Anemone Lord Lieutenant

Anemones and ranunculus can be planted any time from mid February until mid June, although planting from mid March onward is recommended as they germinate better in cooler conditions. Early planting will provide welcome mid to late winter flowers, while later planting will give early to mid spring flowers. Partial shade is tolerated, and can help produce longer flower stems.

When purchased, anemones will be hard and dry, as they are in a very dormant state. For better results and flower production, they both should be "pre-germinated" prior to planting. Mix the tubers with damp (not wet) sawdust and put them in the fridge in a container covered with newspaper or a paper towel. It does not matter which way up the corms are when you do this. Keep them damp by spraying some water on them every day - the sawdust will dry quickly in the fridge. After three to four weeks you will see signs of roots and/or shoots developing. Plant immediately upon seeing this - it will be clear at this time which way they should be planted.

Anemones like to be well fertilised while growing. Either a general purpose fertiliser or a specific bulb fertiliser would be quite suitable. Composted animal manure is also good as they like nitrogen. Water to keep just moist, but not wet as they will quickly develop fungal infections if too wet.

Kept adequately watered with a little fertiliser applied every month, the plants will produce flowers over a period of several months. Anemones will have a longer vase life if they have been through two or three opening and closing (day and night) cycles on the plant before cutting.

With warmer temperatures in late spring, the plants will begin to die back. The corms can be harvested and dried for using the next year, but the tubers available for sale are younger with more vigour and will give better results.