Anemone coronaria / Poppy anemone / Spanish marigold / Windflower, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to the Mediterranean region.
ANNUAL: zone 3-6
TENDER PERENNIAL: zone 7-10
HEIGHT: 10-16"
LIGHT: Full sun or part shade
DEER: Deer resistant
KIDS+PETS: Non-toxic
CLIMATE: Likes mild temperatures
WATER: Water regularly once sprouted
INDOOR+POTS: Grows well in containers outside
These beautiful flowers grow from tiny shriveled up corms that sort of look like acorns. Don’t worry these strange little critters will actually produce an abundance of striking blooms come spring. Depending on your climate they can be planted either in the fall or early spring.
STEP 1 - SOAK
Before planting, soak the corms for 3 hours in a bowl of room temperature water. Make sure you do not oversoak them, or they will rot. As the corms soak up the water, they will plump up. After soaking, corms can either be planted directly into the ground or pre-sprouted.
STEP 2 - PRE-SPROUT
Fill a seed tray or planting pot half full of moist potting soil. Sprinkle the soaked corms on top of the soil and cover them with more soil until completely covered. Leave this tray in a cool place for 1-2 weeks. An unheated basement or garage would work well!
Check on the corms to make sure the soil is staying moist but isn’t soggy.
STEP 3 - PLANT (Fall: zone 7-10, Spring: zone 3-6)
After 1 week passes you can pull up a few corms to see if they have developed thin white rootlets that sort of look like hair. Prepare your planting space by adding a generous dose of compost and make sure the spot has good drainage to prevent rotting of the corms. Dig an area that’s 2” deep and plant the corms 6” apart with the pointed end down.
Protect the plants from frost by covering them with a frost cloth, a bed sheet or a pillow case. You don’t want your corms to freeze, because they will rot once thawed.
STEP 4 - HARVEST
Anemones should start flowering 12 weeks after planting and will continue to bloom for 8-10 weeks. Cutting the flowers will force the plant to produce more blooms - so keep at it and bring those beautiful flowers inside.
Harvest the flowers in the morning and look for that the “collar” is about ¼” long. The “collar” is in-between the flower head and the main stem.
*Bonus Points: If you are in a colder zone you can dig up your corms at the end of the season when the foliage turns yellow and save them for next year!