Growing Wood Anemones: Tips at a Glance
Tiny wood anemone flowers brighten dark corners with their twinkling white, pale blue, or pink flowers in spring and will thrive in USDA growing zones 3 to 8 in dappled shade and moist soil (they also will welcome a layer of rich leaf mold).
- Type Flowering tuber
- Lifespan Perennial
- USDA Zones 3-8
- Light Dappled sun
- Water Moist
- When to Plant Divide in late summer
- Design Tip Monoculture
- Peak Season Spring
- Companions Shrubs, cuckoo flower
Wood Anemones: A Field Guide
Our nickname for wood anemones is “gladed wildflower,” which pretty much says it all about this low-growing springtime bloomer which can brighten woodlands and shady, moist corners in your garden.
Anemone nemorosa is one among hundreds of Anemone species, a native European wildflower that grows in temperate zones and closely resembles its American cousin A. quinquefolia, native to the northeastern half of the United States.
Plant wood anemones in drifts (or allow them to spread on their own by rhizomes) beneath trees or at the base of shrubs. The best time to divide clumps is in late summer, when you can gently tease apart the tubers to replant—and, if they’re desiccated, soak them first. Autumn’s wetter weather will help them re-establish.