Growing Anemones

Anyone ready for spring? Yesterday I thought I would dig through the snow and peek under one of our tunnels to see how the anemones were doing. I thought maybe everyone could benefit from seeing a little bit of green. I looked at my husband and told him that we would have flowers in two very short months! That made me excited but also gulp a little because I feel like we have so much to do in such a short amount of time. I guess that is something I am going to have to get used to.

Some have a little browning from the extreme cold in January but overall they look great!

I thought I would show you how we grow anemones. This is our second season growing and I fell in love with these little darlings last spring. They come in as a corm and kind of look like a shriveled up little piece of bark or acorn. The first thing that I do is soak them for a good part of the day (about 5 or 6 hours) under slightly running water. I had the bathtub and every sink in the house occupied. The running water is not necessary but will provide them with extra oxygen and during this time they will plump up a bit.

Last year I planted them directly into the ground after soaking but this year I pre-sprouted them to give them a little jump start. This is done by placing them in a tray or tupperware container completely covered with potting soil for about two weeks placed in our cool basement. They look kind of crazy when they come out (I did check them every now and then to make sure they were not rotting).

Next step is planting them out. I was a little later getting them in the ground than I wanted to be last fall but they did fine. We covered them with two layers of agribon fabric and green house plastic in one of our caterpillar tunnels in early December.

Tunnels on February 8, 2018 (it is important to knock the snow off so they do not collapse)

These little ladies should start to bloom early to mid April and will continue throughout May. I just love them along with tulips, they are such a bright spot of hopefulness after a long winter.