frost. As the plant appears late in the spring, it make a good cover for the dying foliage of spring bulbs. The eventual height and spread is120cms.
The elegant A. x hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’ has single white flowers with outstanding gold centers and again flowers from August to October. It is a fantastic plant for brightening up the garden in late summer.
Traditionally associated with Japanese gardens where they are grown against dark rocks or in the shade of trees the plants thrive well in partial shade or at the back of an herbaceous border.
Anemone hybrida ‘Serenade Pink’ also flowers from August into autumn or try ‘Queen Charlotte , a semi-double with large pink flowers, or ‘September Charm’.
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