- Plant wood anemone correctly
- care tips
- Which location is suitable?
- The right planting distance
- What soil does the plant need?
- What is the best planting time?
- When is flowering time?
- Cut the wood anemone correctly
- Water the wood anemone
- Fertilize wood anemones properly
- Diseases
- hibernate
- Breeding wood anemones
- Is wood anemone poisonous?
- Is the wood anemone under protection?
- What identification features does the profile contain?
- trivia
- The most beautiful varieties
The wood anemone belongs to the ranks of spring bloomers. From March it covers the bed with filigree bowl-shaped flowers, which unite over time to form dense carpets. Find out here how the Anemone nemorosa heralds spring in your garden.
The wood anemone likes it sunny in spring and shady in summer
Table of Contents
Show all- Plant wood anemone correctly
- care tips
- Which location is suitable?
- The right planting distance
- What soil does the plant need?
- What is the best planting time?
- When is flowering time?
- Cut the wood anemone correctly
- Water the wood anemone
- Fertilize wood anemones properly
- Diseases
- hibernate
- Breeding wood anemones
- Is wood anemone poisonous?
- Is the wood anemone under protection?
- What identification features does the profile contain?
- trivia
- The most beautiful varieties
- Soak the bulbs in water overnight
- In a semi-shady location, dig small hollows at a distance of 15-20 cm
- Plant 1 rhizome at a time, 5-6 cm deep
- The layer of soil above a nodule is twice its height
- In spring keep the soil constantly moist
- Keep slightly drier during summer
- Fertilize once each time in March and April
- Mulch with nettles, comfrey or compost
- Trimming away faded blooms will prolong the flowering period
- Humus and loose, like fresh forest soil
- Nutritious
- Fresh, moist and well drained
- Neutral to minimally calcareous
- Clean out faded flowers
- Combine early flowering varieties with later appearing varieties
- In spring keep the soil constantly moist without causing waterlogging
- After the flowering period, water the wood anemone when it is dry in summer
- Administer a dose of commercially available liquid fertilizer in March and April each year
- Optionally fertilize with plant manure made from nettles and comfrey
- Additionally mulch with compost and nettle leaves
- Cut off infected leaves and dispose of with household waste
- Treat the plant with Universal fungus-free from Bayer Garten or Compo
- Cover the planting site with leaves, straw or brushwood before the first frost
- Do not use foil due to possible rotting from condensation
- Division of the rhizomes in spring or autumn
- Cut cuttings during flowering, place in lean substrate and allow to root
- Cut off root cuttings in autumn, plant flat in the ground with winter protection
- Herbaceous spring green flower
- White cup-shaped flowers with 6-8 bracts, arranged in 2 whorls
- Deep green bracts arranged in whorls in the upper third of the stem
- Growth height from 10 to 25 centimeters
- Flowering period from late February/early March to late April/early May
- Up to 30 centimeters long rhizomes as outlasting organs
- Fully hardy and deciduous
- Toxic in all parts
- Alba plena: the variety enchants with densely filled, snow-white flowers in April and May
- Rosea: sends graceful spring greetings with soft pink flowers from the end of March
- Robinsoniana: a large-flowered anemone nemorosa with lavender blue blooms in spring
- Bracteata Pleniflora: the elegant selection surprises with lime green bordered white flowers
- Vestal: white anemone nemorosa with a distinctive double flower shape and later flowering from April
- Buckland: the delicate blue petals shimmer pink and violet in the sunshine
- Lychette: the vigorous wood anemone scores with the largest flowers of its kind in pure white
Plant wood anemone correctly
As summer draws to a close, it's time to plant spring flowering bulbs. If the Anemone nemorosa is planted in the ground now, nothing stands in the way of early flowering next year. In August and September, the soil temperature is perfect for the tubers to quickly establish themselves in the bed. Follow these steps:
Press the soil firmly with your hands and then water it with the watering can sprayer. If the soil quality does not meet the ideal criteria, add soil additives beforehand. Loamy soil is enriched with sand and compost. If the substrate contains too much sand, add bark humus or horse manure.
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care tips
In a partially shaded location with substrate of forest soil quality, the Anemone nemorosa only occasionally requires horticultural attention. How to properly care for the wood anemone:
The autumn foliage serves as a natural protection against permanent winter wet and releases valuable nutrients as a result of decomposition. The wood anemone does not receive a pruning in the actual sense. If there are still parts of the plant on the rhizome in late winter, they can be cut off for aesthetic reasons. Please keep the poison content in mind during all maintenance work and wear protective gloves.
Which location is suitable?
The wood anemone loves a location with sun in spring and shade in summer. Anemone nemorosa finds these ideal conditions at the foot of deciduous trees and shrubs. In spring, these are still without their foliage, so that light and rainwater can reach the flowers. In the summertime, the leaf canopy protects the drawn-in plants from the harmful effects of the weather.
A frequently occurring fungal pathogen prohibits the close proximity of wood anemones to deciduous plants of the genus Prunus. The Anemone nemorosa serves as an intermediate host for the spores before they attack plum, apricot or cherry trees in summer.
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The right planting distance
Put the anemone nemorosa at a distance of 15-20 cm. To green a larger area with wood anemones, plant 25 specimens per square meter.
What soil does the plant need?
Anemone nemorosa will tirelessly thrive in the garden for many years if the roots are allowed to spread in this soil:
What is the best planting time?
Plant the bulbs of wood anemone in the sun-warmed soil during the months of August and September. At this time, the Anemone nemorosa finds ideal conditions for rapid spreading of its rhizomes and fine roots. If you miss the deadline, you can buy young plants from the garden center in spring to plant them from March.
When is flowering time?
Anemone nemorosa usually blooms from March to April. With the help of the following two tricks you can have a lengthening effect on this period:
Cut the wood anemone correctly
On two occasions, an anemone nemorosa's desire for undisturbed growth is subordinated to the requirements of care. If you cut off withered flower heads, this measure will prolong the flowering period. In addition, the scissors are used to cut off all remaining plant parts close to the ground in late winter. Until then, you should give the rhizomes time to assimilate the remaining nutrients and use them to create energy reserves for the next season.
Water the wood anemone
During the growth and flowering period, the water requirement is at a higher level than during the summer. How to water the anemone nemorosa appropriately:
If there is a pond in the garden, you can use the nutrient-rich water for watering and you can save on fertilizer.
Fertilize wood anemones properly
Wood anemones react harshly to any disturbance. Therefore, do not bother the spring flower with compost to work it into the upper layer of soil as fertilizer. A liquid organic or mineral-organic fertilizer covers the nutrient requirements without attacking an anemone nemorosa with a rake. How to do it right:
In addition, leave the autumn leaves in the bed as additional humus and natural winter protection.
Diseases
The poison content protects the anemone nemorosa like a protective shield against a number of plant diseases that can be rampant in ornamental and kitchen gardens. The pathogens of the rust fungus Puccinales care little about the toxicity, because this disease can afflict the wood anemone. The first symptoms are yellow, mosaic-like spots on the upper side of the leaves. Since rust fungi act as parasites, they do not form any fruiting bodies. Instead, they deprive the wood anemone of its vitality before the spores switch hosts to stone fruit plants in summer. How to fight the disease and prevent it effectively:
Repeated spraying with horsetail broth from March onwards and potassium-rich organic fertilization with comfrey manure have a preventive effect. Above all, however, when choosing a location, a neighborhood with stone fruit trees should be avoided, as these serve as alternating hosts for the pathogens.
hibernate
An anemone nemorosa prepares for winter by completely withdrawing the above-ground parts of the plant. Leaves and stems would not survive frosty temperatures anyway due to their water content. The rhizome, on the other hand, is sufficiently protected in the ground and acts as a hibernation organ. A well-established wood anemone therefore does not require any explicit protective measures. Only freshly planted perennials protect you from winter damage:
In subsequent years, leave the autumn leaves of neighboring trees in the bed as a natural protection against frost and snow.
Breeding wood anemones
The wood anemone takes care of the further spread in the bed by stretching out the rhizomes from year to year. If you wish to green more beds with the distinctive spring bloomer, the Anemone nemorosa has the following propagation methods on offer:
If you have a wealth of experience as a hobby gardener, sowing complements this list. If you are familiar with the process of stratifying lime buckets and have a lot of patience, sow the seeds behind glass. Direct sowing in the bed is theoretically possible from February, but is rarely crowned with success.
Is wood anemone poisonous?
Unfortunately, the elfin flower hides a poisonous secret. Toxins typical of all buttercup plants flow through the plant pathways of an anemone nemorosa. A common living environment of wood anemones and children or pets is therefore not recommended. Planting and care work should only be done with protective gloves.
Is the wood anemone under protection?
If the hiker encounters the graceful wood anemone in the spring forest, the temptation to pick the delicate flower creature is great. You should better resist this wish, because the Anemone nemorosa is a protected species. Collecting and digging up is punishable by heavy fines in Germany.
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What identification features does the profile contain?
Are you toying with the idea of cultivating the wood anemone in your own green realm? Then the following profile contains interesting attributes that serve as a useful decision-making aid:
The small, dark-colored tubers are typical of the Anemone nemorosa. From these, a rhizome up to 30 centimeters long with root sprouts and runners develops in the course of growth.
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trivia
A wood anemone does not like to watch the tragedy of a gloomy spring day. When it rains, the anemone nemorosa simply closes the flowers and tilts its head towards the ground. When the sun blinks out from behind the clouds, the flower straightens up and opens its petals.