How to Grow Anemones in Australia

The poppy anemone (Anemone coronaria) is a cool-season corm in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). It is grown for silky, poppy-like flowers in red, white, pink, blue and purple, most with a dark eye. Planted in autumn as shrivelled brown corms, it flowers from late winter into spring and makes a long-lasting cut flower. It is not the tall Japanese windflower of autumn borders. The mistake most gardeners make is rotting the corms before they ever sprout.

Three mistakes that matter

1. Soaking too long or planting into wet soil. A corm left in water, or in soggy ground, rots before it shoots, often with no sign above ground. Soak for 3 to 4 hours only, and plant in free-draining soil, a raised bed or a pot.
2. Planting into warm soil. Anemones grow through cool weather and shut down once the soil warms in late spring. Corms planted late or in a hot spell give fewer flowers. Plant as the autumn heat breaks, and in the subtropics chill the dry corms first.
3. Cutting the leaves off after flowering. The green leaves rebuild the corm for next spring, and summer watering rots a dormant corm. Leave the foliage until it yellows, then keep the bed dry or lift the corms, as Harvesting Blooms describes.

When to plant

Plant once the summer heat has broken and nights are cooling, from March in the south and April or May in the north. Anzac Day falls inside the window for most gardens. The plants go dormant once the soil warms to about 21°C, so an early start in the cool season gives the longest run of flowers. For a longer season, plant a batch every two weeks across the window.

Corms planted at the tail of the window still flower, but the flowers are usually fewer and smaller.

Site, soil and setup

Once shoots are up, mulch thinly with sugarcane or lucerne to hold moisture and keep weeds down. Plant fresh corms away from any patch where corms rotted, because rot fungi can survive in the soil from season to season. See soil pH explained for testing.

Container growing

Pots suit anemones well, because you control the drainage. Use a pot with drainage holes that holds at least 10 L. A standard 30 cm pot holds about 14 L and is deep enough for their long roots. Fill it with premium potting mix and set corms about 5 cm apart for a full display. The poppy anemone comes in two main groups, both about 20 to 40 cm tall. De Caen has single flowers and St Brigid has semi-double flowers.

• Watering. Water when the top 5 cm of mix is dry, more often than beds, but never leave the pot standing in a saucer of water.
• Feeding. Give fish and seaweed blend at 25 mL per 9 L every fortnight from the first shoots until flowering ends.
• Position. At least half a day of sun, sheltered from wind.
• After flowering. Once the leaves yellow, let the mix dry out, then tip out the corms or leave the pot dry until autumn.

Planting Corms

Anemones grow from dry corms planted straight into their final spot, after a soak to plump them up.

Pre-sprouting

Pre-sprouting is optional and can bring flowers a few weeks earlier. After soaking, half fill a tray with damp potting mix, scatter the corms on it and cover them. Keep the tray somewhere cool, about 5 to 15°C, and out of reach of mice and rats. Check it every few days, keep the mix damp but not wet, and throw out any mouldy corm. Plant once fine white roots appear, usually after 10 to 14 days.

Planting direct

• Soak the corms in room-temperature water for 3 to 4 hours, until they plump up.
• Plant with the pointed end down and the flatter, knobbly side up. If you cannot tell, lay the corm on its side.
• Plant 5 cm deep, or up to 8 cm deep in warm districts, where the extra soil keeps corms cooler.
• Space corms 10 to 15 cm apart, and scatter colours at random rather than in blocks.
• Water in well, then follow the first row of Care by growth stage.
• Shoots usually appear in 2 to 3 weeks.

Wear gloves while handling corms, because the sap can irritate and blister skin. Every part of the plant is poisonous if eaten, so keep corms out of reach of children and pets, and wash your hands after planting.

Care by growth stage

Steady moisture while in leaf and flower decides how long anemones bloom, and a dry summer rest decides whether the corms survive to flower again.

Week ranges run from planting and stretch in a cold winter. If growth stalls in poor soil, a light dose of all-purpose controlled release granular (NPK around 14-5-10), scratched in as the shoots appear, can help.

Companion planting

Anemones mix best with other cool-season flowers planted in autumn.

Grows well with

• Violas and pansies, which flower over the same months and fill the gaps between stems.
• Daffodils and tulips, planted in the same autumn window and resting dry through the same summer.
• Ranunculus, planted at the same time and depth.
• Sweet alyssum, which draws hoverflies and lacewings whose larvae eat aphids.

Keep apart

• Summer bedding that needs regular watering, because the wet soil rots dormant corms underneath.
• Dense groundcovers that keep the crowns damp, which encourages grey mould and rot.

Harvesting Blooms

Pick in the cool of the morning, when a bud shows its colour and is just starting to open.

• Cut or pull each stem right at its base.
• Pick the early flowers too, because regular picking keeps new buds coming.
• Deadhead any flower you leave on the plant before it sets seed.
• Stand stems straight away in a bucket of clean water.
• Change the vase water daily and recut the stems every two days.

A planting usually flowers for 8 to 10 weeks. Once the last flowers finish, leave the leaves until they yellow. Where summers are wet or the ground freezes hard, lift the corms then. Dry them on a rack in a cool, airy place for 10 to 14 days. Store them until autumn in a net bag or old stocking, hung out of reach of mice and rats. In dry-summer gardens they can stay in the ground. Most corms decline after two or three years, so add a few fresh ones each autumn. Anemones need little arranging: a jar of mixed colours on their own makes a full posy.

Common problems

Nothing comes up. Soft corms rotted in water or wet soil (see Three mistakes that matter). A firm corm planted upside down may still be on its way, because its shoot has to turn first.

Plenty of leaves, few flowers. Too little sun, crowding, too much nitrogen or a late planting into warm soil is the usual cause.

Yellow leaves while still in bud. Waterlogged soil, not the natural dying down that follows flowering. Read more

Flowering stops early. A run of warm spring days sends plants into dormancy, which is why the warmest zones have the shortest season.

Fewer flowers each year. The corms are wearing out with age, so top up the bed as Harvesting Blooms describes.

Pests and diseases

Most damage comes from molluscs, sap suckers and fungi that thrive in cool, damp weather.

Slugs and snails, mainly the garden snail (Cornu aspersum). They chew new shoots and flower buds at night, worst after evening rain. It is widespread in suburban gardens. Collect them by torchlight. Read more

Aphids (family Aphididae). Small, soft sap suckers cluster on new shoots and under leaves, leaving sticky honeydew that draws ants. Hose them off or spray insecticidal soap. Read more

Powdery mildew (Erysiphe species). White, powdery patches spread over the leaves, worst in crowded beds. Remove badly affected leaves and spray 1 part full-cream milk to 10 parts water. Read more

Grey mould (Botrytis cinerea). Ageing petals and crowns turn soft and grow a grey fur in cool weather with heavy dew. Pick off spent flowers and fallen petals, and bin them.

Prevention first

• Plant only firm, plump corms, and bin any that are soft or mouldy.
• Clear weeds and debris near the bed, which shelter snails by day.
• Water in the morning at soil level, so leaves and flowers dry by evening.
• Check new shoots for snails on damp nights, and for aphids weekly.

Tips

1. Mark the bed with a stake or label at planting, because nothing shows for weeks and dormant corms are easy to dig into.
2. Plant in clumps or drifts rather than single lines, for a fuller show.
3. Keep unplanted corms dry in their bag in a cool, dry place. They can still grow after a season in storage.

Due to quarantine restrictions and our shipping policy, we cannot send anemone corms to Western Australia or Tasmania.