Tag: Japanese Anemone

  • Plants that move

    Plants that move

    By midsummer, the branches of the ‘Magenta Munchkin’ butterfly bush will be bobbing up and down in the wind. (Photo by Walters Gardens, Inc.)
    By midsummer, the branches of the ‘Magenta Munchkin’ butterfly bush will be bobbing up and down in the wind. (Photo by Walters Gardens, Inc.)

    When choosing a new plant for your garden, there are many factors to ponder: Does it have the colour, size and bloom time you desire? Does it suit the site? Is it fussy or easygoing? Fragrant, long blooming, pest resistant? One often-overlooked attribute, though, is the ability of some plants to animate a border. These botanical Baryshnikovs gracefully sway, swish or sashay in a breeze, enlivening a combination of plants with their performance.

    You might assume a list of dancing plants would contain only ornamental grasses. While many do meet the criterion, some grasses are steadfastly stiff, and only their flowering tassels move in the wind. Here are 11 plants, including woody plants and flowering perennials, that will add a grace note to your garden when breezes blow.

    Plants that dance, ornamental grasses

    Northern sea oats (Chasmanthium latifolium)

    Flat flower spikes bob and twirl from arching, wiry stems—like mobile art by Mother Nature. The foliage resembles that of a small bamboo plant; can self-seed. About three feet (90 cm) tall; sun or shade; Zone 5.

    ‘Skyracer’ purple moor grass (Molinia caerulea ssp. arundinacea ‘Skyracer’)

    Even though this is the tallest perennial on this list, consider placing it near the front of a border and backing it with dark green plants, so its delicate spikes of blooms are visible. In Perennial Gardening Guide, John Valleau describes ‘Skyracer’ as “kinetic sculpture,” because its lightweight flowers are in constant motion from the slightest breeze. Height can range from six to eight feet (1.8 to 2.5 m); sun to part shade; Zone 4.

    Giant feather grass (Stipa gigantea)

    Grey-green foliage is topped with tall, arching plumes of feathery flower spikes in summer. One plant is enough to create a fine show. Intolerant of wet winters; cut back in early spring before new growth begins. Height is about seven feet (2 m); sun; Zone 6.

    Mexican feather grass (S. tenuissima)

    In containers or at the edge of a border, Mexican feather grass flutters and floats in a breeze. When the bright green leaves develop their fuzzy, fluffy flowers, its nickname “split-ends grass” seems apropos. About 20 inches (50 cm) tall; sun; Zone 6.

    Woody plants

    Butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii)

    Butterfly bush grows quickly after it’s cut back to a few inches (about 8 cm) above ground in early spring. By midsummer, purple, pink, rose, white or lilac flower trusses at the ends of the branches will be bobbing up and down from monarchs and bees jostling for a spot to land. Choose non-compact varieties for full effect. Up to seven feet (2 m) tall; sun; Zone 5.

    Weeping Nootka cypress (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis ‘Pendula’)

    Some might view this as a drooping tree, not a dancing one, but the ‘Pendula’ cultivar’s elegantly arranged branches are light on their feet when a wind stirs them. Up to 33 feet (10 m) tall; sun to part shade; Zone 5.

    Dwarf Arctic willow (Salix purpurea ‘Nana’)

    The slim reddish-purple stems lined with narrow blue-green leaves that ruffle and ripple in the wind are almost as flexible as those on ornamental grasses — a row of several plants would be striking. Tolerant of wet or heavy soils; cut back to just above ground level every other year to keep shrubs tidy and stems supple. Four feet (120 cm) tall; sun to part shade; Zone 3.

    Perennials

    Hybrid Japanese anemone (Anemone hybrida)

    Commonly called windflowers, these tall plants have flowers that dip and bob atop long, wiry stems. White ‘Honorine Jobert’ and rosy Rose Bowl (A. ´h. ‘Rosenschale’) are taller and have larger flowers than other single-flowering hybrid Japanese anemones. They generally bloom from early September until the end of October. About four feet (120 cm) tall; sun to part shade; Zone 6.

    Butterfly gaura (Gaura lindheimeri)

    A long-blooming native, wispy gaura blossoms look like tiny, pale pink butterflies hovering over plants below. Drought and heat resistant. Several cultivars available, although some are compact and not quite as mobile. Up to four feet (120 cm) tall; sun to part shade; Zone 5.

    Burnet (Sanguisorba officinalis)

    Long-blooming, fluffy oval red or white flowers sway on wiry stems in midsummer. Height is about 72 inches (180 cm); sun to part shade; Zone 4.

    Anemones plants have tall flowers that dip and bob atop long, wiry stems. (Photo by Walters Gardens, Inc.)
    Anemones plants have tall flowers that dip and bob atop long, wiry stems. (Photo by Walters Gardens, Inc.)

    Designing a garden with plants that move

    Although pliable flowering perennials and grasses are often tall, they don’t necessarily need to be relegated to the back of a bed or border. In fact, when positioned behind shorter companions, much of their graceful wind dance will be hidden from view. Instead, give them front-row status, or fill an entire bed.

    Their movement can be appreciated from a distance, too — from your kitchen window or patio, for example. And many add their architectural presence to a garden throughout winter.

  • ‘Honorine Jobert’ is a lovely late Japanese anemone

    ‘Honorine Jobert’ is a lovely late Japanese anemone

    ‘Honorine Jobert’ Japanese anemone blooms in mid-September. (Photo from www.PerennialResource.com)
    ‘Honorine Jobert’ Japanese anemone blooms in mid-September. (Photo from www.PerennialResource.com)

    Although the season is beginning to gently shut down, the parade of Japanese anemones is carrying on in my garden. First to bloom was ‘September Charm’ (Anemone x hybrida ‘September Charm’, Zone 6), with pink petals (technically tepals) and a darker pink flush on the reverse. It began blooming at the beginning of August and will continue for four weeks. My favourite of these plants is sparkling white ‘Honorine Jobert’ (A. x hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’, Zone 6). It begins flowering about the middle of September, and I’m looking forward to the display this year.

    ‘Honorine Jobert’ is a tall plant, sending up sturdy 48-inch (120-cm) stems carrying lots of daisy-like flowers with flat white petals and bright yellow stamens surrounding a button centre. This cultivar is part of the tallest group of fall anemones, and it blooms in partial shade under a weeping ‘Red Jade’ crabapple tree. By happy coincidence, its flowers open just when the crabapple fruits are at the peak of their red colour, making an ideal combination. The tall stature of ‘Honorine Jobert’ gives it architectural presence, and is certainly part of the plant’s allure. I’d like to pair it with other tall perennials of similar heights blooming at the same time, such as dusty pink Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium maculatum Atropurpureum Group, Zone 4) and the tall autumn coneflower with reflexed gold petals and tall brown centres (Rudbeckia laciniata ‘Herbstsonne’, Zone 6).

    Considering how much pleasure Japanese anemones provide, I think the garden could accommodate a few more. I’m looking for ‘Lady Gilmour’ (48 inches / 120 cm), with two-tone pink petals and leaves partially crimped and curled like parsley. If you like the idea of two-tone petals (light pink flushed with darker pink), but want a more compact plant, try ‘Margarete’ (36 inches / 90 cm) or ‘Hadspen Abundance’ (32 inches / 80 cm). The deepest colours I’ve seen are on deep rose-pink ‘Serenade’ (40 inches / 100 cm), and ‘Pretty Lady Susan’ (16 inches / 40 cm) with dark pink-purple flowers and glowing yellow centres.

    If you’re looking for something special, keep an eye out for Wild Swan Japanese anemone (A. x ‘Macane001’), a super hybrid developed through tissue culture. Wild Swan is a tall, robust plant with white blossoms, each flushed with violet-purple on the reverse of the tepals. It blooms from mid-June through frost.

    I’m of two minds about some of the more extreme double Japanese anemones, such as bright pink ‘Party Dress’ (36 inches / 90 cm) with exceptionally large flowers of twisted and whorled petals surrounding a vivid orange-gold ring of stamens. The extra petals do make a more dynamic flower, but it begins to look like a dahlia to me. (However, you may well not think of dahlias at all when you see it.) Two semi-doubles, light pink ‘Alice’ (27 inches / 70 cm) and white ‘Whirlwind’ (30 inches / 75 cm), are more restrained and manage to be double without becoming dahlia-like.

    Japanese anemones are ideal plants for partial shade in areas that receive reasonable moisture throughout the growing season. They don’t need copious amounts of irrigation, but they do resent drought and dry soil, so be sure to think of them when rain is infrequent. It’s a mistake to remove the anemone stems as soon as the plants finish blooming, as I learned one late autumn. I had done virtually no garden cleaning, and noticed the anemones seedheads were opening into fuzzy white balls that bobbed about in the frosty breeze. This was an added bonus from an obliging plant that wants nothing more than a partly shaded spot to bloom its head off from late summer through frost.

  • Growing Japanese anemones

    Growing Japanese anemones

    https://vimeo.com/gardenmaking/anemones

    The delicate-looking Japanese anemones are fall flowers that you’ll find easy to grow. They can be quite vigorous once established.

    Garden Making Editor-in-Chief Beckie Fox tells you about anemones in the beautiful setting of the Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens.

    Also, we take you behind the scenes to a major grower and plant wholesaler, Valleybrook Gardens in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., where Sales Consultant Tony Post describes a few of his favourite Japanese anemone cultivars and how to keep them happy.

    Garden Making Editor Beckie Fox at Niagara Parks with anemones (Photo by Mark Disero)
    Garden Making Editor Beckie Fox at Niagara Parks with anemones (Photo by Mark Disero)

    We published six pages on Japanese anemones in issue #7, Fall 2011.

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