Wood anemone
Anemone nemorosa · Ranunculaceae
Starry white flowers, often flushed pink on the back, open in spring sunshine over a low carpet of ferny leaves, then the whole plant vanishes by midsummer.
- Size
- 6 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 5 to 8
- Light
- Part shade to shade
- Flowers
- Early April to early May
- Pets
- Toxic (mild)
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around wood anemone
The planner designed this bed around wood anemone when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, part shade. It chose the other plants from the 513 that suit those conditions, and says below why wood anemone stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Wood anemone × 13, white
- 2 Moor grass 'Greenlee' × 12, tan
- 3 Turtlehead 'Hot Lips' × 3, pink
- 4 Japanese meadowsweet × 3, pink
- 5 Inkberry 'Gem Box' × 1, dark green leaves
- 6 Snowdrop × 12, white
Why this plant
- The only open bowls. The others are spires, plumes and bells. 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.
- 13 plants in 3 groups (5, 5 and 3). Seen again further along, the same plant ties the bed together.
Why now
- In flower for six weeks. From early April to early May.
- Fills a gap. For six of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
- Leaves gone by midsummer. They die back and leave bare ground. A perennial that comes up late stands beside it, and grows over the gap.
Planned as an English border: 4 of the 4 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The flowering year starts with snowdrop in early March and ends with turtlehead 'Hot Lips' in late September. Moor grass 'Greenlee' flowers longest, for 15 weeks.
The planner's own design check: 14 Excellent, 2 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where wood anemone goes in a border
At 6 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is ground-hugging (up to 6 in).
Its job: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.
The flower of old English woods. Plant it under deciduous shrubs with later perennials that will fill the space it leaves. It spreads slowly into a sheet and never gets in the way.
- Carpeting under deciduous trees
- Spring interest before hostas emerge
- Woodland gardens
What to plant with wood anemone
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Hosta: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its fine ones; spires rising out of its mound.
- Lady fern: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; tall enough (2½ ft) to stand behind it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Solomon's seal: in flower together for two weeks, from early May; tall enough (3 ft) to stand behind it; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about wood anemone
Does wood anemone need sun or shade?
Wood anemone grows in part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning) and shade (less than 2 hours of direct sun, or bright dappled light).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does wood anemone grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 8. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °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 wood anemone flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early April to early May. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 5 | Early April to early May |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Late March to early May |
| Zone 7 | Late March to late April |
| Zone 8 | Mid March to mid April |
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 wood anemone be planted?
12 in (30 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 18 in (45 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 6 in (15 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many wood anemone plants do I need?
At 12 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 12 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 11 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 38 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 13 in three groups.
Is wood 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 wood anemone?
These come closest to doing what wood anemone does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Sweet woodruff: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers early May to early June.
- Woodland stonecrop: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 4 in narrower, flowers late April to late May.
- Sweet violet: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 4 in narrower, medium leaves, not fine.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after wood anemone?
Wood anemone is over by early May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Solomon's seal: from early May to late May, 3 ft tall (a recorded partner).
- Bugleweed: from early May to late May, 6 in tall.
- Lily of the valley: from early May to late May, 8 in tall.
What does wood anemone look like in winter?
Wood anemone has long gone by winter: it dies down in summer, soon after flowering, and comes back in spring.
More Anemone
- Anemone 'Wild Swan' Anemone 'Wild Swan'
- Canada anemone Anemone canadensis
- 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
In these guides
- Garden plants toxic to cats
- Garden plants toxic to dogs
- Low plants for the front of a border
- Groundcover plants
- Plants with blue flowers
- Plants for a white garden
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial (groundcover)
- Size
- 6 in (15 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 12 in (30 cm) apart
- Height class
- Ground-hugging (up to 6 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Early April to early May; open bowls; white, pink, blue
- Leaves
- Fine texture, summer-dormant; green
- Shape
- Mat-forming, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 8
- Light
- Part shade, shade
- Soil
- Rich, 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.