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Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert'

Anemone x hybrida 'Honorine Jobert' · Ranunculaceae

Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert' (Anemone x hybrida 'Honorine Jobert') in flower
Photo: Agnes Monkelbaan, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Pure white, single flowers with a ring of golden stamens dance on tall, wiry stems from late summer until frost. Raised in France in 1858 and never bettered.

Size
4 ft tall, 24 in wide
Zones
4 to 8
Light
Part sun to part shade
Flowers
Late August to mid October
Pets
Toxic (mild)
Job in a bed
Drift

A bed built around Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert'

The planner designed this bed around Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert' 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 Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert' stands where it does.

A 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) bed at eye level in mid September: Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert', Moor grass 'Greenlee', Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana', Siberian iris 'Caesar's Brother', Pieris 'Little Heath', Wild geranium 'Espresso', Grecian windflower.
A 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, part sun, seen from the path in mid September.
4. Siberian iris 'Caesar's Brother'44. Siberian iris 'Caesar's Brother'44. Siberian iris 'Caesar's Brother'41. Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert'11. Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert'11. Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert'15. Pieris 'Little Heath'53. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana'33. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana'33. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana'32. Moor grass 'Greenlee'22. Moor grass 'Greenlee'22. Moor grass 'Greenlee'22. Moor grass 'Greenlee'22. Moor grass 'Greenlee'23. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana'33. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana'33. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana'33. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana'33. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana'32. Moor grass 'Greenlee'22. Moor grass 'Greenlee'26. Wild geranium 'Espresso'66. Wild geranium 'Espresso'66. Wild geranium 'Espresso'63. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana'33. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana'33. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana'33. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana'33. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana'33. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana'33. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana'33. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana'33. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana'33. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana'33. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana'33. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana'33. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana'33. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana'33. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana'33. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana'37. Grecian windflower7. Grecian windflower7. Grecian windflower7. Grecian windflower7. Grecian windflower
From above, to scale. Each circle is one plant, as wide as the room it needs.

The plants

  1. 2 Moor grass 'Greenlee' × 7, tan
  2. 3 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 24, yellow
  3. 4 Siberian iris 'Caesar's Brother' × 3, purple
  4. 5 Pieris 'Little Heath' × 1, variegated leaves
  5. 6 Wild geranium 'Espresso' × 3, pink
  6. 7 Grecian windflower × 5, blue

Why this plant

  • The only white. White sits between stronger colours and calms them.

Why here

  • Anchors a back corner. At 4 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
  • A step in the back row. Next to pieris 'Little Heath' (2½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
  • 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.

Why now

  • In flower for 8 weeks. From late August to mid October.
  • Closes the season. For its last 7 weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.

Planned as an English border: 6 of the 6 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert' and Siberian iris 'Caesar's Brother' anchor the back corners of the bed: the tallest plants on the plan stand there. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' repeats along the bed to tie it together.

The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good.

Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.

Where Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert' goes in a border

At 4 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft). It is airy enough to see through, so it can also come forward and veil what is behind it.

Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.

The classic white for the end of the season, luminous in part shade and at dusk. It is slow for two years and then spreads steadily, so plant it where it can form a colony.

  • White flowers for autumn
  • Evening and moon gardens
  • Part shade under high trees

What to plant with Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert'

Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:

  • Autumn monkshood: in flower together for five weeks, from mid September; happy in the same moist soil.
  • Hosta: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its medium ones; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
  • Japanese forest grass: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.

Questions about Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert'

Does Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert' need sun or shade?

Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert' grows in 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, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.

What zones does Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert' grow in?

USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °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 Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert' flower in my zone?

In zone 5 it flowers late August to mid October. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.

Roughly when Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert' is in flower
Zone 4Late August to mid October
Zone 5Late August to mid October
Zone 6Late August to mid October
Zone 7Mid August to mid October
Zone 8Mid August to mid October

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 Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert' be planted?

20 in (50 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.

It grows 4 ft (120 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.

How many Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert' plants do I need?

At 20 in apart, set out in staggered rows:

  • 4 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
  • 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
  • 14 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own

In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.

In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.

Is Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert' 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.

Rated from NC State Extension. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.

Is there a pet-safe plant like Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert'?

These come closest to doing what Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert' does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:

  • Garden phlox 'David': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers mid July to early September.
  • Brown-eyed Susan: the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers late July to early October, yellow, not white.
  • Obedient plant: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 8 in shorter, 4 in wider.

Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.

Will Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert' spread?

It spreads sideways, by runners or roots; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Slow to settle, then spreads by creeping roots into a wide colony. Dig out stray shoots in spring.

What flowers after Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert'?

Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert' is over by mid October. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:

What does Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert' look like in winter?

Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert' 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

In these guides

Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8

In flower in: August · September · October

Every fact on record

Type
Perennial
Size
4 ft (120 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
Plant
20 in (50 cm) apart
Height class
Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
Place in the bed
Back, or further forward: it is airy enough to see through
Flowers
Late August to mid October; open bowls; white
Leaves
Medium texture, herbaceous; dark green
Shape
Upright, spreading
Hardy in
USDA zones 4 to 8
Light
Part sun, part shade
Soil
Rich, evenly moist
Water
Moderate
Feeding
Light, in spring
Family
Ranunculaceae

Checked against NC State Extension. 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.