Tuberous perennial
How to grow anemones
Anemone coronaria (spring) / A. × hybrida (autumn)
Garden anemones are two different plants. Spring anemones (Anemone coronaria) grow from small tubers soaked overnight and planted 5 cm deep in March to April, or in September to October in mild gardens and in pots under cover, in sun and well-drained soil. Japanese anemones (A. × hybrida) are tall hardy perennials planted in spring for flowers from August to October, in sun or light shade. The first needs drainage and some frost cover; the second needs room, because it spreads.
- Hardiness
- A. coronaria frost-hardy; A. × hybrida fully hardy
- Position
- Sun to light shade
- Soil
- Moist, free-draining, humus-rich
- Ideal pH
- 6.0 to 7.0
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light feeder
Sowing and planting anemones
WhenSoak and plant A. coronaria tubers Mar to Apr, or Sep to Oct in mild gardens or under cover (flowers 3 months later); plant A. × hybrida Mar to Apr, flowers Aug to Oct
Starting off
Soak A. coronaria tubers overnight, then plant Mar to Apr, or Sep to Oct in mild gardens or under cover, 5 cm deep, claws down, in groups; flowers follow in about 3 months. Plant pot-grown A. × hybrida Mar to Apr; propagate by root cuttings 5 cm long in Nov to Dec, or by digging up and replanting rooted suckers in Mar. A. coronaria seed sown fresh in Jul flowers in 18 months.
Spacing and planting
A. coronaria tubers 10 to 15 cm apart, 5 cm deep; A. × hybrida 60 to 90 cm apart as it spreads 1 m or more; plant at pot depth. A. coronaria is fine in a 25 cm pot; tall Japanese anemones are too vigorous for containers.
Varieties worth growing
- A. coronaria De Caen Group
- Single poppy-like flowers in red, blue, white and pink; the cheapest and best for cutting. 'Mr Fokker' is the named blue.
- A. coronaria St Brigid Group
- Semi-double and double flowers on the same plant; a fuller look in pots, though the heavy heads suffer more in rain.
- A. blanda
- A low, daisy-flowered species for March and April under deciduous shrubs. Hardier than A. coronaria, and left alone it spreads into a carpet.
- A. × hybrida 'Honorine Jobert'
- The classic white Japanese anemone, about 1.2 m, flowering from August into October and good in light shade.
- A. hupehensis 'Hadspen Abundance'
- Deep pink and shorter at 60 to 90 cm, so it fits a smaller border and needs less policing than the tall whites.
Anemones month by month
Timings are for central England. Allow two weeks later in the north and on cold, heavy soil.
- January
Nothing to do beyond covering autumn-planted A. coronaria in hard frost.
- February
Order tubers for spring planting.
- March
Soak and plant A. coronaria tubers. Plant Japanese anemones and dig out unwanted runners.
- April
Autumn-planted A. coronaria in flower: deadhead and pick. Plant a second batch of tubers for succession.
- May
Keep picking. Water in dry spells and liquid feed pots fortnightly.
- June
Spring-planted tubers begin to flower. Water new Japanese anemones weekly.
- July
Lift A. coronaria tubers once the leaves have died, dry and store them, or leave them in free-draining soil.
- August
Japanese anemones start flowering. Water in drought; watch for eelworm patches on the leaves.
- September
Soak and plant A. blanda for spring, and A. coronaria in mild gardens or in pots under cover. Japanese anemones at their best.
- October
Finish autumn planting of tubers.
- November
Cut Japanese anemones to the ground, clear the leaves and mulch. Take root cuttings.
- December
Root cuttings can still be taken. Otherwise nothing to do.
Feeding anemones
Both kinds are light feeders. A humus-rich soil and an annual mulch are enough in the ground; only tubers in pots need a liquid feed, and Japanese anemones flop if fed.
Low, a light feed and a humus-rich soil.
Feeding plan
November, Japanese anemones
Garden compost or leaf mould
A 5 cm mulch round the clump after cutting down. No fertiliser: fed plants grow tall, leafy and lax.
Planting tubers
Garden compost or leaf mould
Fork a 5 cm layer into the top 15 cm of poor or sandy soil. No fertiliser in the hole.
From first buds until flowering ends, A. coronaria in pots
3 ml per litre of water (30 ml in a 10 litre can) once a fortnight. This is the bottom of the label range and less often than the label allows.
April to May, A. coronaria in the ground on thin soil
1 g per litre of water as a drench, two or three times at intervals of 2 to 3 weeks.
Signs to watch
A. coronaria leaves yellow and tubers rot
Waterlogged winter soil
Lift in Jul and grow on grit
Japanese anemone flops with huge leaves
Shade and rich feed
Lighter shade, no feed
Pale leaves and few flowers on a crowded A. × hybrida clump
Root competition
Thin runners in Mar and mulch
Pests, diseases and problems
A. coronaria tubers never come up, or are soft when dug
Planted dry, so they failed to start, or rotted in cold wet soil
Soak overnight so the tubers swell before planting, and start them in modules of gritty compost under cover if your soil is heavy. Plant out once shoots show.
Leaves of autumn-planted A. coronaria blackened and limp after a hard frost
Frost damage; the plant is frost-hardy but the winter foliage is not tough
Cover with a cloche or a double layer of fleece in cold snaps, or plant in March instead in cold gardens. Damaged plants usually reshoot from the tuber.
New shoots and flower buds eaten off at soil level
Slugs and snails
Hand-pick at night, keep the area clear of debris and use nematodes from March on moist soil.
White powdery coating on Japanese anemone leaves in late summer
Powdery mildew on a plant that is dry at the root
Water deeply in dry spells, mulch in autumn or spring and thin crowded stems for air. Cut down and clear the foliage in November.
Brown to black angular patches between the veins on Japanese anemone leaves, spreading up the plant from August
Leaf and bud eelworm, a microscopic nematode that swims in the water film on wet leaves
Pick off and bin affected leaves as soon as seen, avoid overhead watering and clear all top growth in autumn. Badly affected plants are best removed; new plants raised from root cuttings are clean.
A newly planted Japanese anemone sits still or wilts for most of its first summer
Slow establishment; the fleshy roots resent disturbance
Plant in spring from a pot without breaking the root ball, water weekly through the first summer and leave it alone. It usually takes off in the second year.
Pruning
Pruning and care
Deadhead A. coronaria for more flowers; lift tubers once leaves die in Jul, dry and store, or leave in free-draining soil under a mulch. A. × hybrida: cut stems to the ground in Nov and dig out spreading runners each Mar; it needs no staking or protection, and is slow to recover from division, so divide in spring only when needed or take root cuttings.
Good to knowSpring types (De Caen) from soaked tubers; Japanese anemones are tough late-summer perennials that spread.
Growing anemones in pots
A. coronaria is a good pot plant: set soaked tubers 5 cm deep and 8 to 10 cm apart in a 25 cm pot of multipurpose compost with a fifth grit added, around ten tubers to a pot. Keep the compost just moist until shoots show, then water regularly; a pot planted in autumn is best overwintered in a cold frame or unheated greenhouse and brought out in March. A. blanda also does well in shallow pans. Tall Japanese anemones are not container plants: the roots run, fill the pot in a season and the plant then sulks. Only compact cultivars such as 'Pretty Lady Diana' suit a large pot.
Anemones: common questions
Which way up do you plant anemone tubers?
Plant them with the pointed or clawed side down and the flatter, slightly hollow side up. On small A. coronaria tubers it can be hard to tell, and if you cannot, plant them on their side: the shoot will find its way up. Soaking first makes the shape easier to read because the tuber swells.
Are Japanese anemones invasive?
They are not invasive in the legal sense, but once established they spread steadily by running roots and can take over a small border. Give them a space where that is welcome, such as under shrubs or along a fence, and dig out the outer runners every March. Any piece of root left behind will regrow.
Do anemones come back every year?
Japanese anemones and A. blanda do, reliably, for decades. A. coronaria is less dependable: in light, free-draining soil the tubers return for a few years, but in heavy or wet ground they usually rot over winter. Many gardeners treat them as annuals and plant fresh tubers each year, since they are cheap.
Sources
Growing information on this page was checked against these references in November 2026. Feeding rates are Dr Forest label rates.
- How to grow Japanese anemonesRHS
- How to grow spring-flowering anemonesRHS
- How to grow anemonesBBC Gardeners' World Magazine