Anemone
September 4th, 2023 | Plant Talk with Graham Rice | Comments Off on Anemone
Caption: Plant your anemone tubers in the autumn, as soon as you receive them.
Once a month, we take a look back to the way gardeners did things long ago. And this month I found an interesting piece that appeared in the issue of Gardening World magazine for 8 September 1906. The subject is planting the bulbs of that sparkling Mediterranean flower Anemone coronaria. The odd thing is this.
As I say, Anemone coronaria grows wild in the Mediterranean where the winters are mild and wet and the summers are hot and dry. These anemones start to sprout from their small black tubers as rain dampens the soil in autumn. They then grow through the winter, flower in spring and fade away and spend the hot dry summer dormant.
So the obvious thing for gardeners to do is the same: plant now for flowering in spring. But when I first got into gardening, before I knew any better, we planted them in the spring. I’ve just checked and my copy of the Reader’s Digest New Gardening Year recommends planting in March.
Gardening World magazine has other ideas. “They should be planted immediately,” we’re told in that 8 September edition. “it is not yet too late, however, although the roots should be in the ground as soon as possible…. These anemones like a cool, deep and rather moist soil,” we’re advised,” and the plant succeeds best in the open, fully exposed to direct sunshine.”
Gardening World magazine then goes on to suggest preparing by trenching or double digging and by adding compost to clay soil. That, I would say, is a complete waste of time. Any good garden soil that is fairly well drained will be fine. I planted a row about five years ago, and I’ve never dug them up. They still flower well every year – helped, I’m sure, by a couple of doses of liquid tomato feed in spring.
So, please do as Gardening World suggests. Order your anemones now, plant them as soon as you receive them, feed them in the spring, and enjoy them in early summer and for years to come.