Of all the spring blooming anemone, Anemone nemorosa, or the European wood anemone, is my favorite. Every late winter and early spring these jewels of the forest floor make their appearance between the Helleborus, Corydalis solida, and Hepatica blooms.
Anemone nemorosa originates from the floors of deciduous forest in Europe and NE Asia for a cold hardiness of at least Zone 5. With a light mulch and reliable snow cover I believe they can take colder temperatures.
Foliage of European wood anemone reaches about six to eight inches in height. Leaves are on long stems and in three parts, each one deeply cut for a light, airy, appearance. Roots are thin, woody, resembling buried multi-branched twigs in deep brown with whitish-green eyes. Given time they will eventually form networks of roots one layer over the other. The roots are always near the surface and should be placed horizontal to the soil surface no more than an inch or two deep. For best performance soil with good humus content provides nutrients and aids in forming colonies. They also perform well when growing among root competition from trees and shrubs. Use with larger perennial and shrubs as European wood anemone is deciduous, making its exit from above the soil surface around July.
Flowers are formed in late March to early April, usually in white but with an occasional plant having a slight blush of reddish pink on the reverse. Blooms are usually one to two inches across. Petals will close at night or on cloudy days when there is a threat of rain, nodding at the end of slightly arched stems, moving in time to the wind. All species and named cultivars of nemorosa have been prolific bloomers in my garden presenting color above the brown of winter’s forest litter.
Anemone nemorosa have long been garden favorites in Europe, are easy to grow and propagate, so it is always a surprise not to see more of them in nurseries and garden centers. There are also numerous named cultivars to collect and it is hard to stop with only the species. Anemone nemorosa Allenii has nice size blooms of soft blue.
You may want to try Pallida, a hybrid between A. nemorosa and A. ranunculoides in clean pale yellow. Rosea has large flowers in soft lavender-pink darkening in color as they age. I also enjoy Viridiflora which can not seem to make up its mind if it will form petals or leaves and ends up using leaves where petals should be for green-on-green lace. Once they have been in the garden long enough to begin forming a colony of bloom, there is a strong urge to “need more”. Before long the next anemone has become a collection.