How to Plant and Grow Japanese Anemone

Also known as windflowers, Japanese anemones and their hybrids add a timeless grace to any garden with their beautiful, nodding blooms on long, wiry stems. The foliage isn't particularly interesting, but the flowers fill the midsummer-to-fall gap in gardens, appearing when few other perennials are in bloom. These fall-blooming perennials come in many shades of whites and pinks, with petals ranging from single rows to frilly doubles.

Japanese Anemone Care Tips

For best results, plant Japanese anemones in well-drained soils rich in organic matter. The extra organic matter keeps consistent moisture in the soil. Keeping the soil evenly moist is essential to prevent the foliage from drying up or the leaf edges turning brown and crisp, especially in warm Southern climates.

Planting Japanese anemones in part sun protects foliage from drying out too much, but don't plant them in too much shade. Otherwise, plants become leggy and flop over. Too much shade also reduces the number of flowers.

Anemones don't require much maintenance to display spectacular blooms. While not necessary, you can divide anemones in spring as plants emerge. In shadier plantings, keep an eye out for powdery mildew, which can be a mild nuisance.

Types of Japanese Anemone

'Honorine Jobert' Anemone

Anemone x hybrida 'Honorine Jobert' is 3-4 feet tall and covered with 2-inch-wide pure-white single blooms. It spreads less rapidly than other varieties.

'Queen Charlotte' Anemone

Anemone x hybrida 'Queen Charlotte' offers wonderful, semi-double pale mauve flowers on 3-foot-tall plants. Zones 4-8

'September Charm' Anemone

Anemone hupehensis 'September Charm' offers single pink flowers in late summer and early fall. Zones 4-8

'Whirlwind' Anemone

Anemone x hybrida 'Whirlwind' is one of the largest hybrid anemones. It grows 3-5 feet tall and has large, semidouble white blooms. Zones 4-8

Companion Plants for Japanese Anemone

Turtlehead

This native perennial gets its name from the shape of its unusual flowers, which resemble the heads of snapping turtles. It's a good choice for heavy, wet soils and spreads to form dense colonies of upright stems bearing pink, rose, or white flowers from late summer into fall. It grows best in some shade, but tolerates full sun with adequate moisture.

Culver's Root

Culver's root is imposing and elegant, with vertical spires of whitish blue flowers against dark foliage. Planted in full sun in humus-rich soil that remains moist, they may reach a whopping 7 feet tall; where the soil is drier, they stay a little more compact.

Hepatica

These diminutive wildflowers set bowl-shaped white, lavender, purple, or pink blooms. They get their name from the evergreen three-part leaves shaped somewhat reminiscent of the human liver—pointed or rounded on their ends and often with a deep purple cast. The plants grow in deep leaf litter in deciduous woodlands in the wild. Liverleaf is excellent in shady rock gardens or woodlands where the soil is rich with humus.