Canada anemone
Anemone canadensis · Ranunculaceae
Clean white, golden-centred flowers stand above deeply cut leaves in late spring. A tough native that makes a solid green carpet in damp ground.
- Size
- 18 in tall, 3 ft wide
- Zones
- 2 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Late May to late June
- Pets
- Toxic (mild)
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around Canada anemone
The planner designed this bed around Canada anemone when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why Canada anemone stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Canada anemone × 3, white
- 2 Bleeding heart 'King of Hearts' × 8, pink
- 3 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 19, yellow
- 4 Blue wood aster × 3, lavender
- 5 Garden phlox 'David' × 3, white
- 6 Arborvitae 'Mr. Bowling Ball' × 1, grey-green leaves
- 7 Spring starflower × 12, blue
- 8 Double snowdrop × 5, white
Why this plant
- The only open bowls. The others are bells, daisies and dense clusters. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- Under the taller plants. It runs back between them as living mulch: there its job is to cover the soil, not to be looked at.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for six weeks. From late May to late June.
- Part of the bed's peak. With bleeding heart 'King of Hearts' and mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' in late May: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 8 groups (75%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. White is the colour seen most, on 3 of the 7 kinds grown for their flowers. The longest in flower is bleeding heart 'King of Hearts': 18 weeks, from early May to early September.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 5 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Canada anemone spreads aggressively. Each plant's details say more.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where Canada anemone goes in a border
At 18 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is short (12 to 18 in).
Its job: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.
Use it where it can run: under shrubs, along a stream, or on a bank. In a mixed bed it overwhelms smaller neighbours within two or three years.
- Native groundcover for damp soil
- Stream banks and rain gardens
- Under shrubs and trees
What to plant with Canada anemone
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Blue flag iris: in flower together for four weeks, from late May; tall enough (2½ ft) to stand behind it.
- Ostrich fern: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; tall enough (4 ft) to stand behind it.
- Red twig dogwood 'Arctic Fire': its dark green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; tall enough (4 ft) to stand behind it; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about Canada anemone
Does Canada anemone need sun or shade?
Canada anemone grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day), part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does Canada anemone grow in?
USDA zones 2 to 8. It is hardy to zone 2, which means it survives winter nights down to about −40 °F (−40 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does Canada anemone flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late May to late June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 3 | Early June to early July |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Late May to early July |
| Zone 5 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 6 | Mid May to late June |
| Zone 7 | Early May to late June |
| Zone 8 | Early May to late June |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should Canada anemone be planted?
24 in (60 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 3 ft (90 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 18 in (45 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many Canada anemone plants do I need?
At 24 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 3 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 6 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 10 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as threes and fives, along the front and just behind it.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is Canada anemone poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: mild toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. The sap can irritate skin, and all parts cause mouth and stomach upset if eaten.
Is there a pet-safe plant like Canada anemone?
These come closest to doing what Canada anemone does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Spotted dead nettle: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 10 in shorter, 6 in narrower.
- Wild strawberry: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 12 in shorter, 8 in narrower.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Will Canada anemone spread?
It spreads sideways, by runners or roots; the risk of it taking over is high. Spreads fast by underground stems, fastest in moist soil, and crowds out smaller plants. Contain it or give it a space of its own.
What flowers after Canada anemone?
Canada anemone is over by late June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Astilbe: from late June to mid July, 24 in tall.
- Black-eyed Susan: from mid July to mid September, 24 in tall.
- Butterfly weed: from late June to early August, 24 in tall.
What does Canada anemone look like in winter?
Canada anemone dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Anemone
- Anemone 'Wild Swan' Anemone 'Wild Swan'
- Grape-leaf anemone 'Robustissima' Anemone tomentosa 'Robustissima'
- Grecian windflower Anemone blanda
- Japanese anemone Anemone x hybrida
- Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert' Anemone x hybrida 'Honorine Jobert'
- Japanese anemone 'September Charm' Anemone x hybrida 'September Charm'
- Snowdrop anemone Anemone sylvestris
- Wood anemone Anemone nemorosa
In these guides
- Garden plants toxic to cats
- Garden plants toxic to dogs
- Native plants for shade
- Groundcover plants
- Plants for a white garden
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial (groundcover)
- Size
- 18 in (45 cm) tall, 3 ft (90 cm) wide
- Plant
- 24 in (60 cm) apart
- Height class
- Short (12 to 18 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late May to late June; open bowls; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Mat-forming, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 2 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Average, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Ranunculaceae
Checked against VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.